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What are emotions?

Emotions are low-grade intelligence. Emotions are the mental and bio­chemical responses we developed in the earliest stages of our evolution to help us cope with the environment.

Emotions and intelligence are in fact part of the same continuum.

For example the emotion we call love is basically an intelligent response. We cherish love precisely because it has survival value. If love could talk it would say: "I love my mother because my very survival depends on her." In our adult lives this love is transferred to other attachment-objects such as husband or wife—lover—motherland.

There is nothing mystical or spiritual about love. Make no mistake about it—love is pragmatic—calculating—self-serving.

Vengefulness also has a rationality. If it could talk it would say: "I have to destroy this person otherwise he/she will <;ome back and de­stroy me."

Throughout evolution we have valued emotions because emotions have helped us in our struggle for survival. At one time we valued bravery because brave fighters protected the tribe. We valued loyalty and possessiveness because these and other emotions helped insure the cohesiveness within our nests (family—tribe—nation).

Primitive survival emotions still dominate our lives because we are still fragile organisms. What are some of these powerful emotions? Love—hate—fear—rage—loyalty—vindictiveness—territoriality— jealousy—competitiveness.

As our societies grow more complex our survival needs change and therefore the emotions we value change also.

For example the emotions that have long helped sustain family will be less and less useful in the hyperfluid worlds ahead. Possessiveness —jealousy—sexual loyalty are steadily giving way to fluidity. Con­stancy and possessiveness—traditionally appreciated as evidences of a "deeply loving and feeling" person—are now increasingly perceived as indicative of insecurity and addictiveness.

Emotions that at one time led to stability now lead to pain and disruption.

At one time we admired the person who had strong convictions— who was prepared to fight and even die for them. Today we regard such people as crackpots and fanatics. We now value people who can see all sides of an issue and who are well aware that no one has a monopoly on truth—that in fact there are no absolute or eternal truths.

Then too our newly developed weapons of mass destruction have ushered in a new survival equation. Chauvinism—xenophobia—self-righteousness—competitiveness—far from protecting us in the new global environment—can now terminate us all.

We are no longer fighting with bows and arrows. We have to unlearn the habits of millions of years. Emotions that at one time had a rationale (intelligence) are now suddenly suicidal. Ethnic—racial—national loy­alties have to give way to a new emotion—global loyalty.


Date: 2015-02-28; view: 863


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