tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post448098744381245675..comments2024-03-28T18:36:46.949-05:00Comments on Althouse: If emotion is inherently a component of reasoning and decisionmaking, is it wrong to discuss our political opinions in terms of how we "feel"?Ann Althousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01630636239933008807noreply@blogger.comBlogger65125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-21876170474483089852016-05-03T03:21:17.125-05:002016-05-03T03:21:17.125-05:00The particular feel of the brain suctioned out of ...The particular feel of the brain suctioned out of the skull is a feeling of continuing disparate decadeswise notoutpact with blacks bottom. Surely this was and is by design. Of Satan. Who else profits?<br /><br />They will never have a context to voice anything, which nature accorded them at conception although that alone was and is and will never be a guarantee to be heard.Guildofcannonballshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10352588747567045751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-66204209568591711872016-05-03T01:32:56.768-05:002016-05-03T01:32:56.768-05:00This is all an ad for Gwen Ifil. I feel.
Because...This is all an ad for Gwen Ifil. I feel. <br /><br />Because Obama.<br /><br />Math genius is inspired by much more than the idea of potential unheralded obscurity save among those one probably wouldn't want to associate with in any nonmathematical endeavour. Young men with visions of ruling the world Dr. Evil style are some of the child's mind's emotions as the synopses fire oddly creating later results as proven by others, regardless peerwise timewise, never having achieved those results even though possessing the same material as humans both previous and concurrent<br /><br />With robots changing the world rapidly so will emotions driving what seems to be rational, reasoned decisions to the maker of such, Freud labeled the process rationalization as it happens. Feel like it is too tough to approach a possible mate forever, intellectualize your fear with repeating over and over how thinking about the sadly shameful station of your lot is actually what empowers you to achieve escape from the phony dumbies who don't think all day every day a out how to convince themselves the world has screwed them by bestowing intelligence unequal upon them.Guildofcannonballshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10352588747567045751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-69544631129177992512016-05-02T21:38:24.817-05:002016-05-02T21:38:24.817-05:00When somebody says "I feel" it's not...When somebody says "I feel" it's not that they don't have reasons, it's that their not giving an explanation. Sometimes because it is compliacted, sometimes because they can't explain. But people can't explain everything they think. Can you explain how to recognize faces? If you can, you are a very good painter, maybe. Can you explain how to recognize what person is talking?Sammy Finkelmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05105012664741556033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-13650160101379280612016-05-02T20:10:50.578-05:002016-05-02T20:10:50.578-05:00I see the discussion has gotten to evolution and a...I see the discussion has gotten to evolution and anthropology.<br /><br />Read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/000-Year-Explosion-Civilization-Accelerated/dp/0465020429" rel="nofollow"> The 10,000 yea explosion and get back to me . </a> <br /><br />We cannot have an intelligent conversation about evolution and human history until you do.Michael Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18127450762129879267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-4695840789579955512016-05-02T19:12:13.714-05:002016-05-02T19:12:13.714-05:00Quaestor said...
F-nande: We're not in evoluti...<i>Quaestor said...<br />F-nande: We're not in evolutionary equilibrium<br /><br />That's not quite what I said.</i><br /><br />It's exactly what you said. Maybe it's not what you meant.<br /><br /><i>I was pointing out that the last 45,000 years is the longest period known in which there was only one extant member of genus Homo. That's the bubble, which is bound to burst.</i><br /><br />I don't see why it matters; ~300 of ~1100 reptile genera have one species.<br /><br />PS: you probably shouldn't reference Gould if you want to be taken seriously by people who are better informed than NYT readers.Fernandinandehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11253225431705407699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-80547245317677430322016-05-02T17:41:18.056-05:002016-05-02T17:41:18.056-05:00"Ann Althouse said...
