Emotions
Introduction
→ obstacle to knowledge, suspicion of emotions, unlikely to see clearly,…this
suggests that we think reason ought to be in control
→ we naturally consult them when we make important decisions
Nature of Emotions
→ movere, Latin for “to move”
→ range of emotions; mood is an emotion that continues over time
1. ‘You’re being emotional’ is usually taken as a criticism. Why? Could ‘You’re
being rational’ ever be seen as a criticism?
2. To what extent do you think we are able to control our emotions? Which emotion
is the most difficult to control?
3. ‘What reason weaves, by passion is undone’ (Alexander Pope, 1688-1744),
illustrate and analyze this quotation, by choosing a character from a novel, play or
film whose reason is overcome by emotion.
The nature of the emotions
? Which terms do we associate with reason and which do we associate with emotion?
a. hot
b. folly
c. impulsive
d. controlled
e. cool
f. powerful
g. subjective
h. objective
i. voluntary j. blind
k. wisdom
l. instinctive
m. reflective n. weak
Primary emotions
happiness
sadness
fear
anger
surprise
disgust
The James-Lange theory (JL–T) refers to a hypothesis on the origin and nature of
emotions developed independently by two 19th-century scholars, William James and Carl
Lange. The theory states that within human beings, as a response to experiences in the
world, the autonomic nervous system creates physiological events such as muscular
tension, a rise in heart rate, perspiration, and dryness of the mouth. Emotions, then, are
feelings which come about as a result of these physiological changes, rather than being
their cause. James and Lange arrived at the theory independently. Lange specifically
stated that vasomotor changes are emotions.
James elucidated his concept as:
My theory ... is that the bodily changes follow directly the perception of the exciting
fact, and that our feeling of the same changes as they occur is the emotion. Common
sense says, we lose our fortune, are sorry and weep; we meet a bear, are frightened and
run; we are insulted by a rival, and angry and strike. The hypothesis here to be defended
says that this order of sequence is incorrect ... and that the more rational statement is that
we feel sorry because we cry, angry because we strike, afraid because we tremble ...
Without the bodily states following on the perception, the latter would be purely
cognitive in form, pale, colorless, destitute of emotional warmth. We might then see the
bear, and judge it best to run, receive the insult and deem it right to strike, but we should
not actually feel afraid or angry. The theory states that within human beings, as a
response to experiences in the world, the autonomic nervous system creates physiological
events such as muscular tension, a rise in heart rate, perspiration, and dryness of the
mouth. Emotions, then, are feelings which come about as a result of these physiological
changes, rather than being their cause.
The notion of causality is a difficult one. The theory has been largely disfavored in
modern times. Some evidence to support it, however, may come from the fact that
sufferers of various psychological challenges such as panic disorders often experience
psycho-emotional trauma after physiological responses arise in the body, responses
which individuals are conditioned to associate with a particular emotional state but which
can, via therapy, be dissociated.
This theory was challenged in the 1920s by psychologists such as Walter Cannon and
Philip Bard, who theorized that physiological changes are caused by emotions
(collectively known as the Cannon-Bard Theory of Emotion).
Criticisms
1. The viscera are largely unresponsive and react relatively slowly (i.e. - we 'feel' the
emotion before the physiological changes have occurred.)
2. Cutting nerves from the viscera has no effect on emotions in rats.
3. Visceral responses are the same no matter what reported emotion.
4. Injectingadrenaline/epinephrine (as in released from the adrenal glands during
"normal" emotional state) does not induce the feeling of an emotion.
Cannon-Bard Theory
The Cannon-Bard theory is a psychological theory developed by psychologists Walter
Cannon and Philip Bard, which suggests that people feel emotions first and then act upon
them. These actions include changes in muscular tension, perspiration, etc.
This theory sparked much controversy in cognitive circles due to its suggestion that there
is no mechanism to emotion, and many theorists attempted to provide explanations of
emotion that suggested a mechanism. One such theory is the James-Lange theory of
emotion, which suggests that one's emotion and reaction to a specific stimulus did not
occur simultaneously. James and Lange believed emotion is the result of one's perception
of their reaction, or "bodily change". Another alternative explanation was provided by
Schachter & Singer's Two factor theory of emotion, in which they posited that emotion is
the cognitive interpretation of a physiological response. For many, this remains the best
formulation of emotion.
Example: I see a spider. I am afraid. I begin to perspire.
