Ways of knowing: emotion
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Are emotions universal?
Can/should we control our emotions?
Are emotions the enemy of, or necessary for, good reasoning?
Are emotions always linked to belief?
• The naturalistic view of emotions is that they are the products of natural processes, with
physiological causes and effects.
• One supporter of this view was Darwin, who believed that emotions are purely
physiological and therefore universal and experienced across all cultures.
• However, there seem to be many examples of culturally bound emotions, for example,
the Chinese notion of “sad love”.
• The opposite view is therefore that of the social constructionists, who argue that
emotions depend on a social consciousness, and have no natural basis at all. For
example, emotions such as shame seem to presuppose a notion of right and wrong.
• Emotion has sometimes been regarded as an unreliable way of knowing. Emotions
have, for example, been criticized as being irrational obstacles to knowledge that
distort our picture of reality.
• However, others believe that not only do emotions help make sense of social and
cultural experiences and behaviours, but they are also the source of social, ethical and
political knowledge by helping us form an understanding of the world around us
• The emotions have traditionally been seen as more of an obstacle t knowledge than a
source of it
• Our feelings matter to us a great deal, and we naturally consult them when we make
important decisions
• Some people believe that feelings are a better guide to the truth than reason
• This view has been popularised by romantic writers and poets in the early nineteenth
century
• The word “emotion” is derived from the latin verb movere meaning “to move”
• An emotion usually consists of various internal feelings and external forms of
behaviour, and it can vary in intensity
• The word “passion” is usually reserved for a strong emotion
• A mood is an emotion which continues for a period of time
• According to most psychologists there are six basic or primary emotions which are
common to all cultures: happiness, sadness, fear, anger, surprise, disgust
• People can identify the relevant emotion no matter what country they come from.
Children who are born blind and deaf also show these emotions. They are inborn
rather than learnt
• The emotions are essentially physical in nature, and bodily changes come before, and
cause, emotional change
• If we remove the physical symptoms the corresponding emotion disappears
• If we mimic the appropriate physical symptoms we can generate the corresponding
emotion
• We can come to know and emphatise with other people’s feelings
• The James – Lange theory can be criticised because it ignores the fact that our emotions have a mental
as well as a physical aspect
• Although our emotions are closely connected with our bodies, they can also be affected by our beliefs
• This is what distinguishes human emotions from the emotions of other animals
• Animals appear to lack the range and complexity of many distinctively human emotions
• Human beings can experience social emotions such as ambition, contempt, embarrassment, envy,
gratitude, guilt, indignation, jealousy, pride, shame and sympathy
• Our intelligence and imagination mean that we are also able to anticipate and picture more distant
dangers
• Since emotions have both a physical and mental aspect, they can be affected not only by our bodies,
but also by our beliefs
• A change in our beliefs can lead to a change in the corresponding emotion
• Not only do our emotions affect our beliefs but our beliefs affect our emotions
• Since emotions are an integral part of our mental lives, they are lilely to influence the
way we see and think about the world
• Strong emotions can sometimes distort the three other ways of knowing
• Perception: our perception of things can be coloured by strong emotions (emotional
colouring)
• Reason: emotions and beliefs can prevent us being open-minded
• Language: emotive language
• Studies of brain-damaged patients suggest that if we did not have any emotions then
our life would quickly disintegrate
• Emotions help us to make rational decisions about things by narrowing down our
options so that we can choose between a manageable number of them
• Emotions provide the energy that fuels intellectual endeavour
• They play a cntral role in our mental lives
• Some of our deepest beliefs about the world seem to be as much intuitive matters of
the heart as rational matters of the head
• A balanced intellectual outlook requires both reason and emotion
• Emotions can sometimes be an obstacle to knowledge
• Strong emotions can easily cloud our judgement and tempt us to find bad reasons to
justify our pre-existing prejudices
• Emotions are feelings that are directed towards things that matter to us in the world
• Emotions are relevant to the search for knowledge because they provide us with
energy, affect our thinking and our sometimes used to justify our beliefs
• Psychologists commonly distinguish six primary emotions which are said to be universal:
happiness, sadness, fear, anger, disgust and surprise
• While emotions are rooted in biology, different cultures describe and express them in
different ways
• The James-Lange theory says that emotions are essentially physical in nature; but they
are also influenced by our beliefs
• Our emotions are sometimes an obstacle to knowledge, and strong emotions can distort
perception, twist reason and sabotage our plans
• More positively, our emotions sometimes illuminate perception and draw our attention
to important features of reality such as threats to our well-being
• It might also be argued that knowledge based on emotions is more immediate and
profound than purely intellectual knowledge
• Rather than think of reason and emotion as opposites, it may be better to say that
emotions can be more or less rational
• Some people claim that emotions are a source of values; but since emotions can be
uninformed, egocentric and unreliable, we should treat this claim with caution
• Sometimes it is difficult to know both our emotions and those of other people
• There is an ongoing debate about the extent to which we are in control of our
emotions and the extent to which they are in control of us