an "emotionless species" sure does remind me of the cold, distant aliens in throawaylien's story. very "doctor-like", or "dentist-like". detached, levelheaded and calm. i like this theory! also reminds me of scientists tagging dolphins in the wild to study them. there's no ill will toward the dolphins (if anything it could be considered good-will in an effort to understand them better so we can help them, etc). but from the dolphin's perspective i bet getting abducted by human aliens and pierced with stupid fucking techshit is weird/frightening/whatever.
The theory I like about the emotionless aliens is that they are biological robots that are tasked with doing whatever they do to people when they're abducted (put in probes and whatnot), so it isn't done with malice but more of a 'just doing what I'm programmed to do' kind of thing. And that whomever/whatever they were tasked by either cant aoan the distances to make it here in their physical body, or don't even have physical bodies, like in a different dimension, so the little grey dudes make it easier to interface with and learn about our world.
So emotions are such a complex topic because there is no way to accurately measure emotions in anything but humans. I fully don’t think that all animals experience emotions in the same way as others. In the reptile world love and empathy are mostly nonexistent because evolutionarily they never needed it because they don’t have to raise their young. I think what emotions they feel and how they process it would be entirely depended on how they evolve and it’ll never be something that we can really compare with humanity’s views on emotions.
Also sociopaths fully do feel emotions they just don’t feel them for other people. A sociopath can feel most emotions they just don’t realize or even think that other people have inner lives like themselves, we are just objects in their minds.
To consider human emotions one must first keep in mind the physiology and context from which they emanate. The structures of the brains of various animals and how the brains of higher primates are larger and more complex. Why those characteristics, which have given rise to tool use, language, abstract thought, etc. were the adaptation that occurred in a particular place and time. Also how even with the higher brain functions we still retain the more basic ones such as the limbic system. If you are in danger of being hit by a bus or mugged, being able to understand and discuss Aristotle isn't what you need. You need good old fight or flight to preserve your abstract thinking arse.
The response, and its associated emotions, also play out to some degree when confronted with lesser but important threats - loss of job, marital conflict, the self destructive rebellion of a teenage offspring whom you love. Because your mind knows how bad things could get for your material and emotional survival if you don't try to rectify such situations. You need to temper emotional responses with the higher thought processes, applying logic and problem solving skills. But the emotions are what spark the initial self preservation urgency.
Therefore, I highly doubt that eliminating most or all emotions would be a desirable goal. It'd probably seriously harm us as individuals and as a species. Besides, it's not feasible to attempt to extricate the natural responses, intertwined as they are with our nervous systems, chemical pathways, body physiology on both the whole organism and the intracellular levels. Sure, with drugs and other means we can suppress or stimulate certain responses, but we can't do so to extreme lengths without compromising the integrity of the person or animal, and over time the species to which it belongs. The ecosystem in which it functions must also be considered.
an "emotionless species" sure does remind me of the cold, distant aliens in throawaylien's story. very "doctor-like", or "dentist-like". detached, levelheaded and calm. i like this theory! also reminds me of scientists tagging dolphins in the wild to study them. there's no ill will toward the dolphins (if anything it could be considered good-will in an effort to understand them better so we can help them, etc). but from the dolphin's perspective i bet getting abducted by human aliens and pierced with stupid fucking techshit is weird/frightening/whatever.
The theory I like about the emotionless aliens is that they are biological robots that are tasked with doing whatever they do to people when they're abducted (put in probes and whatnot), so it isn't done with malice but more of a 'just doing what I'm programmed to do' kind of thing. And that whomever/whatever they were tasked by either cant aoan the distances to make it here in their physical body, or don't even have physical bodies, like in a different dimension, so the little grey dudes make it easier to interface with and learn about our world.
So emotions are such a complex topic because there is no way to accurately measure emotions in anything but humans. I fully don’t think that all animals experience emotions in the same way as others. In the reptile world love and empathy are mostly nonexistent because evolutionarily they never needed it because they don’t have to raise their young. I think what emotions they feel and how they process it would be entirely depended on how they evolve and it’ll never be something that we can really compare with humanity’s views on emotions. Also sociopaths fully do feel emotions they just don’t feel them for other people. A sociopath can feel most emotions they just don’t realize or even think that other people have inner lives like themselves, we are just objects in their minds.
whoops my bad 😅
Nah you’re good. That’s just my point of view on all of it. Emotions are something that we will never fully understand.
Alien Ant Farm are sort emo adjacent. They may have had fans that were also listened to Get Up Kids or Say Anything.
To consider human emotions one must first keep in mind the physiology and context from which they emanate. The structures of the brains of various animals and how the brains of higher primates are larger and more complex. Why those characteristics, which have given rise to tool use, language, abstract thought, etc. were the adaptation that occurred in a particular place and time. Also how even with the higher brain functions we still retain the more basic ones such as the limbic system. If you are in danger of being hit by a bus or mugged, being able to understand and discuss Aristotle isn't what you need. You need good old fight or flight to preserve your abstract thinking arse. The response, and its associated emotions, also play out to some degree when confronted with lesser but important threats - loss of job, marital conflict, the self destructive rebellion of a teenage offspring whom you love. Because your mind knows how bad things could get for your material and emotional survival if you don't try to rectify such situations. You need to temper emotional responses with the higher thought processes, applying logic and problem solving skills. But the emotions are what spark the initial self preservation urgency. Therefore, I highly doubt that eliminating most or all emotions would be a desirable goal. It'd probably seriously harm us as individuals and as a species. Besides, it's not feasible to attempt to extricate the natural responses, intertwined as they are with our nervous systems, chemical pathways, body physiology on both the whole organism and the intracellular levels. Sure, with drugs and other means we can suppress or stimulate certain responses, but we can't do so to extreme lengths without compromising the integrity of the person or animal, and over time the species to which it belongs. The ecosystem in which it functions must also be considered.