Reflections on the Human Emotions
The role of the emotions in human life is
very central. The emotions determined the intimate psychological state of a
person. They drive a person to act or inhibit him. They unite persons or cause
divisions. When we possess things that we value very much or when evils we fear
the most are present, these things bring about very strong emotions. The
subjective experience of happiness is very closely related to the way we are
aware of the state of our appetites.
In general, we must give a positive value
to emotions: they reinforce our tendencies. It is important to say this because
there are people who give a negative value to the emotions (Kant
and Hegel). These people think that having emotions
is proper of weaklings. They think that emotions, because they belong to the
sense part of man, are a lowering of what is properly human (which they think
is the spirit). To intend that man lives without emotions will end up
dehumanizing him. It is kind of stoicism. A man without emotions is
dysfuntional.
There is, however, the opposite extreme
that tends to give the emotions excessive value. This view gives the emotions
the role of completely determining human behavior, making them the criteria for
human acts and ends in themselves. This position is called sentimentalism. This
is a very common view nowadays especially when it comes to love.
Why is sentimentalism not an adequate and
prudent position? The reason is because man’s dominion over his emotions is not
total and certain. It is a part of the human psyche that is not always docile
to the reason and will because it does not fully belong to that realm. This is
a principal characteristic of the emotions: it is like a domesticated cat — it
can be tame but it can sometimes go crazy. Aristotle
talked about a “political dominion” of the reason over the emotions. The
emotions are like free citizens who can be taught to direct their actions
towards the service of the city. They need to learn to do this. They may do so
but sometimes they might do the contrary. We all have the experience that to
dominate an emotion is not the same are commanding our arm to rise.
The emotions can go with or against what
a person wants. We cannot control them completely if we have not been
determined to do so and have been exerting the effort to do so. The lack of
harmony in the emotions can produce psychological, behavioral and moral
disorders. The fear of making mistakes can cause inhibition. The fear of
gaining weight can cause anorexia.
The appearance or disappearance of the
emotions is not totally voluntary. For instance, to “fall in love” is something
that more often than not “happens” to a person rather than him willing it to
happen. A person does not usually give himself the “order” to fall in love. But
at the same time, a person has to control his affectivity. If he already loves
a woman, let’s say, his wife, he should control his affections for other women.
The same is true with moral pains, for instance, frustration. If it comes, it
is something we cannot control, but we cannot allow ourselves to be dominated
by it.
One of the great achievements of Plato was to show how the emotions cooperate with the
appetites and the will. His practical philosophy, explained in the Republic
and Laws, is a study about the best manner of educating man, so that he
attains harmony among the different powers of his soul. According to Plato, a great part of this education is to know how to
channel and have dominion over the emotions.
The emotions are the great companions of
man in his life. The emotions will always remain like little kids. If a person
allows them free rein, they can get lost or hurt. The virtue that enables a
person to master the emotions is called sophrosyne: moderation,
temperance, calm, self-control.
The emotions are irrational in their
origin but they can be harmonized with reason. They cannot be ‘rationalized’
except partially only. But in fact, they always accompany our thoughts and
intentions. This irrational character of the emotions is the basic reason why
not everything in human life is exact and clear cut. There is a very wide
margin for imagination and mystery, for the unforeseen and irrationality.
Whoever wants to have everything in life well ordered and planned will lose
spontaneity and freshness that is a trait of people who give room to the
emotions and imagination.
The emotions provide us immediate
‘values’ especially when it has to do with persons. The emotions evoke positive
or negative reactions to persons, places or things. This spontaneous
evaluations determine our behavior and lead us to go in one direction or in
another.
The emotions reinforce our convictions
and give our convictions more driving force. When we “feel” strongly about an
issue, we become more identified with it and we act in a more determined manner
with regard to the issue. For instance, if we are so affected by the freeze in
the salary increase, chances are we will not take this event sitting down.
Whoever wants something done passionately
will do it better than a person who is not passionate about it. We also have to
see what it is we are passionate about. If a person becomes passionate about
cars or I-pods, this attitude is rather superficial. A professor who is
passionate about his subject matter will be more identified with his teaching
and will be a better teacher than a professor who simply mouths his lessons. A
lover who is passionate is capable of doing the unthinkable.
To have passion in doing things gives
more meaning to life and activities, at least from a biographical point of
view. Whoever is passionate about his noble activity and shows the others how
passionate he is becomes a model that is very attractive. A passionate person
is able to give his life more unity. The passion unites his mind, will, plans,
activities, everything in his life. He directs this difference aspects of his
life to what he is passionate about. The opposite of being passionate is being
indifferent. Indifference makes a person lose the zest for life.