The Cannon-Bard Theory of Emotion is based on the premise that one reacts to a specific
stimulus and experiences the corresponding emotion simultaneously. Therefore, if one is
afraid of heights and is travelling to the top of a skyscraper, they are likely to experience
the emotion of fear. Subsequently, the perception of this emotion (fear) influences the
person's reaction to the stimulus (heights). Cannon and Bard posited that one is able to
react to a stimulus only after experiencing the related emotion.
Model: STIMULUS (Bear) --> EMOTION (Fear) --> REACTION/RESPONSE (Run Away)
Two Factor Theory of Emotion
The Two Factor Theory of Emotion is a social psychology theory that views emotion as
having two components (factors): physiological arousal and cognition. According to the
theory, cognitions are used to interpret the meaning of physiological arousal in a
particular situation. Because cognitions are influenced by the situation, the theory
predicts that elements of a person's environment can have a significant impact upon their
emotional state, provided that the reasons for any physiological arousal are ambiguous.
The adrenaline study
In 1962 psychologists Stanley Schachter and Jerome Singer gave 184 college students
one of two types of injections: adrenaline (also called epinephrine) or a placebo. All
experimental subjects were told that they were given vitamins to test their vision. The
adrenaline injection caused a number of side-effects including increased heart rate,
increased breathing, and increased blood flow to the muscles and brain. The saline
injection had no side effects.
Some subjects were told about the side-effects of the adrenaline while others were misled
and told that it would produce a dull headache and numbness. A third group of subjects
received no information at all.
After the injections the subjects waited in a room with another subject who was actually a
confederate of the experimenter. The confederate behaved one of two ways: playful or
angry.
Subjects who were misled or naive about the injection's side-effects behaved similarly to
the confederate, taking cues from the situation to interpret their arousal level to determine
their emotional state. Subjects who knew what to expect, on the other hand, did not
manifest emotion mirroring the confederate.
The High Bridge Study
Social Psychologists A. Aron and D. Dutton used a natural setting to induce
physiological arousal in their test of the Two Factor Theory of Emotion. In their study, an
attractive female experimenter asked male passersby to complete a brief survey. She
intercepted potential subjects either at the end of a bridge or on the bridge itself. The
footbridge used was long, narrow, and spanned a deep ravine. Following the survey
interview, the experimenter gave the subjects her telephone number in case they had
further questions. The dependent variable in this experiment was the number of telephone
calls received from the subjects after the experience.
The theory predicted that more subjects would call if they were interviewed on the bridge
itself. By being in a state of arousal (due to the bridge height) at the time of the interview,
it was predicted that subjects would misattribute their physiological response as an
attraction to the experimenter. This is exactly what was found. Approximately 60% of the
male subjects telephoned the experimenter if they were interviewed on the bridge while
approximately 30% of the subjects interviewed on the side actually called.
→ if you remove physical symptoms the corresponding emotion disappears
→ if you mimic the appropriate physical symptoms you can generate the
corresponding emotion
→ empathize –
Comparison chart
Definition
Empathy
Sympathy
Understanding what others are feeling
Acknowledging another person's
because you have experienced it
emotional hardships and providing
yourself or can put yourself in their
comfort and assurance.
shoes.
Empathy
Sympathy
I know it's not easy to lose weight
When people try to make changes
Example
because I have faced the same problems like this (e.g. lose some weight) at
myself.
first it seems difficult.
Friends, family and community (
Relationship Personal
the experience of others) .
Relating with your patient because you
Nursing
Comforting your patient or their
have been in a similar situation or
context
family
experience
Personal, It can be one to many in some From either one to another person
Scope
circumstances
or one to many (or one to a group).
Who's to blame?
What do I feel that makes me say this?
Can it be sarcastic?
