What is love?

Today we watched a TedEd video on what love actually is. Love is never really defined by most people and only ever explained relatively (love is like....., more important than......). Love is largely influenced by external influences which all contribute to the individual's personal feelings of love. On a biological standpoint, love is said to be a neurological brain function that attract's a person to others in  order to reproduce. Although, the most socially accepted standpoint is that love can be defined as a combination of experiences, feelings, brain chemistry and cultural expectations.

                       Quote on emotion and reason

Man is a rational animal who always loses his temper when called upon to act in accordance with the dictates of reason. (Oscar Wilde)

With this quote the author intended to say that humans are able to survive and prosper through their rational capabilities but do not comply with rational thought when it is prioritized above their emotions. Personally, I agree with this statement. The duality of mankind is something that has allowed us to reach great developmental heights but it is also responsible for our downfalls. The truth of this is that we like to perceive everything on a rational basis when it does not effect us. It becomes difficult to comply with rational thought when something personally effects us as we become emotional to prioritize our safety and well being.

James Lange Theory 

The James Lange Theory is a counter theory to the conventional response theory. This theory states that biological response occurs after the emotion of happiness and fear (fear = increased heart rate, etc.). The James Lange theory states that emotions such as fear and happiness are the response to a biological occurrence (increased heart rate, etc. = fear response). The theory shows how emotions are strongly influenced by biology and it has been hard to disprove.

 Can feelings have a rational basis? Would it be better or worse if emotions could be justified? Are emotions and feelings essential? Is ‘emotional intelligence’ an oxymoron?

      Feelings can have a rational basis if they are an instinctual emotion derived from an actual fear or concern. We would be worse off since most emotions are the cause for irrational behavior which is often the cause for an uncontrolled situation. Feelings are essential to our survival but emotions are only an evolutionary trait which we need to nurture in order to maintain a psychological balance.

Can there be ‘correct’ or ‘appropriate’ emotional responses? Is it ‘correct’ to be horrified by accounts of torture?

      There can be no correct emotional response or appropriate one, there can only be a normal response which is defined by the way the majority reacts. It is considered normal to be horrified by accounts of torture.

Is it possible to experience an emotion, a feeling, an attitude or sensibility that cannot be expressed in language? Can an emotion, such as love or grief, have its origins in, or be shaped by, language?

It is very common to feel an emotion that cannot be expressed in language. This is because many emotions are too complex to be conveyed through a limited means of communication. Many emotions are shaped by language since it is a form of communication that everybody relates too. The definition established by language is often the way we personalize an emotion.

Is the knowledge gained from emotional responses influenced by culture? Are concepts such as patriotism and racism examples of collective emotions? What does it mean to be responsible for our emotions? Can emotions be classified as ‘good’ or ‘bad’? Do emotional responses emanate from cultural influences?

Knowledge is empirical and cannot be gained from emotion but we can develop empathy which is a form of understanding. Collective emotions are a common way people feel towards something. A common love or hate are strong examples of this. To be responsible for our emotions is to be held accountable for the and realize their influences and consequences. Emotions themselves cannot be classified as good or bad directly since they are relative concepts, however, they can be classified as self or other oriented. Emotional responses probably don't vary due to culture but are interpreted differently.


Does emotion reside in the realm of private knowledge in the sense that it cannot be verified by others? Is all private knowledge necessarily some form of emotion? Is physical pain or hunger an emotion? Can people be wrong about their own emotions? Do people have, in some sense, exclusive access to their emotions or can others lead them to recognize previously unknown emotions?

The biological responses correlating to certain emotions can be recorded but the intricate details of the feeling cannot. Private knowledge is not necessarily a form of emotion but it can be when connected with personal feeling. Pain and hunger are biological responses which catalyze and emotion which becomes associated to this feeling. People can only re-evaluate their emotions or feel differently about the same thing since emotions are subjective. Emotions can obviously be influenced by others but they can't be specifically shaped since nobody knows the details of someone's emotions.

Is there any kind of knowledge which can be attained solely through emotion? Is the answer to the question dependent on factors such as gender, age, culture, and/or socioeconomic group?

No knowledge can be attained solely through emotion, only a personal understanding of facts and information. Knowledge is empirical. Many of these categorizations can influence people's emotional response to a situation since they have been confronted with different situations due to these attributes.

Is emotion an essential ingredient of scientific or artistic knowledge? Can there be creativity without emotion?

Emotion is definitely not an essential ingredient for the empirical part of science but it is important for an ethical balance. Artistry is a form used to express thoughts and emotions. Art is strongly connected with emotions and it is an essential part. Creativity cannot exist without emotion since it is a product of imagination and not pure logical thought. 

Lesson 3/11/2016              Primary Emotions

Can you recognize these emotions on the faces below?

I can recognize the general feeling of the emotion and what could potentially catalyze such a reaction but I cannot specifically discern what the individual is feeling.

Which other, perhaps more complete, emotions can you think of?

More complete emotions are simple ones that are very general and do not require a specific mimic. a simple smile shows happiness while a frown usually implies annoyance or sadness. These are very simple and often reoccurring which is why they seem more complete.

Are your emotions innate or rather a product of the knowledge community you belong to? How do other ways of knowing influence your emotion and vice versa?

Emotions are mostly more of a product of the knowledge community that an individual is exposed to. There are some innate attributes which stem from a natural response but most of it is social promotion and avoidance. For example, a society that sees pain as a test of endurance will have most people eager to engage in activities of pain and tend to relish it more as it garners social acceptance. In modern societies it is seen as signs of harm and strictly avoided or treated instantly with melancholic compassion.

In your culture, is it ok to show your emotions?

In culture 100 years ago, it used to be unfitting and socially frowned upon to show your emotions as composure and stoic expression was well seen and deemed 'classy' which was what everybody aspired to. With modern social elements and the rise of a free expression movement, showing emotions and accepting openness has become the new public agenda and is considered brave and admirable.

Lesson 1/11/2016                   The meaning of emotion

During this lesson we watched a video on defining emotion and specifying what it is/does and useful for. In the video it said that emotion was a complex biological response to certain stimuli (ie. dark outside, silence and foot steps behind you promotes the emotion of fear). Scientists are still trying to specify it but are able to narrow it down to psychological, expressive and conscious behavior). These emotions are natural responses which allow us to learn and survive even if they are not generally well seen in our society.

The way we can divide an event and the response is with the first and second claim. The first claim would be the factual event (ie. a man loses all of his money in a gambling event). This can be recorded and clear evidence can be found. The second claim is the reflection on the event. Depending on how it affects you, these physical/experienced occurrences can promote a certain reaction which we describe as emotion (ie. the wife of the man now does not have enough money for her child's birthday present due to the husband's actions and feels despair, sadness and anger).