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Okay, I'll phrase it more strongly: Emotions as such are good, from sorrow to rage to joy. Each one is a good response to some situations, as far as I can tel

Okay, I'll phrase it more strongly: Emotions as such are good, from sorrow to rage to joy. Each one is a good response to some situations, as far as I can tell. Your emotional response can be misplaced, so that you experience an inappropriate emotional in some situations. As noted elsewhere in the thread, you can also be inspired by your emotions to inappropriate (and just terrible) behavior. The emotions themselves, though, are not shitty. Recognizing them and understanding where they're coming from can be tremendously helpful in aligning your actions with reality and your own values, and even in discovering what your own values are. I share this perspective not out of a sense of superiority but in the hope that it helps someone else avoid my mistakes.

robertlagrant 5y ago
I don't see the point in saying emotions are automatically good, but also inappropriate. This just seems like a segregation of two concepts that don't need separating. E.g. saying "I think people of type X are bad so I feel hatred towards them" is a good emotion but misplaced, vs is a bad emotion? I don't see the useful distinction.
- NateEag 5y ago
  People often try to eliminate emotions from their lives, whether some specific ones or all of them. It's called "repression" and it can really mess you up. I don't mean that emotional responses are automatically good - I mean that emotions, as abstract entities, are inherently good. I'm not so sure I'd call "hate" an emotion, so I'll try a different example. If I'm angry at someone because they told me I wrote a buffer overflow (and I actually did), that's an unreasonable and unhealthy response. The fact that I feel anger over it should impel me to introspection and working out why I'm angry over useful technical feedback. From there, I can move on to personal change so that I'm no longer inclined to be angry about good, helpful input. If I'm angry at someone because they sexually assaulted my wife, that's a healthy anger response. They've mistreated her horribly and my anger on her behalf should push me to protect her and seek justice. How exactly I act on that anger matters, though - physically intervening so they cannot continue to hurt my wife then calling the police would be good. Pulling out a pistol and shooting them would not. Does that clarify my thoughts at all?
  - robertlagrant 5y ago
    I appreciate the explanation, but it doesn't really seem to justify making the distinction. Calling all emotions axiomatically good, but also saying that they are "unhealthy" if they're "inappropriate responses" still seems unnecessary.

robertlagrant 5y ago

I don't see the point in saying emotions are automatically good, but also inappropriate. This just seems like a segregation of two concepts that don't need separating. E.g. saying "I think people of type X are bad so I feel hatred towards them" is a good emotion but misplaced, vs is a bad emotion? I don't see the useful distinction.

NateEag 5y ago
People often try to eliminate emotions from their lives, whether some specific ones or all of them. It's called "repression" and it can really mess you up. I don't mean that emotional responses are automatically good - I mean that emotions, as abstract entities, are inherently good. I'm not so sure I'd call "hate" an emotion, so I'll try a different example. If I'm angry at someone because they told me I wrote a buffer overflow (and I actually did), that's an unreasonable and unhealthy response. The fact that I feel anger over it should impel me to introspection and working out why I'm angry over useful technical feedback. From there, I can move on to personal change so that I'm no longer inclined to be angry about good, helpful input. If I'm angry at someone because they sexually assaulted my wife, that's a healthy anger response. They've mistreated her horribly and my anger on her behalf should push me to protect her and seek justice. How exactly I act on that anger matters, though - physically intervening so they cannot continue to hurt my wife then calling the police would be good. Pulling out a pistol and shooting them would not. Does that clarify my thoughts at all?
- robertlagrant 5y ago
  I appreciate the explanation, but it doesn't really seem to justify making the distinction. Calling all emotions axiomatically good, but also saying that they are "unhealthy" if they're "inappropriate responses" still seems unnecessary.