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From: mmar@sphinx.UChicago.UUCP (Mitchell Marks)
Newsgroups: net.singles
Subject: Re: Emotions and choice
Message-ID: <908@sphinx.UChicago.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 29-Jul-85 03:03:06 EDT
Article-I.D.: sphinx.908
Posted: Mon Jul 29 03:03:06 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 31-Jul-85 01:30:14 EDT
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Organization: U Chicago -- Linguistics Dept
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> >>	No one can make you feel (emotional) pain (or any other type of
> >>feeling for that matter).  Only YOU can make this happen.
> 
> I agree.
> 
> According to Dr. Wayne Dyer, author of "Your Erroneous Zones", one of the
> major steps to happiness is that since YOU control your thoughts, and that
> your feelings come from your thoughts, YOU control your feelings.
> 
> If external circumstances dictate the type of mood you are in, then if a
> circumstance comes along that "makes you feel bad", you are stuck in a bad
> emotional state until another event comes along to make you feel good
> again.

Lokk, there are two different questions.  This all started from a claim
that one controls one's own emotions.  That claim might be true or false,
or partially true and partially false, or not yet specified well enough
for us to argue about it, or perhaps definitely true or false but still
something we're not in a position to find out.  Etc.  That's question number
one, a question of fact.
	There is also the question of how you should live and act.  It might
be suggested that it is useful to believe that claim, to live as though it
were true.  Sorry, that "as though" is too counterfactual, I should say
ENTIRELY SETTING ASIDE THE QUESTION OF FACT it might be wise or foolish
to believe it, it might help you or harm you in conducting your life.  That's
question number two, a question of belief and praxis.
	The claim was originally asserted with some strength, and I urge that
in that form it's just not true.  Sometimes your emotions are subject to your
conscious control, sometimes they aren't.  It is surely too strong to claim thatthey can always be controlled.  Maybe we should debate this a little here; 
but in the meantime, most of the argument has been directed to the second
question, sometimes in the guise of the first.
	The posting quoted above, for instance, asserts that the claim is
true, but then adduces a testimonial to the usefulness of the belief.
	Note that the answer to the question of fact would not settle the
second question.  At the same time, when I assert that the claim is false,
I am not insulting those who think it's a good thing to believe. (Also note
that denying that people are responsible for their emotions does not
relieve them of responsibility for their actions.)
	If you want to explain how helpful it has been to act according to
this idea, more power to you.  You're contributing to the discussion of
question number two.  But don't suppose that you've settled anything
about question number one.
-- 

            -- Mitch Marks @ UChicago 
               ...ihnp4!gargoyle!sphinx!mmar