The variety of emotional make-ups in
persons produces the variety of characters. A great part of a personality
depends on the emotions that a person allows to prevail in him.
a)
The passionate person
puts passion and intensity in everything that he does, even if what it is about
does not deserve much attention.
b)
The sentimental person
lets himself get carried away by the emotions; he allows them to dominate him
and so he is shifting and unstable.
c)
The cerebral person is
cold and cannot understand the language of the heart; he may even appear
inhuman.
d)
The serene person is the
one whose emotions take long in coming; since they are more reflective, they
are more coherent and less talkative.
e)
The indifferent person
is the one who does not have emotions; he does not care, he does not move; he
does not goals or ambitions; he does not love.
From what has been said so far, it is
clear that a person will be better off if he achieves due proportion between
his emotions, reality and the subsequent behavior. It is advisable to avoid
extremes: the sentimental and the cerebral. This demands that we be realistic.
Self-deception can be present at the root of frustrations: for example when
someone overestimates his capabilities or when someone just knows a beloved
person only superficially. We can have very strong beliefs and impressions
about ourselves and about things. But reality continues to be reality and the
realization of the truth can come as a shock.
Errors regarding self estimation can give
rise to false expectations and frustrations. A correct perception and
estimation of oneself and of reality contributes to balanced and correct
reactions. A person who is realistic realizes that he can make mistakes and
fail, but he also knows that problems can be solved and he also knows his own
capacity to solve his problems. He knows that he can move on. He knows that as
long as there is life there is hope.
When a person realizes that he has made
an erroneous estimation of the object of his emotion, he usually falls into
anger, desire for revenge, despondency or discouragement. A person might have
loved too much an object that does not deserve that much love.
Some rules can be brought up in this
connection:
a)
Not all things deserve the high
degree of emotions we might have about them: too much love, anger, fear,
appreciation, etc.
b)
On the other hand, there are
other realities that deserve better reactions on our part than what we have
towards them. We have to be careful about our first impressions.
c)
When our evaluations and
reactions are very sentimental, we have to correct ourselves and rectify. We
cannot allow ourselves to be lead by our emotions.
How should we judge our emotions? We can
look at the psychic alterations they produce and the behavior they give rise
to. An emotion can be volcanic and intense, but such emotions may subside very
soon. In this case the emotion may be judged as superficial.
Deep emotions do not disappear that
quickly and at times these emotions are not easily apparent. It is possible to
be profoundly affected by something without being too “emotional” about it: for
instance, love for one’s spouse or fear of impending danger.
One’s behavior can also be a good
indicator of one’s emotional states (at times an even better indicator than
one’s interior states). When a man avoids his wife and does not pay attention
to her, we cannot conclude that there is nothing wrong between him and his
wife. When a person tell you he appreciates you but later on, he treats you
with indifference, then he is deceiving you. Love and hatred are manifested in
one’s actions, more than in one’s words.
Not all emotions have the same value.
There is a kind of hierarchy among them. Part of training the emotions is to
know how to put order into them and be objective when assessing them. It can
happen that one’s fears are unfounded or one’s passions are not reasonable.
There are emotions whose objective importance is very little. One should know
how to be a little be more detached from the object of the emotion or to
practice a little irony with oneself.
Sentimentalism can lead to sadness and
failure. To have as criteria for a decision that of having emotions about it is
to make our behavior depend on our emotional states. It is a kind of slavery.
The emotions have ups and downs: they are fleeting and unstable, especially in
some persons. A person should rather behave following the truth as known by the
mind and what is good as grasped by the will.
When a person allows himself to be ruled
by the emotions, it will be hard for him to achieve excellence. It is different
to be passionate about something. To be ruled by emotions is to be ruled by
something shifting and unstable. It is to remain a child. Childishness and
irresponsibility, delayed adolescence are very common phenomena nowadays.
One’s emotional states are important for
one’s behavior, but we should not exaggerate their importance. To give in to
sentimentalism produces instability and insecurity in a person’s life.
How are the emotions manifested? One must
learn how to manifest the emotions. Though many persons learn to do this
spontaneously, not everyone learns to do so. Emotions are manifested in one’s
behavior and also in one’s speech. The manifestation of the emotion must be in
harmony with the other aspects of a person’s life: his goals, convictions, environment,…There
must be some proportion between one’s emotions and the other dimensions of
human life.