@Qaestor Have you read ...<i>"Ann Althouse said...<br />@Qaestor Have you read "Descartes' Error"? Emotion is a necessary and inextricable part of reasoning. Your sense that it is not is itself emotional. I recommend learning about the human body, the brain, and the nervous system and coming to terms with the reality of being an organism."</i><br /><br />Professor, have you read Aquinas? Or more recently, anything on rational emotive behavior? The idea there is that first there is some triggering event. An individual has either a rational or irrational belief to interpret that event, and they respond with a healthy, or unhealthy, emotive response. Emotions are our servants, we get to control our emotions. Emotions are not superior to reason, unless you make them superior, because you are willing to let your emotions control you. Milwaukeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14830345164697669429noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-51139175831397898062016-05-02T17:13:09.842-05:002016-05-02T17:13:09.842-05:00We're not in evolutionary equilibrium
That...<i>We're not in evolutionary equilibrium</i><br /><br />That's not quite what I said. I was pointing out that the last 45,000 years is the longest period known in which there was only one extant member of genus Homo. That's the bubble, which is bound to burst.Quaestorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13688608372863540573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-60237477338282494712016-05-02T16:50:02.814-05:002016-05-02T16:50:02.814-05:00Quaestor said...
This is unfortunate because some ...<i>Quaestor said...<br />This is unfortunate because some research indicates that we're getting dumber, not smarter. </i><br /><br />There more variation; smart populations are getting smarter (far more opportunity for <a href="https://hbdchick.wordpress.com/2012/01/14/assortative-mating-and-the-selection-for-high-iq-in-some-medieval-european-populations/" rel="nofollow">assortive mating</a>), but so are dumb populations, it's just that dumb populations are having more kids (r/K mating strategies).<br /><br /><i>Worldwide the average human IQ is closer to 80 than 100.</i><br /><br />Most put it at about 90. What do you think it was 50,00 years ago?<br /><br /><i>As we get dumber and more impulsively emotional — observe the typical university campus today and compare it to itself 65 or 70 years ago — we shall see more war, crime, and terrorism, not less.</i><br /><br />There is less violence now than in the past. <a href="http://stevenpinker.com/publications/better-angels-our-nature" rel="nofollow">A lot less</a><br /><br /><i>All of recorded human history is contained within a bubble of evolutionary equilibrium, as Gould theorized. </i><br /><br />We're not in evolutionary equilibrium, quite the contrary, <a href="https://www.google.com/webhp#q=human+evolution+faster" rel="nofollow">humans are evolving far faster now than in the past</a>, and Gould was a dishonest and crummy scientist: <a href="http://infoproc.blogspot.com/2011/06/high-v-low-m.html" rel="nofollow">"Because of the excellence of his essays, he has come to be seen by non-biologists as the preeminent evolutionary theorist. In contrast, the evolutionary biologists with whom I have discussed his work tend to see him as a man whose ideas are so confused as to be hardly worth bothering with, but as one who should not be publicly criticized because he is at least on our side against the creationists."</a>Fernandinandehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11253225431705407699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-83291286983994259062016-05-02T16:19:29.379-05:002016-05-02T16:19:29.379-05:00I feel like a natural woman..... but at least I ge...I feel like a natural woman..... but at least I get to choose my own restroom.JAOREhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11819907966430540035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-60101261481170189502016-05-02T14:40:14.415-05:002016-05-02T14:40:14.415-05:00There are nascent minds nearly everywhere that wor...<i>There are nascent minds nearly everywhere that work without anything analogous to human emotion.</i><br /><br />Thinking through some applications of robotics of which I have some awareness I realized that I may gone a bit too far in that statement. The Mars rovers have a high degree of autonomy in how they move. They have to be since remote control at those distances (Mars may be as close as three light-minutes and as far away as twenty) is useless. Typically a rover is given a destination within its daylight travel range, but the exact route it takes to that destination is up to its onboard AI. One of the routines built into a rover's "mind" is meant to avoid an unforeseen fall. If one of its wheels suddenly looses traction one possible cause is that the wheel is no longer in contact with the ground, possibly suspended over the edge of a cliff or crevasse. The rover reacts by immediately applying full motor power to the other wheels