Are neither good nor bad. The concept of an emotion being negative or positive was a stupid and destructive concept.
Emotions are our motivation engines. Yes, we are sometimes motivated to do things which may or may not be in our best interest, if you can clearly define what is in one's best interest. Some might say, for instance, that rage is a destructive emotion as it may motivate us to commit violent acts, and land us in jail (plus all the damage to the victim(s)). But all emotions have grades and purposes, and trying to prevent them is stupid; we can only manage and control their effects on our behaviour. Only when we succeed in crushing our "negative" emotions do we realise what function they served, and allow those emotions back in to our lives. The human species needs rage, jealousy, depression, resentment and hatred to function. Obviously, our judgements on the appropriateness of emotions depends upon the context in which they are experienced, but there is room for our darker sides as well as the lighter sides, so those stupid religious radio stations which only emphasise being positive in reaction to anything that happens are just confusing people.
2 comments:
i agree with a lot of what you are saying. it's interesting to think though about how individuals experience emotions at varying levels from each other, at note the extreme difference that this can make on their ability to function. for eg a man who experiences rage easily and more frequently than most might well function a lot better if this were not the case. it seems reasonable to think that if the man found zen buddhism and learnt to control his rage, he may fare better in life, and perhaps avoid a lengthy jail sentence!
Hey, the Vulcans made it work. lol
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