NationStates Jolt Archive

Here's a philosophical question for ya'. Is there such thing as a useless emotion, i.e. one that can produce no positive effect.

In my attempts to reduce stress (Crohns + Stress = OW), I've heard people call "worry" a useless emotion, because all it can do is cause stress. Made sense for a while, but after thinking about it, "worry" can cause you to take action towards a positive outcome.

So, in conclusion, it is my opinion that no emotion is useless. Just because the emotion is not necessarily positive, does not mean that it cannot be used towards a positive end.

But, hey, I'm just a Star Trek junkie with too much time on his hands...what do you guys think?

Here's a philosophical question for ya'. Is there such thing as a useless emotion, i.e. one that can produce no positive effect.

In my attempts to reduce stress (Crohns + Stress = OW), I've heard people call "worry" a useless emotion, because all it can do is cause stress. Made sense for a while, but after thinking about it, "worry" can cause you to take action towards a positive outcome.

So, in conclusion, it is my opinion that no emotion is useless. Just because the emotion is not necessarily positive, does not mean that it cannot be used towards a positive end.

But, hey, I'm just a Star Trek junkie with too much time on his hands...what do you guys think?

Ah, another Star Trek fan! I am pleased to see there are a few more besides myself on here. Yes I think there are a useless emotions, such as Jealousy. It gets you nowhere.

Well, I'd have to say hatred is a useless emotion. No good can come of it; anger can lead to good, but hatred cannot.

Ah, another Star Trek fan! I am pleased to see there are a few more besides myself on here. Yes I think there are a useless emotions, such as Jealousy. It gets you nowhere.

Well, I would disagree. Jealousy can often motivate someone to work harder to surpass or defeat the object of their jealousy, with the end result being a net improvement in the person.

Well, I would disagree. Jealousy can often motivate someone to work harder to surpass or defeat the object of their jealousy, with the end result being a net improvement in the person.

Think about jealousy in a romantic relationship, specifically with children. Say you're a male and you have children with your wife, and she cheats on you. As a male you have already fufilled your natural biological directives by mating and having children, raising them is not a natural male act (although a good thing that should be practiced). Jealousy can cause the male to kill the wife or the other man in an act of passion, or something along those lines.

Jealousy and hate...I never thought of those...

Jealousy can cause you to improve yourself towards a goal...but you usually hurt others in the process...

Hate can make you strive towards the defeat of your advarsary...but in the long run will only hurt relations with others...

Perhaps all emotions can be used towards a positive or negetive end? But I think in these cases, the negetives outweigh the positives.

Useless emotions are just misplaced emotions. Worry is misplaced fear. Hatred is misplaced anger. jealousy is misplaced pride.

Worry gives you stress. But by dealing with stress, you learn to control stress, and in turn grow stonger. A useless emotion is one that you don't learn from.

Isn't it scientologists who believe all of our negative emotions are caused by spores in volcanoes that we breathe in when they erupt?

Here's a philosophical question for ya'. Is there such thing as a useless emotion, i.e. one that can produce no positive effect.

In my attempts to reduce stress (Crohns + Stress = OW), I've heard people call "worry" a useless emotion, because all it can do is cause stress. Made sense for a while, but after thinking about it, "worry" can cause you to take action towards a positive outcome.

So, in conclusion, it is my opinion that no emotion is useless. Just because the emotion is not necessarily positive, does not mean that it cannot be used towards a positive end.

But, hey, I'm just a Star Trek junkie with too much time on his hands...what do you guys think?
I think you are correct. Every emotion humans feel developed in response to some survival need. Emotions are there to call our attention to something in the environment to which we should pay attention. As such, they are highly useful.

Worry gives you stress. But by dealing with stress, you learn to control stress, and in turn grow stonger. A useless emotion is one that you don't learn from.

great line!

if you didn't have worry then you wouldn't get stress and so there would be no need to learn to control stress :p

Being the spiritualist that I am, I believe all emotions have a purpose, even those that do not often have positive outcomes. I couldn't explain all the specifics of this belief, as it is mostly faith, but if you can overcome those emotions that cause conflict between persons (ie: the seven deadly sins) you can become a better person.