Level where this feeling occurs
Relative formality
Likely inferred sincerity
I Am Sorry
I Apologize
Not necessarily
Me
me
Regret and/or
Sorrow
responsibility
Yes
Yes
Emotional and Intellectual and
Empathetic
Emotionally
Informal
Formal
Probably
Probably sincere
insincere
Would you say this when someone has experienced
a personal tragedy that you did not cause? (E.g., a Yes
death in the family)
No
The role of belief
Critics of the JL–T say that it does not deal with the mental aspects of beliefs
we tend to believe animals have emotions, think of the emotions you attribute to
your pets
Social emotions: ambition, contempt, embarrassment, envy, gratitude, guilt,
indignation, jealousy, pride, shame and sympathy
The above group of emotions do not exist without other people; but they are not
dependent on others being around when you experience the emotion
Our emotions affect our beliefs, as well as, our beliefs affect our emotions
Emotional energy – to engage in intellectual activity, one must control our emotional
energy, think about reading, if you cannot remember what you read 3 minutes ago
then you need to get up and do something physical to get ready to control your
emotional energy
Emotions as ways of knowing – provides energy
99% perspiration and 1% inspiration
Passion is what drives those who are most successful
Andrew Wiles, a mathematician, spent 8 years trying to prove Fermat’s Last
Theorem, before solving it in 1994
Or the opposite
Isabel Allende, Chilean writer, could not write for 3 years suffering from writers
block
Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird, never wrote another novel did write
articles
Emotions as an obstacle to knowledge
Emotion as an obstacle to Knowledge is the traditional way of thinking
For some of our most fundamental beliefs seem to be based more of an emotional
matter of the heart than rational matters of the head
1. emotions as an obstacle to knowledge
2. emotions as a source of knowledge
3. intuition
Emotions as an obstacle to knowledge
perception – emotional coloring
“love is blind” or “fear has many eyes”; certain aspects of reality are
considered, while others are excluded; “I cannot figure why she (he) is with
him(her)” –love see no faults –loath only see faults
reason – too much or too little, holding beliefs passionately can lead to a closed mind
language – emotive language, a person in the grip of a powerful emotion is likely
to use slanted, biased, emotional language
emotions can cloud judgments, rational discussions can turn into slugfests
? 1. To what extent do rival sports fans see and interpret what is happening on the pitch
in accordance with their emotional prejudices? Give examples.
2. Analyze a famous speech and explain how it appeals to the emotions of the
listeners. (A good one to look at might be Mark Antony’s speech in Julius Caesar
– the one which begins ‘Friends, Romans, Countrymen’.
?
Rationalizations – tendency not to apply reason in an objective way based on preexisting prejudice
Greek fable about the fox and the grape vine emotional response
Smoker as an example do they hold self–contradictory beliefs or doubt the science
? 1. What is going on when someone who is losing badly at a game says that it is a
‘stupid game’? Do you think they would say that if they were winning?
2. Are students who do badly on a test more or less likely to say that the test was
unfair than students who do well on it? Give reasons.
Example of Poindexter and his emotional prejudice
Poindexter has an emotional prejudice against immigrants
Biased perception – noticing things that you already agree with, ignoring the
contrary examples – only notices lazy immigrants, overlooking hard workers
Fallacious reasoning – hasty generalizations based on limited examples
Emotive language – using of language that is emotional laden, conclusion “don’t
know the meaning of hard work
The trouble with fanatics–by definition–refuse to question their assumptions or consider evidence that runs contrary to their own distorted way of looking at the world.
Irrational behavior – short-sighted actions, without regard to long term consequences
emotions can distort our beliefs, but also lead us to make poor decisions
emotions can be short sighted and can easily blind us to the long – term consequences
heat of the moment, you say something and immediately regret it
Aristotle said that Man is the only rational animal
Oscar Wilde said, “I can resist anything but temptation.”
Greeks that moved to either deny or completely control their emotions
Stoics, stoicism
? 1. What problems might there be in trying to be a good Stoic and striving to be
apathetic?
2. Can you imagine a human life without emotions? If so, try to characterize what it
might be like. If not, explain why not.
3. Under what emotional conditions do you think you are most likely to make an
unbiased judgment about something: a. a good mood; b. a bad mood; c. a neutral
mood?
Emotions as a source of knowledge
“cold and unemotional” Mr. Spock, half – human, half – Vulcan, character on Star Trek
--Steven Pinker points out, he is not lacking emotions instead is in control at a very
high degree of control
--psychologist Antonio Damasio studies brain damage individuals, if you did not have
any emotions the one's life would quickly disintegrate
--his patient Elliot’s brain damage in the emotional center, “rational fool”, because IQ
tests and appearance normal but he lost his ability to make decisions
-- Damasio concluded emotions play a key role in our rational decision making
? 1. Have you ever been in a situation where you had to choose between two equally
attractive options? How do you come to a decision?
2. What role do you think is usually played by reason and emotion when people decide
which universities to apply to? What role do you think each should play?
3. Peter has decided he want to marry Heloise. He came to his decision by weighing
up all of Heloise’s good points and bad points and comparing them with those of
other potential life–partners. Heloise came out as the most rational choice. What
can be said for or against this way of deciding whom you would like to marry? How
would you feel if you were Heloise?
The relation between reason and emotion
The tendency is to think the two are unrelated
Emotion
Reason
Furious
Getting
Solving a
annoyed
math problem
The relation between reason and emotion think of a continuum, more–or–less
continuum of mental activity
It may be make more sense to say that our emotions may be more or less rational
Mistaken situations that caused mistaken emotions
We might say that in general an emotion that is sensitive to the real nature of a
situation is more rational than one that is not.
