[Omniverse]

Note to Reader: I attempt to explain why my positive emotions are the only things that can make my life beautiful and worth living. If this explanation is incoherent gibberish to you, then I don't know what to say. I've tried my best to explain. My emotions have always been the only source of perceived value in my life. I never recall a single given moment in my life where I perceived value independent of my emotions. So, from my perspective, there is no more value to life than our emotions. With all of this being said, here is the explanation:

When you feel a certain emotion whether it be misery, despair, love, or peace, those emotions are actually the perception of value (i.e. the perception of good, bad, beauty, joy, horror, or disgust). The positive emotions are the perception of beauty and good values and the negative emotions are the perception of bad values. So, you need positive emotions to make your life good or beautiful and you need negative emotions to make your life bad, horrible, or disgusting. Having no emotions (apathy) would only render your life without any perceived value.

People might disagree that emotions are perceptions of value since they might say to me that emotions are nothing more than biochemical induced states in the brain. But I think people are in denial. For example, a person might say to me that, even though he feels that his life is horrible or that he feels like his mother is a disgusting person, that he doesn't perceive his life as horrible or his mother as disgusting because his emotions don't rule his perception. But I would say to him that all mental states whether they be feelings, thoughts, sounds, smells, colors, etc. are perceptions.

So, when a person feels that his life is horrible or his mother is disgusting, that is no different than saying he perceives his life as horrible or his mother as disgusting. Given this, I think people are in denial of their own emotions. They think they are nothing more than feelings and they think they are in charge when it comes to perceiving value in their lives. I don't think we are in charge. I think it can only be our emotions that allow us to truly perceive value. When a depressed person claims he is perceiving beauty in his life without his positive emotions, this would actually be false.

Thinking of something whether it be value, sounds, colors, smells, physical pain, hunger, thirst, etc. is not the same thing as perceiving those things. You can believe the words "I am hungry," or "I am thirsty," but that's not the same thing as actually being hungry or thirsty. Hunger and thirst are mental states since they are produced by the brain. Therefore, hunger and thirst would be considered perceptions. In order to perceive hunger and thirst, then you need to feel hungry and thirsty. Likewise, to perceive value, you need to feel positive or negative emotions.

I need to be in the mental state that brings my life real perceived beauty and joy. That mental state would be my positive emotions. Words alone will not bring my life any real perceived value just as how words alone will not give me hunger or thirst. As you can see here, our intellect (thinking) does allow us to perceive certain things. It allows us to perceive certain truths such as the idea that we all need a heart to live or that there is a tree in your yard. But, to perceive value, that requires your emotions. Likewise, to perceive the color red, then you need to actually see red rather than simply thinking of red. Having the word "red" in your mind is not the same thing as actually perceiving red.

This means red is an actual thing. It is a mental state. If you want more red in your life, then you need to perceive more and more red. Likewise, if you want more beauty in your life, then you need to feel more and more positive emotions. I would actually treat value as a materialistic thing like money. If you want to be rich, then you need more and more money in your life. Just thinking of money and believing you are rich isn't enough to give you money. It won't make money magically fall from the sky into your lap.

Unfortunately, there are poor people and then there are rich people. Likewise, there are people rich in the good value, worth, and beauty in their lives since they have a lot of positive emotions. But then there are the depressed, miserable people who are very poor on the beauty and worth in their lives since they don't have much positive emotions. A person who battles a lifelong struggle of depression and misery who believes he is rich in the beauty and joy in his life would, thus, be no different than a poor person believing he's rich when he's not.

So, all those miserable, depressed genius artists who believed their lives were beautiful and worthwhile were believing a lie since they could perceive very little to no beauty and worth in their lives as long as they had very little to no positive emotions. But the people who could enjoy these works of art through their positive emotions had much beauty and worth in their lives. Lastly, here is the emotional perception theory of value that many emotional theorists and neuroscientists support. Some people disagree with it though. But I agree with it.

According to this theory, value is a synonym for our emotions which means, if you want certain values in your life, then you need to feel certain emotions. That's why I treat value as a materialistic thing like money. As you can see here, I define perceived value as being our emotions rather than our intellect, morality, and character which would mean that our intellect, morality, and character does not allow us to perceive any real value.

Rather, it can only allow us to perceive the idea of value, the idea of hunger and thirst, the idea of colors, the idea of sounds, etc. Sure, it can send signals to other areas of the brain to make us feel hungry or thirsty if we thought of our favorite food or beverage and it can send a signal to another area of the brain to make us hear certain sounds or see certain colors in our minds. But it, alone, doesn't allow us to perceive actual value, hunger, thirst, sounds, colors, etc.

In addition, it, alone, cannot allow us to perceive/experience any real emotions since there is no intellectual/moral form of emotions just as how there is no intellectual/moral form of hunger, thirst, smells, sounds, or colors. This means that the only real emotions are the primitive, instinctive ones. So, not only is humanity in denial when it comes to there being value founded upon intellect, morality, and character, but they are also in denial when it comes to them believing there are emotions founded upon intellect, morality, and character.

