Part one: Demystifying emotions
Here are the basic categories of emotions and what they mean:
Grief = lost a value
Joy = gained a value
Desire = pursuing a perceived value. If the emotion is validated by reason, means that one should pursue a value. It also means a deficit.
Aversion = avoiding a perceived disvalue
Love = source of value and pleasure
Indifference = source of pain and disvalue
Hope = perceived possibility of success
Despair = perceived as no possibility of success
Anger = some outside force or person has taken a value away from me
Gratitude = someone has helped me
Fear = perceived threat, uncertainty that requires action.
Relief = perceived removal of threat
Frustration = Perceive self as ineffective
Confidence = perceive self as effective
Guilt = perceived misbehavior
Pride = perceived as behaved morally.
Emotions are a higher order version of the pain and pleasure principle. They are the first step of evaluation and indicate a relationship. They are a reaction to what you are convinced of being true (your convictions), are automatic and do not comprehend reality objectively. That’s why I used the word “perceived” in the above list.
Part two: Emotional vitality
Emotions of high vitality:
Joy
Love
Optimism/Hope
Pride
Confidence
Gratitude
Desire
This is where you are difficult to control,
attractive to others, indicates effectiveness,
strong frame (sense of reality/self), long term self-control, and is a result of rationality.
Emotions of low vitality:
Grief
Fear
Despair
Guilt
Frustration
Anger
Indifference
This is where you are easy to control,
unattractive to others, indicates ineffectiveness,
weak frame, long term lack of self-control, and is a result of lack of rationality.
*Notice that much of the origins of emotions are related to the effectiveness of your agency. Effective agency = attractive, ineffective agency = unattractive.
Part three: Rationality as a necessity to improve emotional vitality and emotional intelligence
Emotions are not the source of objective knowledge. Knowledge is contextual and only comes from reason. Emotions are automatic reactions to stimuli and are not structured to properly comprehend reality. That is why people do stupid things when they are emotional. It is also why we have a ‘no contact’ thread on this forum.
Ultimately there are two ways to gain emotional intelligence. Recognizing your own emotional states and what causes them, thereby uncovering your values. The other is to recognize patterns in communication (verbal and non-verbal) from other people. Emotional intelligence requires pattern recognition. However those who are emotionally ‘intelligent’ usually make the mistake of not validating these patterns using their rational faculty; unbeknownst to them, they often become whim worshipers and misinterpret reality through their reason evading, evaluative mental process.
Everyone, including women and children, want to be in a more rational state. Whim worshipers become unhappy in the long term because the mind suffers without rationality. This is where the problem of accountability comes into play. The principle of accountability is rationality; action demands knowledge and knowledge requires rationality. Moving into a more rational state is attractive and increases emotional vitality. Being irrational hinders all other virtues, including productiveness, justice, integrity, etc.
Rationality clarifies emotions and raises emotional vitality. Emotional manipulation is rooted in dishonesty. Effective emotional manipulation requires rationality in the manipulator, but it also destroys rationality in the manipulatee. A person who can manipulate someone’s emotions is attractive at first, but then becomes unattractive when the manipulated person discovers the dishonesty or moves into a less rational, disorderly state. Those who thrive from emotional manipulation hate rationality; Hatred of the rational comes from the desire for the unearned.
Part four: Clarity in thought increases emotional intensity
Emotion intensity is a matter of clarity. If a situation is clear, and clearly impacts you, you will feel a more intense emotional response. Mental clarity will help bring about stronger emotions. Alternatively, whim worshipers (guided by emotions) ironically do not have strong emotional responses. Strong emotional response combined with a strong emotional vitality increases the motivation for productivity.
Part five: Suppression versus repression
Suppression is the correct way to deal with emotions when you are required to be rational. First you recognize an emotion, accept it, then suppress it by refocusing on the rational aspects of the situation. In this way you are leading instead of being led.
Thinking about texting your recent ex? Remember:
Observe --→ Accept --→ Refocus
Something that should be added here is that there is a difference between suppression and repression. Emotional repression is evasion. You can retrieve repressed emotions by examining your personal history without evading.
Conclusion
The virtue of rationality and all other derivative virtues produce clarity in thought and therefore emotional health. Rationality is also required for emotional intelligence because effectiveness requires clarity. By improving the rational faculty you will become more attractive, help solve the political problems of today, and help improve the attractiveness of others by holding them accountable to reason.
References:
"What Emotions Are" by Harry Binswanger
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b92mnH3n6Kw
“Emotions & Values 101” by Jean Moroney
https://www.thinkingdirections.com/
“Power vs. Force: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior” by Dr. David R. Hawkins
https://www.amazon.com/Power-vs-Force-David-Hawkins-ebook/dp/B00EJBABS2
(chart attached from the first post in this thread)
“Book of Pook”
https://bookofpook.com/
As well as my personal insights and observations.
Happiness = Joy+Pride+Confidence+Love
Love is the reflection of a value, what makes one feel good.
Happiness is the opposite of suffering.
Suffering = Frustration + Despair
Despair is exacerbated by guilt.
States of vitality:
Suffering Serenity Contentment Ever greater joy
Shrinking life Expanding life
It takes a stimulus to be aware of an emotion
Expending time and energy while accomplishing nothing or little weakens the emotional capacity for work. Demoralization.