in a direction away from the suspect wheel. The routine is informally known as a panic attack, though I doubt the rover feels fear. Its an example of fuzzy logic, which is really just the application of probability to a situation of imperfect data.Quaestorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13688608372863540573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-38132171802840647592016-05-02T14:09:43.194-05:002016-05-02T14:09:43.194-05:00Is “I feel” really “verbiage, stalling for time”? ...Is “I feel” really “verbiage, stalling for time”? It seems more like another way of saying “I believe,” which can communicate a deeper commitment to a concept than “I think.”Earnest Prolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07784404737843553158noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-25661133414828382022016-05-02T14:00:13.953-05:002016-05-02T14:00:13.953-05:00That professor would hate this song:
https://www.y...That professor would hate this song:<br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFIAouYD7Tw<br /><br />Edmundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11718740483011655096noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-77647119008319469472016-05-02T13:58:46.698-05:002016-05-02T13:58:46.698-05:00Logic works great in games with fixed rules and li...Logic works great in games with fixed rules and limited degrees of freedom. In the real world, uncertainty is unlimited making many logical solutions impossible to solve. Feeling is the imperfect interaction of a wild animal in a complex, dangerous world with limited resources beset with boobie traps and ambushes. Gamer logic chopping is for lemmings and other supercilious ninnies with bureaucratic minds. That said, fuzzy logic plays a vital roll in the interpretation of feelings to take appropriate actions in real time. Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01048255624944551506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-32171278050256340902016-05-02T13:54:11.378-05:002016-05-02T13:54:11.378-05:00I'll give Althouse a reading assignment that a...I'll give Althouse a reading assignment that a bit more up to date: <i>Original Intelligence</i> by David and Anna PremackQuaestorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13688608372863540573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-89803268435083361152016-05-02T13:48:24.052-05:002016-05-02T13:48:24.052-05:00Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Hum...<i>Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain,</i> copyright 1994.<br /><br />Is it necessary to point out that a lot of water has flowed under the bridges of neuropsychology, physical anthropology, and artificial intelligence in 22 years? Quaestorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13688608372863540573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-3533508479923078542016-05-02T13:30:27.087-05:002016-05-02T13:30:27.087-05:00Emotion is a necessary and inextricable part of re...<i>Emotion is a necessary and inextricable part of reasoning.</i><br /><br />Correction. Emotion is an inextricable part of the human mind, but it is not necessary or even relevant to higher reasoning. There is no mathematical operator called emotion. I wrote about the differences between ourselves and apes, which are more a matter of degree than kind. More than anything else emotions are what makes an ape mind what it is. By comparison with the apes humans are like Gene Roddenberry's Vulcans. What set us on the path to humanity was our ability to compartmentalize our emotional lives, a trend that may have started far back in out evolution. <br /><br />Perhaps the best way to distinguish our genus from the apes, besides bipedality, is our coolheadedness. Humans are the unexcitable apes. Without the explosions of rage and physical violence that are typical of African apes, our ancestors were able to form more stable social groups, which in turn allowed more long-lasting liaisons between adult males and their mates, which in turn permitted longer periods of infant dependency. Longer infancies made bigger brains possible. The larger human brain is still apelike in that emotional centers are closely associated spatially with cognitive centers — consequently we can hardly reason without an emotional response. Solve a Rubik's cube and one feels pleasure — the so-called "sense of accomplishment". Fail at some demanding intellectual task and one feels shame. Pride and shame are important to learning, we're proud of a Phi Beta Kappa key and ashamed of flunking, but they are not <b>inherently</b> necessary despite what Damasio might believe. There are nascent minds nearly everywhere that work without anything analogous to human emotion. They're called computers, and they may well be our successors.Quaestorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13688608372863540573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-29989503606463394042016-05-02T12:53:39.470-05:002016-05-02T12:53:39.470-05:00Will somebody please explain what part emotion or ...Will somebody please explain what part emotion or feeling play in proof of the Pythagorean theorem.mtrobertslawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16545529878898998880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-21897049374959456482016-05-02T12:52:10.365-05:002016-05-02T12:52:10.365-05:00Professor Vandiver said that the Ancient Greeks th...Professor Vandiver said that the Ancient Greeks thought that we think with our guts, rather than our brains, as that's what it feels like, IIRC.