Thoughts on the Conflict of Being Human
Just some random thoughts:
What does it mean to be human? There's something in the word, the concept, that we tend to value highly.
The French love to see their national cycling stars suffer, get beat, and cry because they think this demonstrates the rider is uber-human or something. The French hated Lance Armstrong because he was the opposite-he rarely if ever showed pain, he rarely got beat, and he never ever cried in public.
Its not just the French who place great value on being emotionally sensitive and expressive. I get the sense that Italians, the Spanish, and numerous other nationalities/races are really into feelings as well. (When I say "feelings", I'm including love and sexual desire)
One could make similar generalizations about the way other cultures tend to value controlled, purposeful use of mind and logic. The Germans, English, Dutch, Swiss... Total generalizations or pure stereotype, of course, but the point is, there exists these completely opposite traits that are both highly valued.
It doesn't make sense. Its either good to be guided by intelligence or its good to be guided by emotions. It can't be both (I'm sure it can, but let's roll with this for now).
We live to feel. If there were no feelings associated with the constant dialogue in our head, if feelings weren't possible, then what would be the purpose of living? For me, living is emotion. But our freedom comes from our ability to think things through, to control our emotions. If we lacked this ability, we'd be nothing more than animals acting impulsively.
So its an equation. Emotions x Thinking = Being Human. With us, they are inseperable components. Which sounds ridiculously obvious.
It doesn't change the underlying logical conflict, however. And the conflict within us. One thing we value the most-emotion. But that thing is what threatens to make us slaves if we don't control it. Emotion is the part of us that is the most programmed; through both genes, hereditry, chance, and the environment. Intelligence-knowledge and self awareness-is what guarantees our freedom; yet without the goal and guidance of emotion, intelligence alone is the stuff of mindless, souless computers. Both emotion and intellect can be explained in ways synomymous with programming, yet together they make us human. Its like two completely different codes in one. Perhaps its emotion x thinking = consciousness.
What does it mean to be human? There's something in the word, the concept, that we tend to value highly.
The French love to see their national cycling stars suffer, get beat, and cry because they think this demonstrates the rider is uber-human or something. The French hated Lance Armstrong because he was the opposite-he rarely if ever showed pain, he rarely got beat, and he never ever cried in public.
Its not just the French who place great value on being emotionally sensitive and expressive. I get the sense that Italians, the Spanish, and numerous other nationalities/races are really into feelings as well. (When I say "feelings", I'm including love and sexual desire)
One could make similar generalizations about the way other cultures tend to value controlled, purposeful use of mind and logic. The Germans, English, Dutch, Swiss... Total generalizations or pure stereotype, of course, but the point is, there exists these completely opposite traits that are both highly valued.
It doesn't make sense. Its either good to be guided by intelligence or its good to be guided by emotions. It can't be both (I'm sure it can, but let's roll with this for now).
We live to feel. If there were no feelings associated with the constant dialogue in our head, if feelings weren't possible, then what would be the purpose of living? For me, living is emotion. But our freedom comes from our ability to think things through, to control our emotions. If we lacked this ability, we'd be nothing more than animals acting impulsively.
So its an equation. Emotions x Thinking = Being Human. With us, they are inseperable components. Which sounds ridiculously obvious.
It doesn't change the underlying logical conflict, however. And the conflict within us. One thing we value the most-emotion. But that thing is what threatens to make us slaves if we don't control it. Emotion is the part of us that is the most programmed; through both genes, hereditry, chance, and the environment. Intelligence-knowledge and self awareness-is what guarantees our freedom; yet without the goal and guidance of emotion, intelligence alone is the stuff of mindless, souless computers. Both emotion and intellect can be explained in ways synomymous with programming, yet together they make us human. Its like two completely different codes in one. Perhaps its emotion x thinking = consciousness.
posted by Josh at
9:51 PM
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