Re: Emotions

From: Stathis Papaioannou <stathisp.domain.name.hidden>
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2008 21:14:40 +1100

2008/10/24 Kim Jones <kimjones.domain.name.hidden>:
>
>
> On 24/10/2008, at 4:14 PM, Brent Meeker wrote:
>
>> I'm not sure what distinction you're making. As far as I'm concerned
>> feelings=emotions.
>
> Brent which of the following portray 'feelings' and which portray
> 'emotions':
>
>
> I have a ( ) my uranium shares might go up soon
>
>
> I have a ( ) it might rain
>
>
> God exists. If you don't agree then you must be a freakin &+*&&*I
>
>
> I had a ( ) that someone was trying to manipulate me
>
>
> I had this ( ) that things will work out OK between us
>
>
> God does not exist. If you can't reason that you must be a &^*H*$!-AT_SYMBOL-
>
>
> I'm suggesting that emotions are tethered to survival need and
> protection of values etc.
>
> There is radical brain-chemistry change of state under emotions
>
> They have a physical effect on the organism having them that can be
> spotted easily by a 3rd party
>
> Feelings are mildly intellectual sensations of value that we have that
> give us a compass for general decision-making (not warefare or survival)
>
> Not the same chemistry involved at all

Perhaps what you're thinking of is autonomic arousal: racing heart,
flushing, sweating etc., mediated by the autonomic nervous system and
by the release of hormones such as adrenaline. The utility of this is
that it readies the animal for a fight-or-flight response, and
sometimes that it signals this readiness to observers. However, the
actual feeling is in the brain, not in the body. Your brain notices
how your body is responding, and this adds intensity to what you are
calling a feeling, turning it into what you are calling an emotion.
Panic attacks are an example of a positive feedback loop where this
gets out hand: you get anxious, causing your heart to race, you notice
this and get more anxious, causing your heart to race even more, etc.
The panic attack can be treated acutely with beta blockers, which
reduce the body's ability to react to anxiety, or benzodiazepines,
which reduce the brain's ability to feel anxiety and send signals to
the body causing arousal.


-- 
Stathis Papaioannou
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Received on Fri Oct 24 2008 - 06:14:55 PDT

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