It seems that the answer to the question “what is emotion?” changes
depending upon the perspective invoked.
From the perspective of the layman, emotion encompasses various states
of mind from happy and sad to angry and fearful. Explaining what emotions are usually seems to
elicit a description of experiencing these feelings without a hypothesis as to
what underlies them.
Of course, there are other, more intricate perspectives
which are too numerous to explore here.
However, it is perhaps most appropriate to consider emotions from a
neuroscientific standpoint, and I think any scientifically useful definition of
emotion must draw upon its neurological underpinnings. The issue is hardly settled, but I’ve seen
theories explaining emotion as cognitive interpretations of bodily states as
well as heuristics that provide information or motivation without having to
refer directly to conscious cognition. As
to whether emotions arise from interpretations of bodily states or are the
result of cognitive processes causing these states, I do not know enough to
speak. However, the heuristic model of
emotion seems to make sense from an evolutionary perspective. For example, it would seem more adaptive for
an organism to experience fear immediately and react to that motivation rather
than having to reason through the situation before responding.
In any case, I believe that a definition of emotion must
involve an evolutionary understanding of its function (from its possible role
as a social signal as well as its role in motivating action) as well as an
understanding of the underlying biology and neurobiology.
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