On a slightly different note, though still within the parameters of the thread, my Western Civilization once told our class about a nomadic peoples who did not have words for regret, worry, and other such stuff (can't remember exactly) and then asked us our views on it. I was one of the people who said that I couldn't live like that. I'm a hopeless romantic, and I love conflict. I see conflict, be it internal or external, as the best way to better ourselves.

well.....in critical/high pressure circumstances...."despair" tends to be a useless emotion, often rendering the individual paralytic and unable to help themselves out of the situation......

Guilt is a useless, man-made emotional state, which is taught to children by their parents/carers to make them feel regret for actions they consider against their moral code. With guilt, you get a shitload of other negative emotions such as shame, humiliation, a longing for punishment and sometimes depression.

Remorse, on the other hand, is a much healthier emotion which many people confuse with guilt. Remorse is caused when one commits, and regrets an action that they consider against their own moral code, rather than those of another. With remorse you have the healthy desire to "make things right," to make amends for your wrong-doing.

It has been my belief that next to fear and hatred, love is the most ignorant abstract,

It has been my belief that next to fear and hatred, love is the most ignorant abstract,

There's a theory going around now that, if it wasn't for the ability of mammals to love, mammals would never have taken the dominant position in the world. The ability to devote oneself utterly to one's family and mate made us more likely to survive as a whole.

It has been my belief that next to fear and hatred, love is the most ignorant abstract,

Wrong. Love lifts us up where we belong - Where the eagles cry On a mountain high.

I dunno, I think I'm in love right now and it feels great.

Isn't it scientologists who believe all of our negative emotions are caused by spores in volcanoes that we breathe in when they erupt?



Sheesh, you would think those volcanos had disintegrated by now, after at least 8000 years of negative emotions :eek:

Sheesh, you would think those volcanos had disintegrated by now, after at least 8000 years of negative emotions :eek:

Surprising, but true. It's why I own the the Ronco Thetan Scraper 5000. It removes those filthy buggers and leaves your soul as fresh as a summer's eve.

Guilt is a useless, man-made emotional state, which is taught to children by their parents/carers to make them feel regret for actions they consider against their moral code. With guilt, you get a shitload of other negative emotions such as shame, humiliation, a longing for punishment and sometimes depression.

Remorse, on the other hand, is a much healthier emotion which many people confuse with guilt. Remorse is caused when one commits, and regrets an action that they consider against their own moral code, rather than those of another. With remorse you have the healthy desire to "make things right," to make amends for your wrong-doing.



Even in a secular sense, guilt is entirely necessary for the preservation of society.

Even in a secular sense, guilt is entirely necessary for the preservation of society.

How so? I agree with Mindset that remorse is necessary.....guilt entirely useless.....

Even in a secular sense, guilt is entirely necessary for the preservation of society.
Nonsense. Guilt damages society by creating unhappiness. Remorse motivates individuals to improve.

Nonsense. Guilt damages society by creating unhappiness. Remorse motivates individuals to improve.



The alleviation of guilt is one of the primary reasons that criminals occasionally turn themselves in. It's also an imperative deterrent to crime beforehand.

I suppose guilt, as a man-made emotion, is worthless; but since it's man-made, it can't be counted among the deepest of human emotions, such as remorse, and therefore I do not count it in my evaluation of emotions. Name for me some more man-made emotions, if there are any, so I can be on the lookout for these and guard against them.

The alleviation of guilt is one of the primary reasons that criminals occasionally turn themselves in. It's also an imperative deterrent to crime beforehand.
You're confusing guilt with remorse - only a criminal who's experiencing remorse would "make amends" and turn themselves in. If they were simply experiencing guilt, they'd lock it up inside and become depressed.

I suppose guilt, as a man-made emotion, is worthless; but since it's man-made, it can't be counted among the deepest of human emotions, such as remorse, and therefore I do not count it in my evaluation of emotions. Name for me some more man-made emotions, if there are any, so I can be on the lookout for these and guard against them.
I'm not sure if there are any man-made "emotions." I suppose at a stretch you could call envy artificial (being created by a capitalist society), if you bothered to distinguish it from jealousy. (The distinction is subtle, jealousy involves the wish to keep what one has, and envy the wish to get what one does not have. Thus, you'd be jealous of affection granted to your siblings, but envious of your friend's new bike.)

You're confusing guilt with remorse - only a criminal who's experiencing remorse would "make amends" and turn themselves in. If they were simply experiencing guilt, they'd lock it up inside and become depressed.