We discover the importance of gestures in
the manifestation of emotions. Gestures are the language of the emotions. There
are facial gestures: laughing, crying, smiling, frowning, … There are bodily
gestures: standing up, bowing the head, lying prostrate on the ground, closing
the fist,… Usually, a person who is rich in gestures is also rich in his emotional
life. There are some peoples who communicate very much through gestures: the
Italians, for example. We know these people to be sentimental people. The
English, on the other hand, are not very given to gestures and they are known
to be more serene and unperturbed.
Art is the most sublime way of expressing the emotions. And among the
forms of art, music has a privileged position among the channels for expressing
emotions. Music has an enormous capacity to evoke and awaken the emotions. One
might be unaware of it, but while listening to music, one’s interior state gets
altered. Music empowers, accompanies and expresses the emotions. One sings when
one is happy. But also when one is sad. Boredom is uniformity, while creativity
is symphonic. When a person interiorizes music it is expressed in a song.
Singing is perhaps the most beautiful way of manifesting our emotions.
Dynamics of the Emotions
Let us now try to relate all the
faculties of the soul. The dynamics of human life, its development, its
perfection depend on the harmony that should exist among all the dimensions of
the human psyche: the intelligence, the will and the emotions. In this context,
by 'harmony' we mean two things: fullness of one's development and interior
balance and proportion between each part and the unity of the whole.
The sensitive appetites and the will,
aided by the emotions, are orientated towards biological and non-biological
ends. For there to be fulfillment in a person, there ought to be coordination
among the three: appetites, will and emotions-a coordination that should be
steered by reason in such a way that there be no conflicts among them. A
successful life, which is the fullness of development of all the human dimensions,
requires the harmony of the soul. What takes place in man is a dynamic
equilibrium where each faculty accompanies the others empowering and helping
each other. A life that is too cerebral and despises the emotional is not
harmonious. A life that is given to voluntarism, and not paying attention to
reason is not harmonious either. Giving in always to the emotions is also an
imbalance in life. There must be equilibrium, harmony and clarity. These are
the defining characteristics of classical beauty: the beautiful life.
The best way of achieving this beautiful
life is to give to reason the task of taking the command of the other
dimensions of human life. The reason is that the intelligence is our superior
and distinctive faculty. Reason enables us to be aware of the end and thus is
able to give meaning to a person’s entire life. If reason does not reign over a
person’s faculties, the appetites and emotions tend to take over his actions
producing an imbalance. The balance and measure in a person’s appetites and
emotions are provided by reason. These lower faculties do not measure
themselves.
There are two ways of understanding the
harmony of the soul: from the outside and from within.
Considered from an external point of
view, there is balance and harmony in the soul when there is an objective, a
goal that unifies all of a person’s faculties. When a person has a predominant
goal, an ambition in life, this objective gives direction and meaning to all of
his actions, plans, thoughts, desires. When he achieves his goal, he is
fulfilled and happy.
Considered from an internal point of
view, there is balance and harmony in the soul when a person is reconciled with
his own subconscious or what can also be called the “passive synthesis”. Freud thought that the subconscious is that part of the
human psyche that is hidden, unconscious and anarchic such that it determines a
person’s behavior without his awareness. It is rather the totality of a
person’s biological, genetic, psychological and cultural traits, that a person carries
with him as he goes through his life. There can exist harmony between the conscious
states and the subconscious. This is what all normal persons achieve by means
of an adequate process of education.
Nonetheless, the increasing number of
psychological disorders in our times just goes to show that this adequate
process of education is sometimes lacking. And when it is, there is lack of
harmony in the soul and the person ends up getting sick. Psychological balance
and harmony depend very much on the adequate control of the appetites and the
emotions and the integration of the subconscious into the conscious life of the
person.
How does one achieve control over the
emotions? One can answer in three ways:
1) One can give a technical answer.
Emotional states and the psychic states in general can be controlled through
medicine, psychiatry and techniques for mental relaxation. Medicine seeks
physical well-being. If we give too much importance to psychiatry we will tend
to think that any human problem can be solved through it. People tend to think
that the human person is simply a machine that needs some repairs from time to
time. Many psychic illnesses have organic bases greater than what was thought
of before. Psychiatry more and more depends on biochemistry. The pharmaceutical
industry has grown very much in the field of psychiatric drugs. This is the
basic reason why people are abandoning the psychoanalytic theories of Freud. His psychiatric techniques do not depend on drugs and
their results are long in coming.