Aristotle observed:
Anyone can be angry – that is easy. But to be angry with the right person to
the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose and in the right way –
that is not easy.
Two scenarios:
Tom has arranged to meet Paul at 3:00 p.m. Paul arrives at 3:02 p.m. and apologizes
for being late. Rather than accept Paul’s apology, Tom starts screaming and
shouting about Paul’s lack of consideration and completely losses self–control.
The hospital phone Judy with some terrible news. Her boyfriend has just been
assaulted by some hooligans and is lying unconscious in the intensive care unit. ‘Oh
dear,’ she says, that is annoying! I was hoping to play tennis this afternoon, but I
suppose I had better come down and visit.
Reactions are irrational, Tom’s too much Judy’s too little Tom should have been
annoyed and Judy shock maybe even anger
? Since you are much more likely to die in a car on the way to the airport than you are in
a plane crash, would you agree that the fear of flying is an irrational fear? How
would you explain this?
? 1. ’If you are not horrified by genocide then you have not understood it.’ Do you
agree or disagree with this statement? Does it follow that the more horrified you
are by genocide, the better you understand it? Could you be horrified by something
and yet not really understand it at all?
2. What problems does the above raise for someone who is trying to write an
‘objective’ account of the genocide in Rwanda in 1994?
Allowing that our emotions may be more or less rational, there is still a problem that we
may be able to see that a particular emotion is irrational and yet find it difficult to change
it. There are some of our emotions that are very hard for us to control in a given situation.
We all experience irrational emotions but, since it is difficult to switch them off, we may
find it easier to adjust our beliefs to our emotions than bring our emotions into line with
reason. We are back to the problem of rationalization. When the object of our irrational
fear and disgust is, say, an ethnic minority, the consequences can be serious.
Intuition
Jules Henri Poincaré 1854 – 1912 had long been attempting to demonstrate the
axiom known as Euclid’s fifth postulate: that through a given point there’s no
more than one parallel line to a given straight line. His Eureka moment came
while on vacation at the beach while boarding a bus
Core intuitions – our most fundamental intuitions about life, the universe and
everything
Reason - logic building block which relies on fundamental laws that we cannot
prove – intuitively obvious
Perception – we cannot always be sure that what we see is real or what we hear is
what we think it is, horror and mystery stories, movies, plays, depend
on drawing us in
? If someone asked you why you believe each of the following statements, what
evidence, if any you could give to support them?
a. I exist.
b. Life is not a dream.
c. If something is a banana, then it is a banana.
d. 1 + 1 = 2
e. Parallel lines never meet.
f. The laws of physics will not break down tomorrow.
g. My friends are not androids.
h. You should not torture innocent people for the fun of it.
i. All human beings are created equal.
j. Time has no beginning and no end.
k. Nothing comes from nothing.
Romanticism – “the heart has its reason’s on which reason knows nothing” Pascal
Axioms in philosophy are not axioms until they are proved upon our pulses” Keats
1. If something is intuitively obvious, must everyone agree about it? (Is there anything
that everyone agrees about?)
2. Could you be wrong in thinking that something is intuitively obvious? (Might you
one day come to see that what you now think is intuitively obvious is in fact a deeply
rooted prejudice?)
3. Whose intuitions should you trust? Are some people’s intuitions better than others?
Subject – specific intuitions – the intuitions we have in various areas of knowledge
such as science and ethics
Physics – Newton’s laws of motion
Biology – everything in nature has a purpose
Ethics – the idea of natural order – Aristotle the condition of natural slavery
Social intuitions – our intuitions about other people, what they are like, whether or not
they can be trusted, etc. the written expression on people’s faces
Give some examples of things that once struck you as intuitively obvious which you no
longer believe are true.
Natural and educated intuitions
Jules Henri Poincaré p. 163
? 1. Have you ever had the following experience: a really good idea come to you in the
middle of the night, but when you think about it again the following morning it
seems much less impressive? Why do you think this is?
2. Do you think it is possible to have a valuable insight in an area in which you have
little background? Has this ever happened to you?
3. From your own experience, what do you think is the relationship between intuition,
background knowledge and intellectual effort?
?
1. A thorough knowledge in a relevant field
2. Unusually good powers of concentration
How reliable is intuition?
expert intuition is generally more reliable than natural intuition
we do not operate at a “rarefied’ level, so we generally operate by trusting our intuitions
Conclusion
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=auburn+beats+alabama+2013&sm=1
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=temper+tantrum&sm=1
Key points
1. The emotions are relevant to the search for knowledge because they provide us with
energy, affect our thinking and are sometimes used to justify our beliefs.
