Comments on: Body Snatchers, Then and Now http://philosophyonthemesa.com/2008/09/05/body-snatchers-then-and-now/ Tue, 27 Jul 2010 03:18:30 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Huan http://philosophyonthemesa.com/2008/09/05/body-snatchers-then-and-now/#comment-1612 Huan Mon, 08 Sep 2008 00:26:56 +0000 http://philosophyonthemesa.wordpress.com/?p=267#comment-1612 My question is can reason actually be without emotion for human beings? Why do we utilize reason at all? Is it not to satisfy some desires or fears with the most efficient way possible? I can not think of any rational actions that do not in some way involve emotional drive. Biologically speaking, actions are dictated by neuro networks and chemical hormones right? If we define emotion a bit loosely as physical effects, we'd HAVE to be act on emotion all the time, theres no way around it. Then again, if the qualia of emotion is but an after image of the chemical processes like experiments suggest, it'd be hard to differentiate between emotion and a lack of emotion. Chemical robots with an emergent property of conscious emotion is really no different from plain chemical robots empirically speaking right? My question is can reason actually be without emotion for human beings? Why do we utilize reason at all? Is it not to satisfy some desires or fears with the most efficient way possible? I can not think of any rational actions that do not in some way involve emotional drive.

Biologically speaking, actions are dictated by neuro networks and chemical hormones right? If we define emotion a bit loosely as physical effects, we’d HAVE to be act on emotion all the time, theres no way around it. Then again, if the qualia of emotion is but an after image of the chemical processes like experiments suggest, it’d be hard to differentiate between emotion and a lack of emotion. Chemical robots with an emergent property of conscious emotion is really no different from plain chemical robots empirically speaking right?

]]> By: Paul Moloney http://philosophyonthemesa.com/2008/09/05/body-snatchers-then-and-now/#comment-1609 Paul Moloney Sat, 06 Sep 2008 17:12:19 +0000 http://philosophyonthemesa.wordpress.com/?p=267#comment-1609 I think the primary emotion would belong to love. Reason and emotion are not essentially opposed. Emotion can have a bad connotation because so many people are emotional because they are unreasonable. I would argue that one reasons for the sake of love and friendship and both of these have emotional elements. It is only reasonable people that have true friendship. We can make ourselves insensitive to the emotional aspects of love in order to preserve our feelings from being hurt. It seems that with the idea of love comes the idea of sorrow. We even hate the idea of experiencing sorrow before we have ever experienced it. We will seemingly do just about anything to avoid experiencing sorrow. This might be why many people make themselves emotionless. It seems to be a common notion that with love comes sorrow. It seems that we can hate love because of the sorrow associated with it. We want to love someone but we do not want to be hurt by that person. There seems to be an absolute dividing line when it comes to love; we either hold a grudge against someone because they hurt us or we forgive that person. It is better to love than to be loved. When it comes to love we will be hurt. Love is not for the fainthearted. There seems to be a catch to love. If we are not in love with someone in particular, it seems that we cannot be friends with people in general. Some people can be annoying because they try to use others to avoid being in love with someone in particular. They want to be friends with everyone without being in love with anyone. I would take being in love with someone in particular to be the highest form of friendship. I think the primary emotion would belong to love. Reason and emotion are not essentially opposed. Emotion can have a bad connotation because so many people are emotional because they are unreasonable. I would argue that one reasons for the sake of love and friendship and both of these have emotional elements. It is only reasonable people that have true friendship.

We can make ourselves insensitive to the emotional aspects of love in order to preserve our feelings from being hurt. It seems that with the idea of love comes the idea of sorrow. We even hate the idea of experiencing sorrow before we have ever experienced it. We will seemingly do just about anything to avoid experiencing sorrow. This might be why many people make themselves emotionless.

It seems to be a common notion that with love comes sorrow. It seems that we can hate love because of the sorrow associated with it. We want to love someone but we do not want to be hurt by that person. There seems to be an absolute dividing line when it comes to love; we either hold a grudge against someone because they hurt us or we forgive that person. It is better to love than to be loved. When it comes to love we will be hurt. Love is not for the fainthearted.

There seems to be a catch to love. If we are not in love with someone in particular, it seems that we cannot be friends with people in general. Some people can be annoying because they try to use others to avoid being in love with someone in particular. They want to be friends with everyone without being in love with anyone. I would take being in love with someone in particular to be the highest form of friendship.

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