<br /><br />I find that hard to believe. But then again, I've also heard it said that Aristotle thought that the primary function of breathing was to cool the body and that Descartes thought the soul resided in the pineal gland. It was also a good long time before somebody figured out that the heart circulates blood, supposedly.<br /><br />Go figure.Eric the Fruit Bathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11003976042428037836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-66292445046540499952016-05-02T12:44:58.481-05:002016-05-02T12:44:58.481-05:00My support for the repeal of the 19th Amendment is...My support for the repeal of the 19th Amendment is not because I am angry with women, it is because I believe that most of them are unable to adequately control their emotions and vote logically.Gahriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16795449308207016641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-8669664195645783082016-05-02T12:38:38.301-05:002016-05-02T12:38:38.301-05:00NB: Using Feelings to decide what we are to do abo...NB: Using Feelings to decide what we are to do about problems is "The Woman Card."traditionalguyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05706120413005530014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-7085982472979464352016-05-02T12:38:15.573-05:002016-05-02T12:38:15.573-05:00Reason: think, understand, and form judgments by a...Reason: think, understand, and form judgments by a process of logic.<br /><br />logic: reasoning conducted or assessed according to strict principles of validity.<br /><br />feeling: a belief, especially a vague or irrational one.<br /><br />emotion: instinctive or intuitive feeling as distinguished from reasoning or knowledge.<br /><br />hysteria: uncontrollable emotion or excitement<br /><br />I have never understood your irrational support of irrationality. However I do believe it to be sincere...that's part of the problem. I sincerely believe that we should make decisions about issues based on rational thought, and you sincerely believe that decisions should be based on irrational feelings. you have even stated that you believe text should be interpreted through feelings rather than analyzed through logic.<br /><br />Gahriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16795449308207016641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-50199100422490010062016-05-02T12:33:22.754-05:002016-05-02T12:33:22.754-05:00Ann Althouse said...
Emotion is a necessary and in...<i>Ann Althouse said...<br />Emotion is a necessary and inextricable part of reasoning. </i><br /><br />It's the first step though. The next is to evaluate the triggers for each emotion as valid or invalid. Only after recognizing this and excising those conclusions reached via invalid emotions (like racism or envy) can one proceed to hold out the conclusions as worthy. <br /><br />This is not how modern activists use emotion though. They state conclusions in terms of feelings because feelings are not subject to rebuttal. If a person says they exist then they do. But since the emotions driving the politically useful conclusions are mainly attributable to envy and hate activists must end the process before the introspective examination occurs. And so they invented the "questioning my experiences" faux outrage to prevent this exposure.Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09159859859522615418noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-57701822053188488952016-05-02T12:32:17.420-05:002016-05-02T12:32:17.420-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09159859859522615418noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-12421629802664572552016-05-02T12:28:49.671-05:002016-05-02T12:28:49.671-05:00"I feel that" might be better than "..."I feel that" might be better than "I feel like".<br /><br />And I like your response to Qaestor, but "coming to terms with the reality of being a human being" would be nicer than "coming to terms with the reality of being an organism."Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02844540926490008214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-53677536308954680182016-05-02T12:07:11.230-05:002016-05-02T12:07:11.230-05:00Emotion is a necessary and inextricable part of re...<i>Emotion is a necessary and inextricable part of reasoning.</i><br /><br />No..reasoning is the process of logic overcoming emotion.Gahriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16795449308207016641noreply@blogger.com