Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!hao!boulder!sunybcs!bingvaxu!vu0112
From: vu0112@bingvaxu.cc.binghamton.edu (Cliff Joslyn)
Newsgroups: sci.psychology
Subject: Re: language, thought, and culture
Message-ID: <971@bingvaxu.cc.binghamton.edu>
Date: 20 Mar 88 02:43:33 GMT
References: <44@gollum.Columbia.NCR.COM> <2100@phred.UUCP> <353@thirdi.UUCP>
Reply-To: vu0112@bingvaxu.cc.binghamton.edu (Cliff Joslyn)
Organization: SUNY Binghamton, NY
Lines: 23
Keywords: intention drive emotion

What Sarge says sounds reasonable and plausible, but:

In article <353@thirdi.UUCP> sarge@thirdi.UUCP (Sarge Gerbode) writes:
>Thus, emotion is specific to a particular activity, governed by a particular
>intention.  One can feel enthusiastic about one's job and, at the same time,
>apathetic about one's marriage and angry at a rude shopkeeper.

The well-known phenomena of panic attacks are (probably) biochemically
induced states of non-directed emotion.  It is a definite feature that
they are specifically not fear of anything in particular.  The victim,
finding this an irrational and untenable situation, will frequently
project that fear to something and attach to it, but this is a
pathological reaction.

We can conclude that while it is normal for emotions to be intentional,
this is not necessary, and therefore emotions require an explanation
independent of intention.

O---------------------------------------------------------------------->
| Cliff Joslyn, Professional Cybernetician 
| Systems Science Department, SUNY Binghamton, New York, but my opinions
| vu0112@bingvaxu.cc.binghamton.edu
V All the world is biscuit shaped. . .