SOC SCI H1E Lecture Notes - Lecture 18: Hypomania, Stoicism, The Takeaway
13 Jun 2017
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
I(cid:374) this last paper, (cid:449)e"re looki(cid:374)g at the ge(cid:374)eral fu(cid:374)(cid:272)tio(cid:374) of affe(cid:272)t. We did(cid:374)"t ha(cid:448)e to (cid:271)e the t(cid:455)pe of organisms that feel happy or sad, pleasure or pain. We could have just ha(cid:448)e (cid:862)(cid:449)a(cid:374)ti(cid:374)g(cid:863) for (cid:449)hat"s good for our (cid:271)odies, (cid:271)ut (cid:449)e have very particular motivating states. Defense and opportunity: according to nesse, negative emotions are functions in that they motivate aversive behavior, positive emotions motivate opportunistic behavior, to do the things that are pleasant, enjoyable, and ultimately help us survive. A simple example: a bee foraging and resting, deciding whether to go home, not that it feels good or bad, but it has simple systems to make it seek opportunity and to avoid risky situations. A positive mood makes you prone to opportunistic behavior: both are needed. The goodness of feeling bad: note that, on this view, feeling bad can be a good thing from a functional point of view.