2. The six primary emotions of happiness, sadness, fear, anger, surprise and disgust are
found in all cultures.
3. The James – Lange theory says that emotions are essentially physical in nature; but
they also seem to be influenced by our beliefs.
4. The emotions are sometimes an obstacle to knowledge, and strong emotions can color
our perception, distort our logic and inflame our language.
5. Nevertheless, emotions give meaning and color to our lives, and studies of braindamaged patients suggest that without them we would become ‘rational fools’.
6. Rather than think of reason and emotion as opposites, it may make more sense to say
that our emotions can themselves be more or less rational.
7. Intuition is an immediate insight into something, and we can distinguish core
intuitions, subject-specific intuitions and social intuitions.
8. While there is a sense in which all knowledge is based on intuition, the problem is
that people have conflicting intuitions.
9. Our intuitive beliefs about many subjects are not very reliable and it could be argued
that one of the aims of education is to debug human intuition.
10. Many intellectual breakthroughs have come about in a flash of intuition; but you
have to work hard for such intuition.
Terms to remember
apathy
debugging intuition
emotional coloring
emotive language
empathy
intuitions
James – Lange Theory
primary emotions
rational fool
Romanticism
social emotion
Stoicism
apathy – is a state of indifference — where an individual has an absence of interest or
concern to certain aspects of emotional, social, or physical life, it can be objectspecific — toward a person, activity or environment. It is a common reaction to stress
where it manifests as "learned helplessness" and is commonly associated with
depression.
debugging intuition –
emotional coloring
emotive language – “Emotional expressions”, also called “emotives” are an effort by the
speaker to offer an interpretation of something that is observable to no other actor. If
emotions are feelings, emotives are the expressions of those feelings through the use
of language, specifically through constructions that explicitly describe emotional
states or attitudes.
empathy – is commonly defined as feeling or expressing emotion for another. Since the
states of mind, beliefs, and desires of others are intertwined with their emotions, one
with this for another may often be able to more effectively define another's mode of
thought and mood. It is often characterized as the ability to "put oneself into another's
shoes", or to in some way experience the outlook or emotions of another being within
oneself, a sort of emotional resonance.
intuitions – is the act by which the mind perceives the agreement or disagreement of two
ideas. When using only it, the truth of the proposition is immediately known right
then, the moment it is presented. This is without the intervention of other ideas or
deductive reasoning.
James – Lange Theory – refers to a hypothesis on the origin and nature of emotions
developed independently by two 19th-century scholars. The theory states that within
human beings, as a response to experiences in the world, the autonomic nervous
system creates physiological events such as muscular tension, a rise in heart rate,
perspiration, and dryness of the mouth. Emotions, then, are feelings which come
about as a result of these physiological changes, rather than being their cause.
primary emotions
rational fool
Romanticism – is a complex artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that originated in
the second half of the 18th century in Western Europe, and gained strength during the
Industrial Revolution. It was partly a revolt against aristocratic social and political
norms of the Age of Enlightenment and a reaction against the scientific
rationalization of nature, and was embodied most strongly in the visual arts, music,
and literature. The movement stressed strong emotion as a source of aesthetic
experience, placing new emphasis on such emotions as trepidation, horror, and the
awe experienced in confronting the sublimity in untamed nature and its qualities that
are "picturesque", both new aesthetic categories. It elevated folk art and custom, as
well as arguing for a "natural" epistemology of human activities as conditioned by
nature in the form of language, custom and usage.
social emotion – these are emotions that are caused by the social interactions of people,
they do not exist outside of social interactions between people.
Stoicism – is a school of Hellenistic philosophy, founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium in
the early third century BC. It proved to be a popular and durable philosophy, with a
following throughout Greece and the Roman Empire from its founding until all the
schools of philosophy were ordered closed in AD 529 by the Emperor Justinian I,
who perceived their pagan character to be at odds with his Christian faith. It’s core
doctrine concerns cosmic determinism and human freedom, and the belief that virtue
is to maintain a will that is in accord with nature. It teaches the development of self-
control and fortitude as a means of overcoming destructive emotions; the philosophy
holds that becoming a clear and unbiased thinker allows one to understand the
universal reason (logos). A primary aspect of this involves improving the individual’s
spiritual well-being: "Virtue consists in a will which is in agreement with Nature."
This principle also applies to the realm of interpersonal relationships; "to be free from
anger, envy, and jealousy", and to accept even slaves as "equals of other men,
because all alike are sons of God.”