Emotions and The Human Condition

[EJay]

As humans, we're "blessed" with all kinds of emotions.  Are they just an anomaly of being human, things that we simply have to overcome or learn to deal with?

Or should we be more Dionysian and explore what it means to be human?  Or does being human also mean suppressing parts of ourselves, beyond even what culture demands?

Are all human emotions a gift?  I know they don't all make us feel "good," but should they all be explored?  Anarchy might ensue, but is cultural stability the goal of human-kind?  (It might be, for survival's sake, of course.)

Just wondering why we have all these emotions and if there's a "higher purpose" for them.  Is it simply a pain vs. pleasure evolutionary drive for survival purposes?

Or are we selling ourselves short in experiencing the human condition?

[Zaphaux]

As humans, we're "blessed" with all kinds of emotions.  Are they just an anomaly of being human, things that we simply have to overcome or learn to deal with?

Or should we be more Dionysian and explore what it means to be human?  Or does being human also mean suppressing parts of ourselves, beyond even what culture demands?

Are all human emotions a gift?  I know they don't all make us feel "good," but should they all be explored?  Anarchy might ensue, but is cultural stability the goal of human-kind?  (It might be, for survival's sake, of course.)

Just wondering why we have all these emotions and if there's a "higher purpose" for them.  Is it simply a pain vs. pleasure evolutionary drive for survival purposes?

Or are we selling ourselves short in experiencing the human condition?

 Well, all animals actually have emotions and mind too, not only humans. That's why I strongly disagree with those who believe that only humans have soul. It's kind of a presumptuous thing to believe.

 Emotion is a thing that can be considered a need. Could you imagine how messy the world would be if no one had emotions? We would be like a bunch of zombies accepting everything as they are, conformists about anything and even robots that don't ever get bored of non-stop working or doing the same thing repeatedly. We would not love, nor would we hate. We could stay a whole day still if we had enough food.
 Trying to imagine the world emotionless is a bit sad. Putting the emotions aside is almost like putting the conscience aside. Emotion is really fundamental for the soul and for the sane mind.

[HeartShadow]

 
Studies have proven that people with lesions in the emotion centers of their brain do NOTHING.  Emotions are what impel us to eat, to survive.

Trying to separate emotions from our selves, like they're two separate things, is like trying to talk about what it would be like to live without a body.  It might be interesting, but it's completely unrelated to this world.

We have bodies.  We have emotions.  ... it is what we are.

[Sarkana-night]

Studies have proven that people with lesions in the emotion centers of their brain do NOTHING.  Emotions are what impel us to eat, to survive.

Trying to separate emotions from our selves, like they're two separate things, is like trying to talk about what it would be like to live without a body.  It might be interesting, but it's completely unrelated to this world.

We have bodies.  We have emotions.  ... it is what we are.

 
I agree with you HeartShadow, although it is sometimes a burden to be able to feel pain and sorrow and all those feeling we don't want to have sneakin around, emotions is a part of being human. If we lose them, we're nothing.

[Waldhexe]

I think as difficult as they often are emotions are what make us alive.

Some people loose contact to their own emotions because the bad ones are too much to bear and so they don't get out of bed because they aren't able to care anymore about anything and just don't have the urge to do anything because life is painful and senseless anyway, it's called depression.

[Frostfire]

As humans, we're "blessed" with all kinds of emotions.  Are they just an anomaly of being human, things that we simply have to overcome or learn to deal with?

Or should we be more Dionysian and explore what it means to be human?  Or does being human also mean suppressing parts of ourselves, beyond even what culture demands?

Are all human emotions a gift?  I know they don't all make us feel "good," but should they all be explored?  Anarchy might ensue, but is cultural stability the goal of human-kind?  (It might be, for survival's sake, of course.)

Just wondering why we have all these emotions and if there's a "higher purpose" for them.  Is it simply a pain vs. pleasure evolutionary drive for survival purposes?

Or are we selling ourselves short in experiencing the human condition?

 
Emotions are tricksy sneaky lil things, they are the motivation behind most everything we do. The hidden master minds of humanity. I can not even concieve a world without emotion. Oddly we insist that they stay in the background.

I think as a demand of society we are expected to, for the sake of politeness, quench or contain a large portion of the emotional spectrum. It is often considered innapropriate to be angry, sad, or really most anything other than content/happy in public situations. Losing control of your emotions is seen as rude or unsightly, oddly comparable to letting a huge one rip in a room full of strangers. Eyebrows raise people gasp or avert their gaze as if they didn't notice even as their faces scruntch up in distaste.

I think it may be because emotions are intense things, they are personal, intamate. So the sharing of them is seen in a similar light to sexual freedom? I'm not sure really there. Now I wonder is a culture with less sexual inhibitions would also have less emotional restrictions?