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PhanTomCat
Teh Cat....



Registered: 09/07/04
Posts: 5,908
Loc: My Youniverse....
Last seen: 14 years, 11 months
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Logic Vs. Emotion....
#7507347 - 10/10/07 10:20 PM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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Logic Vs. Emotion.... Is that underlying the driving factor for the conflict between those that believe in something "more" to/after life and those who don't....? Is it the overwhelmingly blanketed perspective of either the logical or emotional mental aspect of a person that drives what he has ultimate faith in....? I know there is black and white, and many shades in between, but I would be curious as to the general outcome of a survey....
I ***think*** that the general population has a general belief in a greater power.... No....? And I also ***think*** that us humans are much more developed in the emotional parts of our brains than other creatures on this planet.... No....? ***IF*** those general assumptions are true, does it tell us anything at all about the developed mental capacity for the abstract, like "faith"....? The logical parts of our minds seem to be serving us pretty well in life, so why even the need for an emotional side to things.....?
Just some thoughts rumblin~ thru~ muh~ noggin~....
>^;;^<
-------------------- I'll be your midnight French Fry.... "The most important things in life that are often ignored, are the things that one cannot see...." >^;;^<
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Thor
Anti-Theist OVERLORD



Registered: 08/12/98
Posts: 10,017
Loc: Iceland
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Re: Logic Vs. Emotion.... [Re: PhanTomCat]
#7507711 - 10/11/07 01:36 AM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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Logic Vs. Emotion.... Is that underlying the driving factor for the conflict between those that believe in something "more" to/after life and those who don't....?
I don't agree. No matter the belief of a person, most often they are passionate in whatever they choose to believe is the reality that they live in.
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I ***think*** that the general population has a general belief in a greater power.... No....?
Certainly, but that is shrinking number since the last 100 years has allowed religious freedom's and finally the freedom to challenge religious belief. So the trend of belief is on a downward spiral, much like the days of people arguing if the world was flat/round.
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nd I also ***think*** that us humans are much more developed in the emotional parts of our brains than other creatures on this planet.... No....?
Something I'm sure biologists could debate better than me, who's to say dolphins are less emotional than us? We don't exactly understand the complexities of emotion in the animal kingdom. But being that there are animals with better sight than humans, better hearing than humans, longer lifespans than humans, better strenght, better adaptability, etc..
We are not the perfect being, far from it 
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those general assumptions are true, does it tell us anything at all about the developed mental capacity for the abstract, like "faith"....? The logical parts of our minds seem to be serving us pretty well in life, so why even the need for an emotional side to things.....?
There is already 'hints' from DNA studies that show some people more inclined to faith over others. We may yet find a situation where religious faith is a mutated DNA gene that seperates a common person from a religious zealot. There is certainly arguments for enviornment that cause people to believe where your are born dictates your belief and the extent of your belief.
Only science will tell, but as we have humans who are exceptionally patient and non violent; why isn't it plausible that we have humans who are exceptionally religious because of a mutated gene?
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The logical parts of our minds seem to be serving us pretty well in life, so why even the need for an emotional side to things.....?
I think its clear we need both. A rose is logically irrelevant to me, however the appearance, smell and emotional recall for that rose is very meaningful.
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Rahz
Alive Again


Registered: 11/10/05
Posts: 9,230
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Re: Logic Vs. Emotion.... [Re: PhanTomCat]
#7507715 - 10/11/07 01:38 AM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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>>>>Is that underlying the driving factor for the conflict between those that believe in something "more" to/after life and those who don't....?
To a degree. Religious people twist logic to fit their emotion. Non-spiritual people twist their emotion to fit their logic.
>>>>Is it the overwhelmingly blanketed perspective of either the logical or emotional mental aspect of a person that drives what he has ultimate faith in....?
I think either may be true to a degree, but if one is valued over the other I'm not sure any real peace or clarity can be achieved.
>>>>I ***think*** that the general population has a general belief in a greater power.... No....?
I don't think the general population has a concrete belief. They have many beliefs. If a person says they believe in god, they also don't believe in god. Most go with whatever belief suits their purpose at the time, while maintaining an exterior belief that reinforces their status among their peers.
>>>>And I also ***think*** that us humans are much more developed in the emotional parts of our brains than other creatures on this planet.... No....?
I think the disparity between our thought capabilities and the capabilities of other mammals is greater than the difference in our emotional capacity. This is especially true if you consider the ability to manipulate emotions to be a thought based process.
>>>>***IF*** those general assumptions are true, does it tell us anything at all about the developed mental capacity for the abstract, like "faith"....?
I'm not sure what you're hinting at.
>>>>The logical parts of our minds seem to be serving us pretty well in life, so why even the need for an emotional side to things.....?
Without emotions, what would be the point of thought?
-------------------- rahz comfort pleasure power love truth awareness peace "You’re not looking close enough if you can only see yourself in people who look like you." —Ayishat Akanbi
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PhanTomCat
Teh Cat....



