It is somewhat paradoxical that emotion is one of the most beloved
and one of the most underappreciated aspects of our nature. In popular culture
emotion is appealed to in order to move us to action. Churches often foster an
environment where emotion motivates you to repent or worship. Advertisements
leverage emotion in order to move you buy something. Popular talent shows explicitly
tell their singing contestants that their emotional involvement in the
performance is as important if not more important than technical accuracy.
However, while popular culture regularly encourages us to
have emotions and follow our passions, it doesn’t do much to help us understand
what emotions are or how they are appropriately employed. We rarely hear
questions like: What are emotions? Are emotional responses morally praiseworthy
or blameworthy? Do emotions hinder reason? How do we become emotionally mature?
Should we repress our emotions? What role do emotions play in the formation of moral
beliefs?
Until we start looking at questions like this, our understanding of emotion
will remain superficial. And a superficial understanding of our selves
inevitably leads to practical problems.