When describing crimes and/or immoral acts, guilt and remorse are practically interchangable anyway, are they not?



guilt ( P ) Pronunciation Key (glt)
n.
The fact of being responsible for the commission of an offense. See Synonyms at blame.
Law. Culpability for a crime or lesser breach of regulations that carries a legal penalty.

Remorseful awareness of having done something wrong.
Self-reproach for supposed inadequacy or wrongdoing.
Guilty conduct; sin.





re·morse ( P ) Pronunciation Key (r-môrs)
n.
Moral anguish arising from repentance for past misdeeds; bitter regret. See Synonyms at penitence.
Obsolete. Compassion.

I'm not sure if there are any man-made "emotions." I suppose at a stretch you could call envy artificial (being created by a capitalist society), if you bothered to distinguish it from jealousy. (The distinction is subtle, jealousy involves the wish to keep what one has, and envy the wish to get what one does not have. Thus, you'd be jealous of affection granted to your siblings, but envious of your friend's new bike.)

I'm not sure your distinctions are quite correct. At least, envy is far older than capitalism. I could double-check your distinctions, but I'm about to fall asleep as it is, and reading that kind of stuff doesn't really keep me awake.

You're confusing guilt with remorse - only a criminal who's experiencing remorse would "make amends" and turn themselves in. If they were simply experiencing guilt, they'd lock it up inside and become depressed.

Hmm. I dunno, I've felt guilt before and fessed up to what I was doing wrong. The two are essentially the same thing.

Speaking as a severely depressive (bipolar II) female, I can tell you that there is such a thing as a useless emotion - any emotion generated by random misfiring neurons or hormonal imbalances rather than actual circumstances. I'm sure most of the women on this forum have at least once had the utterly thrilling experience of being Really Really Upset for no apparent reason other than the time of the month, and would agree that that's pretty useless. Depression is slightly iffier, since there are demonstrated correlations between depression/bipolar and intelligence and creativity, but crippling despair itself can still be said to be fairly useless, I think.

Speaking as a severely depressive (bipolar II) female, I can tell you that there is such a thing as a useless emotion - any emotion generated by random misfiring neurons or hormonal imbalances rather than actual circumstances. I'm sure most of the women on this forum have at least once had the utterly thrilling experience of being Really Really Upset for no apparent reason other than the time of the month, and would agree that that's pretty useless. Depression is slightly iffier, since there are demonstrated correlations between depression/bipolar and intelligence and creativity, but crippling despair itself can still be said to be fairly useless, I think.
*Emphasis added

Not if you overcome that 'crippling despair' and become a stronger and better person for it. This is coming from a 16 year old diagnosed with clinical depression who has, with the help of family and friends, overcome crippling despair.

*Emphasis added

Not if you overcome that 'crippling despair' and become a stronger and better person for it. This is coming from a 16 year old diagnosed with clinical depression who has, with the help of family and friends, overcome crippling despair.

A fair response. :) And my ideas are coming from a 20-something who was first diagnosed ten years ago and still hasn't gotten rid of the stupid crippling despair. (Like I said, though, I acknowledge that clinical depression and bipolar do come with some perks, and the rush of knowing "I beat it!" could certainly be counted among them.)

I haven't exactly beaten it. I've overcome for periods of time. Clinical depression isn't something that goes away, since it's mostly chemical, at least in my case. I still have to take meds, and I do, on occasion, see a counselor. Something I'm upset about though, over a year ago my psychiatrist, the guy who gives me the meds not the person I talk to, said I could eventually ween off of my meds. Now he's saying I may have to take them for the rest of my life. Pisses me off.

Speaking as a severely depressive (bipolar II) female, I can tell you that there is such a thing as a useless emotion - any emotion generated by random misfiring neurons or hormonal imbalances rather than actual circumstances. I'm sure most of the women on this forum have at least once had the utterly thrilling experience of being Really Really Upset for no apparent reason other than the time of the month, and would agree that that's pretty useless. Depression is slightly iffier, since there are demonstrated correlations between depression/bipolar and intelligence and creativity, but crippling despair itself can still be said to be fairly useless, I think.


How could I have forgotten!? Although it does give us the excuse to get away with more than we normally would :D

i would have to say self-pity is a rather useless emotion, all it does is make you look at your life as if it's incredibly crap and there's nothing you can do to change it. it's been pissing me off a lot latley.