An example of the primitive instinctive emotions would be a feeling of excitement to go to the carnival, a feeling of sexual arousal, or a feeling of panic from being in a dangerous situation. It can only be our primitive, instinctive positive emotions that allow us to perceive beauty, joy, love, and good value in our lives. That's the only way we as human beings can truly see things in life from a positive perspective. Sadly, positive emotions are very fleeting things which means that the only thing that can make my life something positive, good, beautiful, and worth living for is something very fleeting.

I will say one last thing here. When our lives have perceived value, that's no different than saying our lives matter to us. Our lives can either matter to us in good and beautiful ways (our positive emotions) or in bad, horrible, and disgusting ways (our negative emotions). I need my life to matter to me in beautiful ways through my positive emotions. I wouldn't want to have any negative emotions in my life or any apathy which would render my life not mattering to me at all. With all of that being said, here is the link to the emotional perception theory of value:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/...9.2011.00518.x

[Blues47]

Originally Posted by Omniverse

I need my life to matter to me in beautiful ways through my positive emotions.

I envy you...it's been so long since I've had positive emotions that I've given up on wanting them much less needing them.

[Nix]

Sometimes I just really long for no emotions whatsoever, because that would be a heckuva lot easier.

[Omniverse]

I would like to share a discussion I had with someone in regards to my worldview. Other people can read it to gain further insight about me and my values:

Other Person's Response: It doesn't matter how a person feels. What matters is what a person does with his life and what contributions or impact he's made.

My Reply: I vehemently disagree based upon my own personal experience which was something powerful and profound. It's all about the experience because perception and experience are the same thing. As long as you cannot perceive the color red, then you aren't experiencing the color red and vice versa. As long as you cannot perceive any value in your life, then you aren't experiencing value either. Like I said earlier, I think it can only be our positive emotions that allow us to experience beauty and joy in our lives.

I can come up with words to describe positive emotions. Positive emotions come in various forms whether it be feelings of love, joy, beauty, attraction, fun, or adventure. So, I would describe positive emotions as being beauty, love, joy, attraction, fun, wild, and adventurous. Our intellect, morality, and character alone cannot give us such an amazing experience which means nothing else can give us such a beautiful experience.

Sure, a depressed or miserable person can choose to go on an adventure. But he would be left out of the whole experience since he wouldn't be able to perceive/experience any beauty, joy, or fun in his life without his positive emotions. The more positive emotions you have and the more profound and intense you experience them, the greater beauty, fun, and joy your life has.

Other Person's Response: I think our intellect, morality, and character really can give us such an experience.

My Reply: Consider any amazing or beautiful experience in your life to be a golden gem that shines very bright. Can your intellect, morality, and character alone give you that gem? No, it can't. That gem is an actual thing and just thinking of that gem won't give you that gem and believing you have that gem won't give you that gem either. That gem would be our positive emotions.

If you lose that gem due to any number of factors whether it be clinical depression or emotional trauma, then you are screwed for the time being until you can regain that gem. It's only once you regain that gem would your life be filled with beauty, joy, and greatness. That's the reason why I give up on my life and hobbies whenever I lose my positive emotions because my life and hobbies are without any value for the time being.

Other Person's Response: If there is a god, then I think our purpose here on Earth is something far more than just hedonistic pleasure-seeking.

My Reply: If there is a god, then I think our positive emotions are god's holy light within us. Without his holy light, then we become dead and empty on the inside. So, my worldview would be a religious form of hedonism. In case you wish to know what hedonism is, hedonism is a philosophy which states that positive emotions are the only good things in life and negative emotions are the only bad things in life.

So, hedonism is a philosophy which states that having fun and enjoying our lives is the only beautiful and worthwhile life to live. Life was meant to be a beautiful, happy, fun adventure. It was never meant to be a miserable struggle since such a life is nothing good or beautiful. It is the worst hell. Sadly, we live a life where it's mostly a miserable struggle since so many people struggle with depression and misery. That is very unfortunate and sad.

Other Person's Response: According to your worldview, a miserable, struggling person making the best of his life and contributing to the world would be a life that is nothing good or beautiful. But a person paralyzed in a bed his whole entire life in a state of profound bliss would be living a very beautiful life.

My Reply: Correct. Again, it's not about what we do with our lives or what contributions we make. It's about what mental state we are in. As long as you are not in the mental state that allows you to truly perceive and experience any value in your life, then your life is empty and without any value. What would it matter to that person if you told him that his life still has value and worth? It wouldn't matter to him because, without his ability to perceive value and worth, then his life really is without value and worth from his perspective.

Given this, it would be much better off for you to become a paralyzed person in a bed feeling bliss his whole entire life rather than you being a miserable/depressed person living the life of his dreams. It wouldn't matter how much luxury or riches you have. Without your positive emotions, none of it can be anything beautiful in your life.

Other Person's Response: My life doesn't need any value. As long as I have made the lives of others valuable, then that's what matters.

My Reply: But without your ability to perceive that as something valuable, then it wouldn't matter to you. That's why you need to feel positive emotions when making the lives of others valuable to perceive it as something beautiful and worthwhile. So many depressed, miserable people are deluding themselves into believing that they are perceiving beauty and worth in their lives independent of their positive emotions when none of that's true. People wish to go beyond their emotions and instead wish to base their values on things such as self-sacrifice or altruism. But you still need your positive emotions to perceive moments, things, and situations in your life as beautiful and worth living for.