Despite the enormous capabilities of
modern medicine we must go beyond the merely technical and take into account
the personal dimensions. Man is not a machine. He may have personal problems
that cannot be cured by pills because their solutions require the intervention
of the will and of personal freedom. The internal dispositions of a person
cannot be changed by external factors exclusively. In order to cure a person of
a psychological illness you have to cure his soul. For this other methods are
necessary and the fundamental element of these methods is dialogue. The
illnesses of the soul can be cured by the help of drugs and sleep; but also by
friendship, the experience of love, the contemplation of the truth, and the
fostering of relations with God. The patient must be aware of his own interior
kingdom and become the lord of it. The purely technical solution is not
suficient to achieve the harmony of the soul.
2) A second solution is to affirm that
the control of the emotions is purely a question of the mind and the will. It
is enough to have a powerful mind and a resolute will to keep the emotions
under control. The philosophers of the enlightenment thought that the problems
of man could be solved through rational and abstract science that will enable
us to deduce in a logical manner the solutions to man's moral, psychological
and social problems. It is a vision of man that tends to undervalue the affectivity,
the emotions, of anything that has to do with the body.
In the realm of morality, this position
easily leads to rigorist dualism. These people think that to achieve interior
harmony by simply fulfilling one's duty, by doing what has to be done. The
realm of the senses, they say, should be subject to reason and this, in turn,
provides the rules for moral living independent of the sentiments.
There is another extreme one can fall
into: voluntarism -- giving to the will the role of putting order and harmony
into man's life and faculties. Nietzsche thought
that the superior man is the one who is capable of completely dominating his
appetites and achieve inner harmony by sheer will power.
These two positions are untenable and
ineffective because they are unrealistic. To want to do things on the basis of
duty or sheer will power will convince only those who are inflexible,
voluntarists, fools and fanatics. We must try to "humanize" the
world. Moral behavior, the use of reason, the influence of the will are all
valid principles as long as they are principles taken in the context of a real
person who is also made of flesh and blood. A person is not a pure spirit or an
angel. We are pleased with a smile and a warm handshake. We appreciate a love
that is manifested in deeds. To make people act, we have to motivate them and
make them happy.
The search for harmony in a person's life
must take into account freedom and human weakness. It must regard the reality
of the human person.
3) The third possible answer to the question
about the harmony of the human soul is that given by classical humanism and
Christianity. The answer is the education of the will, the emotions and the
appetites.
A person may or may not achieve this
education. Christianity tells us that there is a certain disorder in human
nature and that is original sin. This disorder
explains why a person falls into a vice if he is not careful or he does not
struggle. Inner harmony is attained when a person directs his powers towards a
goal that is given by right reason.
Reason gives us the ends for which we
act. If we train our powers once and again to reach our right ends we acquire
virtue and inner harmony.
What is the norm of this inner harmony?
It is moderation. One has to achieve the appropriate emotions, in the adequate
manifestations and intensities with respect to the object and circumstances,
avoiding excess or defect.
And so, cowardice is excessive fear that
can inhibit a person from acting. Rashness is not to fear at all, even when it
should be present. Bravery is the middle point: it is to overcome baseless fear
at the same time being reasonably careful.
A choleric person is one who gets angry
at anything at the least provocation. An indifferent person is one who does not
care about any situation. Just indignation is the middle ground: it is to get
angry reasonably when there is just cause.
Shamelessness is not being ashamed of
anything. Shyness is being ashamed even when one should not be (stage fright).
Modesty is to be ashamed in a reasonable way of things one should be ashamed
of.
The good life comes about when a person
educates his emotions. When the middle ground is attained, the emotions are in
harmony with the rest of a person's faculties. The emotions can even help the
acts of the other powers, making life beautiful. We usually admire balanced and
mature persons, lords of their own lives and rich in emotions.
The science of right acting is ethics. An
important part of ethics is the science of educating the emotions. Rationalism
and voluntarism have presented ethics as a set of abstract norms that are
general and rigoristic.
The vision we have is this: the ethical
person must learn to optimize the emotions and appetites, i.e. he must train
them to reach their maximum strength and intensity, harmonizing them with his
other faculties.
What is beautiful shows balance and
harmony. It is complete, not lacking any element that ought to be present. Its
parts are orderly in relation to the whole.
Ethics is the way for a person to live a
fully human life. To achieve inner balance and harmony is the only way to be
truly happy. And the quickest way to attain this is by educating the emotions.
And this is part of ethics. To be happy, one has to live ethically. Ethics is
not a set of prohibitions but it is the way for a man to be truly a man.
