Thank God... I'm gettin' low.

point for dork

tap doesn't want to be a whore :(

My pleasure!

Thanks O.A.!

I know quite few who are fortunate others have reason... :)

And there you have it!
Nice post khalling.
Regards,
O.A.

Nice post. I've read somewhere, I'm certain it was an objectivist article, starting that emotions are your bodies initial reaction to things. Used for making quick judgements on things that are good or bad. But you have to be able to analyze why and how your emotions came to be to make a conscious decision about whether they are right.

Justice! Thanks!

When I see what I've earned, all by myself...I smile. :)

We're all enamored with khallings comments. :) Well, except when she calls us 'whores' anyway. (Actually...I like that too. It contributes to the conversation in unexpected ways.)

Done.

I'm a point dork. I said, "Excellent!" and didn't even give you a point. lol I fixed it though.

It's broad but yes, I would agree to that.

yea, what's up with you getting the points and not me? lol

I'll propose (more formally) later, that all emotions derive from pain and pleasure based on one's ability to comprehend perceptual data from his senses within a given context.

Would you mind terribly giving khalling a point for this to put it back on top? It would be greatly appreciated!

I'll give you a point for this, but I'm much more enamored with your expanded comment ;).

Most excellent! I did read the Virtue of Selfishness, but I missed this bit. I wish I could give you more points.

I have much more to say on this, time permitting, but for now, please accept my gratitude for your contribution!

"Just as the pleasure-pain mechanism of man’s body is an automatic indicator of his body’s welfare or injury, a barometer of its basic alternative, life or death—so the emotional mechanism of man’s consciousness is geared to perform the same function, as a barometer that registers the same alternative by means of two basic emotions: joy or suffering. Emotions are the automatic results of man’s value judgments integrated by his subconscious; emotions are estimates of that which furthers man’s values or threatens them, that which is for him or against him—lightning calculators giving him the sum of his profit or loss.

But while the standard of value operating the physical pleasure-pain mechanism of man’s body is automatic and innate, determined by the nature of his body—the standard of value operating his emotional mechanism, is not. Since man has no automatic knowledge, he can have no automatic values; since he has no innate ideas, he can have no innate value judgments.

Man is born with an emotional mechanism, just as he is born with a cognitive mechanism; but, at birth, both are “tabula rasa.” It is man’s cognitive faculty, his mind, that determines the content of both. Man’s emotional mechanism is like an electronic computer, which his mind has to program—and the programming consists of the values his mind chooses.

But since the work of man’s mind is not automatic, his values, like all his premises, are the product either of his thinking or of his evasions: man chooses his values by a conscious process of thought—or accepts them by default, by subconscious associations, on faith, on someone’s authority, by some form of social osmosis or blind imitation. Emotions are produced by man’s premises, held consciously or subconsciously, explicitly or implicitly." Virtue of Selfishness," AR Lexicon

They do not arise just from perceptual reality. "lightening calculators giving him the sum of his profit or loss."
Objectivism explains emotions.
Emotions are not divorced from logic and reason.

Excellent!

Not exactly my strength, but almost every living organism has some form of 'reward and punishment' behavior response. One can say all behavior and emotions are based upon these with happiness, sadness and anger being the three base emotions hardwired into the brain.

This post is mostly a test to see if the Gulch would stomach an attempt to expand Objectivism to include a definition of emotions or reject it outright.

My thoughts on the matter are too near and dear to me to see them dismissed or distorted without any truly constructive criticism.

I agree with this and would add that reason is used on whether or not to act on those emotions. Example: You see a person you really dislike. You use reason to determine if you punch them in the face or just walk away.