Anything to do with oneself is rather pointless. That's to say pity, loathing etc.

all it does is make you look at your life

However, I suppose it can be argued that it can be used to reflect upon somebody, which in turn can be used to improve ones life!

I think the one where the smiley puts his middle finger up at you is useless, all it does is cause flaming.

Emotions are grossly overrated. We're living in an emocracy these days.

Can you really consider any emotion useless. If you remove one emotion then the opposite emotion is also removed because there would be no way to differentiate between them.

Feel free to pick holes in this because i'm very tired and might not be thinking straight

I would say that feelings of regret are the most useless emotions. You could argue you can learn from things you regret, but the point is that you actually regret that you did them in the first place, and you can do sod all about that. I also think resentment is somewhat useless, but even more than that, it's self-corrosive.

I dunno, I think I'm in love right now and it feels great.
I'm in lust and that feels great too! :D

Fear of something that cannot harm you is pretty damned useless.

Not if you overcome that 'crippling despair' and become a stronger and better person for it. This is coming from a 16 year old diagnosed with clinical depression who has, with the help of family and friends, overcome crippling despair.
Yayyyy! [ cheers wildly ]

Not if you overcome that 'crippling despair' and become a stronger and better person for it. This is coming from a 16 year old diagnosed with clinical depression who has, with the help of family and friends, overcome crippling despair.
Yayyyy! [ cheers wildly ]

So many emotions are useless or come up when it is not necessary to an extreme that is unnecessary. Emotions might be good if they could be consciously controlled with some ease. Most of the time our emotions get in the way of our functioning. Anger can cause people to do stupid things and go to jail or lose respect. Sadness can hurt an individual if it is undeserved. Anxiety can wreck many things if it is out of control. Lust can interfere with other thinking and even to some extent morality(have to have some control or otherwise you start sharing a bed with your cousins). Infatuation can defy logic for a being that may not be deserving of your attention or the depth of your desire. Fear can hold people back. Extreme happiness and extreme optimism can fail to see the bad side of things. Undeserved guilt can keep people from functioning. Emotions need to be controlled and used to get an individual's goals accomplished.

guilt

Bewilderment?

But bewilderment is so much fun, and a really funny word :p

Here's a philosophical question for ya'. Is there such thing as a useless emotion, i.e. one that can produce no positive effect.

In my attempts to reduce stress (Crohns + Stress = OW), I've heard people call "worry" a useless emotion, because all it can do is cause stress. Made sense for a while, but after thinking about it, "worry" can cause you to take action towards a positive outcome.

So, in conclusion, it is my opinion that no emotion is useless. Just because the emotion is not necessarily positive, does not mean that it cannot be used towards a positive end.

But, hey, I'm just a Star Trek junkie with too much time on his hands...what do you guys think?

For the most part I agree. Emotions are just like any other stimuli, information. It can be used positively, negatively or not at all.

So many emotions are useless or come up when it is not necessary to an extreme that is unnecessary. Emotions might be good if they could be consciously controlled with some ease. Most of the time our emotions get in the way of our functioning. Anger can cause people to do stupid things and go to jail or lose respect. Sadness can hurt an individual if it is undeserved. Anxiety can wreck many things if it is out of control. Lust can interfere with other thinking and even to some extent morality(have to have some control or otherwise you start sharing a bed with your cousins). Infatuation can defy logic for a being that may not be deserving of your attention or the depth of your desire. Fear can hold people back. Extreme happiness and extreme optimism can fail to see the bad side of things. Undeserved guilt can keep people from functioning. Emotions need to be controlled and used to get an individual's goals accomplished.

The emotions really aren't the problem here, it is the lack of self-control and or capacity to make use of the information they provide in a productive manner.

depression is completely useless. not the kind you get happy pills for, i mean those annoying emo/gothy kids (my life is a dark pit of darkness...) who sit in a dark corner and feel sorry for themselves and cry and write bad poetry. no good can come of it.

Ah - Star Trek fans! So I'm not the only one then ^^

I don't think any emotion is 'useless' - each serves to show us our limitations, our hopes, and our dreams...

For the Star Trek fans out there though - heh - this is my favourite description of a use for an emotion ^^

"I've know fear. It's a very healthy thing most of the time. You warn us of danger, remind us of our limits, protect us from carelessness. I've learned to trust fear."