Why Emotions are Necessary

My perception of the difference is that emotions are our physiological responses to stimuli - changes in muscle tension, heart rate, stress hormones etc... and that our feelings are our perceptions and interpretations of those physiological responses. We are able to consider and reflect upon our feelings, and consciously choose whether to act upon them or not.

I think animals experience emotions much like we do in that they have a physiological fear and aggression response, but they are unable to make the step to consider or reflect upon those physiological changes, and only act upon them instinctively.

There is a thread in which the question of value of emotions has arisen. For me the answer seems obvious. The emotions we feel are what make us human. Without emotions we’d be machines. But I thought to delve a bit deeper into this subject. I looked for references in some of my books to find a ‘logical’ reason that we humans are endowed with feelings and emotions.

I first took another look at the book, “Self Comes to Mind; Constructing the Conscious Brain” by Antonio Damasio. Damasio is a professor of neuroscience, psychology and neurology at the University of Southern California. His other writings include “Descartes’ Error: Emotion, Reason and the Human Brain”; The Feeling of What Happens: Body and Emotion in the Making of Consciousness”; “Looking for Spinoza: Joy, Sorrow, and the Feeling Brain.”

Damasio makes a distinction between emotions and feelings. From his description I learn that I have been wrong when I’ve stated that it is emotions that make us human. Emotion, he states, belong to many classes of organisms and that its purpose is nothing less than life regulation. Emotion involves reward and punishment, drives and motivation and feelings. I won’t go on about his explanation of what defines the differences between emotion and feelings because to be honest, it’s quite confusing to me and he includes a lot of brain science in his explanation. But I will quote some passages that may help explain the purpose of emotions and feelings.

Damasio has identified particular groups of emotions. One such group he labels “social emotions”. “Examples of main social emotions easily justify the label – compassion, embarrassment, shame, guilt, contempt, jealousy, envy, pride, admiration. These emotions are indeed triggered in social situations, and they certainly play prominent roles in the life of social groups…Social emotions incorporate a number of moral principles and form a natural grounding for ethical systems.”

So here is just one very clear reason why emotions are important. Without them we could not have ethics. Damasio goes on to explore the emotions of admiration and compassion. He writes, “Predicaments of every sort abound in daily life, and unless individuals behave compassionately toward those who face them, the prospects of a healthy society are greatly diminished..”

I think animals experience emotions much like we do in that they have a physiological fear and aggression response, but they are unable to make the step to consider or reflect upon those physiological changes, and only act upon them instinctively.

I don't agree that the other animals are unable to consider or reflect -- just generally less able than humans. I know my cats have learned to defer reactions to their emotions; they learn over time, as we do.