[MD] Emotions

[skutvik at online.no]

John, Steve, Multitude

7 Nov. :

Steve had written:
> Fear and anger are patterns that a human animal participates in
> > without regard to any social context. A human living in the wild
> > devoid of any human contact would still participate in these
> > patterns.

John responded: 
> You postulate a ridiculous scenario.  There's no such thing as a human
> without social context.  You might be able to construct such a thing
> as a manipulated experiment, but then it wouldn't be an experiment
> upon a real human.  Real humans come from a society and even when they
> are alone in the woods, they carry a society in their heads.  The
> think in socially bound language, they are nurtured into being by
> social relationships and if there are absolutely no possiblities of
> relation to other, they'll paint a volleyball like a head and hold
> conversations with that.

I agree, "emotions as biology" is wrong -in a Quality context at least - 
the point is that the upper level raises the lower levels "expression" (I 
to call) to a higher "power". Biological sensations is raised to emotions 
at the social level and emotions to reason at intellect, but that another 
discussion.            

> A man might shake his fist at a storm, and express anger, but this
> type of behavior is a projection of a personality upon the weather
> that creates an "other" in the imagination from pre-created social
> patterns.

Right you are, what characterized the social age (when the 3rd. level 
was top notch) was that of personalizing everything, seeing gods 
responsible for all natural phenomena and these ridden by emotions. 
This also characterize children who haven't quite entered the 
intellectual level and for instance wants to punish a stone for stubbing 
a toe ... as you say below.   

> It's silly to get mad at rocks, or cells or ideas.  It often makes
> sense to get mad at people holding ideas or threatening your cells
> with rocks.

> > That is because they are biologically latched rather than passed
> > from person to person as social patterns are.

> What tripe.  Anger and fear are not passed from person to person? 
> Have you ever been married to a woman raised by an angry mother? 
> You'd change your mind fast, my friend.    Biology is the victim of
> the social crimes, not the perpetrator.

Wise words


Bodvar