The Philosophy Discussion Forum

Emotions; Possession; Discipline; Awareness



There is nothing wrong with having emotions, but having emotions and be possessed or controlled by them are two different things.



Possession by emotion introduces unneccessary chaos as emotion is often times fickle, maliable, and manipulatable by conditions and outside circumstances. To be run by emotion is akin to be run by the waves of a never ending ocean.



There is nothing wrong, or unnatural, about feeling an emotion. However being felt by the emotion itself leads to a rabbit hole.



Emotions are emotions, idolizing them as the vast majority do, just creates imbalance. They should be respected, not elevated as the expense of seeing them as what they are.



Balance is acknowledgement of emotion, the awareness of their distinct states and causes, but knowing there nature as fluid and temporary while still feeling them from a state of awareness that acknowledges what their nature is.



An emotional person is one run by emotion. A discipline of emotion is not repression of feeling but attention on the limits of said feeling and directing those limits in a way where self-control does not cease while still allowing reality to unfold in a way that does not stifle the emotions.



Repression of emotion is not discipline as repression is but a deeper emotion of fear that inevitably results in a damming up of emotion in a way that leads to an outburst in a manner which ceases self-control. Self-control does not repress emotion, nor does it yield to emotion, but rather directs emotion in a way where the emotion reveals the nature of one's internal and external existence so that identity is solidified as a character. By character is the world mediated for character is the means by which structure results and by structure equilibrium. The goal of discipline is neither repression nor succumbing to emotion but rather productive direction of it so identity is maintained and revealed simultaneously.

Eodnhoj7 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 25, 2026 12:12 am Emotions; Possession; Discipline; Awareness

There is nothing wrong with having emotions, but having emotions and be possessed or controlled by them are two different things.

Possession by emotion introduces unneccessary chaos as emotion is often times fickle, maliable, and manipulatable by conditions and outside circumstances. To be run by emotion is akin to be run by the waves of a never ending ocean.

But possibly you are mistaken in how our brains work. In evolutionary terms, emotions and feelings almost certainly predate rational thought. So originally we might have been doing things based on emotions, feelings.

Well what is already present gets reused, repurposed. We have evolved to have rational thought. But is it likely also evolved a new mechanism to get from thought to action? Simpler (and thus likely the mechanism evolved) just to link rational thought to trigger the appropriate (already existing) emotion or feeling.

MikeNovack wrote: ↑Thu Jun 25, 2026 4:29 pm

Eodnhoj7 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 25, 2026 12:12 am Emotions; Possession; Discipline; Awareness

There is nothing wrong with having emotions, but having emotions and be possessed or controlled by them are two different things.

Possession by emotion introduces unneccessary chaos as emotion is often times fickle, maliable, and manipulatable by conditions and outside circumstances. To be run by emotion is akin to be run by the waves of a never ending ocean.

But possibly you are mistaken in how our brains work. In evolutionary terms, emotions and feelings almost certainly predate rational thought. So originally we might have been doing things based on emotions, feelings.

Well what is already present gets reused, repurposed. We have evolved to have rational thought. But is it likely also evolved a new mechanism to get from thought to action? Simpler (and thus likely the mechanism evolved) just to link rational thought to trigger the appropriate (already existing) emotion or feeling.

Or possibly I am not...


So according to your logic: reasoning, through the brain, is a result of evolution.

So the implications of following your logic leads to what the text asserts, which requires discipline, as argued, to be an evolutionary advantage as it is reason based.

So what is your point?

Eodnhoj7 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 25, 2026 9:45 pm
So according to your logic: reasoning, through the brain, is a result of evolution.

So the implications of following your logic leads to what the text asserts, which requires discipline, as argued, to be an evolutionary advantage as it is reason based.

So what is your point?

That maybe (likely) when reasoning processes, comes to a conclusion, this triggers some emotion/feeling which then results in something getting done. I am saying if an emotion/feeling already exists to cause an action, then the most likely for evolution to get reason to to result in tht action would be for reason to trigger that emotion/feeling (rather than having to also evolve another mechanism).

MikeNovack wrote: ↑Thu Jun 25, 2026 11:27 pm

Eodnhoj7 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 25, 2026 9:45 pm
So according to your logic: reasoning, through the brain, is a result of evolution.

So the implications of following your logic leads to what the text asserts, which requires discipline, as argued, to be an evolutionary advantage as it is reason based.

So what is your point?

That maybe (likely) when reasoning processes, comes to a conclusion, this triggers some emotion/feeling which then results in something getting done. I am saying if an emotion/feeling already exists to cause an action, then the most likely for evolution to get reason to to result in tht action would be for reason to trigger that emotion/feeling (rather than having to also evolve another mechanism).

If you would have read the text that was already covered:

"Self-control does not repress emotion, nor does it yield to emotion, but rather directs emotion in a way where the emotion reveals the nature of one's internal and external existence so that identity is solidified as a character."

"The goal of discipline is neither repression nor succumbing to emotion but rather productive direction of it so identity is maintained and revealed simultaneously."

So what is the point of your criticisms...as everything you claim was covered by the text.