People who mock the difficulties of others

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Please define "truth". It seems to me that if someone is experiencing an emotion it's existence cannot be denied. I think you're mixing up beliefs and emotions. You can't seem to comprehend the difference between the two. Try thinking a little harder.

True, as in synonym for "real".




Not the existence of the emotion, but the existence of what it is a reaction to. Irrational fears, for instance, are very real emotions, but they are not aligned with reality.

Well, at least try to keep your terminology straight. When you're talking about beliefs, say beliefs. When you're talking about emotions, say emotions. Otherwise you come off as spouting nonsense.

I wasn't talking about beliefs or emotions, I was talking about reality. There is not causal connection between truth and beliefs or emotions. You not realizing that makes you come off sounding like a beach ball.

Last edited by JWC on 26 Jan 2012, 6:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Wait...huh??? If someone holds a certain belief, only to find out that the opposite is true...or if someone has doubt regarding a certain truth and has that belief confirmed, there might be expected an emotional response corresponding to validation or disillusionment. Depending on varying situations and personal dispositions, there might be any range of emotions felt and expressed in the process. Are you serious, or did I just miss the sarcasm?

I don't disagree with anything you've stated, or see how it contradicts my previous statements. So, I'm not quite sure what you're asking.

Well the topic of the thread is mocking peoples difficulties...and it drifted into emotions when people started implying emotions should never guide actions and that if someone is complaining about their sh*tty situation they should be mocked more or less. Otherwise you can always refer to the OP if you're confused what this thread is about.

Yes you were. Beliefs may be true or false based on whether they correspond with reality. Emotions are not "false" unless you are claiming that someone is faking an emotion. You cannot judge whether an emotion corresponds with reality. You can judge whether a belief corresponds with reality.

Last edited by marshall on 26 Jan 2012, 2:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I'm confused, too. I saw the reply about irrational fears not corresponding to reality, but why think all emotions are irrational? That's what I don't understand. Reality quite often drives emotions. There IS a causal relationship.

No causal relationship between truth and beliefs or truth and emotions? That makes no sense. If someone believes something that they later find is false, the reality has caused someone to change their beliefs. Reality, depending on perspective of course, can certainly drive emotions. Someone who buys a lottery ticket and wins might be thrilled to win the lottery--an emotion that wouldn't have been triggered without having won. His next door neighbor who was in line right behind him when he bought the ticket might feel anger in response to having been so close to winning. Or he might be happy for his neighbor. There are any number of things that can affect emotions that are rooted in reality. Irrationality doesn't negate all causative factors.

Not all emotions are irrational, but many are. Emotional reactions must be confirmed to correspond with reality. If it is found that the emotion does correspond with reality, than that correspondence can then be used to justify actions.

Causality: emotions are generated by our subconscious value judgments, which may or may not be correct. These value judgments must be verified through perception and logic. What I mean by causal is that the relationship is always caused by reality, not just by coincidence.

And if the emotion does not correlate with reality what should happen?

Depends on the circumstances. My personal feelings on this is that we have an obligation to hold each other accountable for those actions and help each other understand reality and the consequences of our actions or come to terms with our emotions, etc. All anyone can do is the best they can.

I used to date a lovely young lady who because of certain disabilities thought it acceptable to eat her lasagna with her fingers. I had to privately ask her to use a fork next time. It never occurred to her that what she was doing was in full view of the public and to most people seemed icky. It wasn't like she was just a gross girl or anything, but being disabled had made her oblivious to others around her and when I told her that it was probably the first time in her life she was made aware of other people.

In a similar way, emotional reactions may result from misperceptions of reality. A friend will tell you if you're being a dumbass and help you get to the root of your own problems by offering a different perspective. I think we owe each other that much.

The sad part is many times people are cruelly addicted to their own dramas or are merely to self-absorbed to even want a solution to their problems. I'm afraid often what it takes is just allowing that person to fall apart and at least offer them some help when they finally come to their senses.

Other people are simply insane or otherwise mentally incapable of understanding the world around them. The will need a psychiatrist and regular medication to solve their issues.

But in many of these cases the person is in full control of what's happening to them internally. If you are purposefully blind to your own irrationality or just lack the empathy to even care, then your emotions can land you in jail. For others, there is always the mental hospital.

It's not emotions that correspond or don't correspond with reality. Emotions are inherently a subjective experience. Comparing a subjective experience to an objective truth-value is comparing apples to oranges. In other words you're engaging in sophistry.


Again, sophistry. You cannot make claims as to whether subjective value judgements are objectively "correct" or "incorrect" without being subjective yourself.

I get tired of reading strident/emphatic but illogical statements coming from people who think they are uber-logical beings.

This should be on a banner above PPR.

[quote="marshall"]It's not emotions that correspond or don't correspond with reality. Emotions are inherently a subjective experience. Comparing a subjective experience to an objective truth-value is comparing apples to oranges. In other words you're engaging in sophistry.



Again, sophistry. You cannot make claims as to whether subjective value judgements are objectively "correct" or "incorrect" without being subjective yourself.[quote]

No, but you can compare the results of an objective and logical analysis of a situation to the results of an automatic emotional response to that same scenario. Doing so will help to highlight any irrational elements within the emotional response and ultimately help avoid an irrational reaction altogether.