Registered: 09/07/04
Posts: 5,908
Loc: My Youniverse....
Last seen: 14 years, 11 months
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Re: Logic Vs. Emotion.... [Re: Thor]
#7510150 - 10/11/07 06:56 PM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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Thor said:
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I ***think*** that the general population has a general belief in a greater power.... No....?
. Certainly, but that is shrinking number since the last 100 years has allowed religious freedom's and finally the freedom to challenge religious belief. So the trend of belief is on a downward spiral, much like the days of people arguing if the world was flat/round.
I was very careful in my wording here to specifically leave religion out of this.... I was speaking about a belief in the intention of a God, or Gods, or the Tao, or The Universe, or some other "ruling power" that is greater than life itself, that intentionally created life.... Or even the belief that there IS something for us after physical life is over as we know it.... I would be interested if your 100 year spiraling shrink factor applies to a specific religion, or really does apply to my intended premise....
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Thor said: Something I'm sure biologists could debate better than me, who's to say dolphins are less emotional than us? We don't exactly understand the complexities of emotion in the animal kingdom. But being that there are animals with better sight than humans, better hearing than humans, longer lifespans than humans, better strength, better adaptability, etc.. . We are not the perfect being, far from it 
There really is no way to currently measure the development of emotions within other creatures - not that I know of (I am not a biologist either).... My question/statement was based on the developed size of the emotional center of our brains as compared to other creatures.... With a brain's relative size as compared to other creatures in other mental capacities, generally size is related to the development and functional levels (as I understand it)....
I know we are far from perfect, as there is no way to really measure "perfection"....  Or, one could argue in a philosophical sense that we are all already perfect the way we are.... We only see glimpses of what could be determined subjectively as "better" when measured to others....
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Thor said:
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The logical parts of our minds seem to be serving us pretty well in life, so why even the need for an emotional side to things.....?
. I think its clear we need both. A rose is logically irrelevant to me, however the appearance, smell and emotional recall for that rose is very meaningful.
I don't disagree with your statement, but, who is to say that life was supposed to actually have meaning....? We need both to live in the current capacity we live in now....  If one doesn't believe in a God, then I will assume that one believes that it is all about evolution.... And if it is all about evolution, then that is super-glued to survival.... Survival doesn't need meaning to survive, it just needs the calculating logical mind and the physical means to act....
Emotion seems to be a wonderful bonus in life.... I am just wonder why we have them....  I can see having emotion if it was intended for us from a greater power, but it seems illogical to me to have just randomly - developed a capacity that seems to have no relevance to the "survival of the fittest/evolution" paradigm....
>^;;^<
-------------------- I'll be your midnight French Fry.... "The most important things in life that are often ignored, are the things that one cannot see...." >^;;^<
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NiamhNyx
I'm NOT a 'he'



Registered: 09/01/02
Posts: 3,198
Last seen: 14 years, 8 months
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Re: Logic Vs. Emotion.... [Re: PhanTomCat]
#7510218 - 10/11/07 07:10 PM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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I've said it once, and I'll say it again: Logic and emotion are not polar opposites. We require and benefit from embracing both of them. Humans are a sort of candy cane of characteristics. Candy canes just wouldn't be as appealing if they were one solid colour... it's the intertwining and mingling that makes them so attractive.
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PhanTomCat
Teh Cat....



Registered: 09/07/04
Posts: 5,908
Loc: My Youniverse....
Last seen: 14 years, 11 months
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Re: Logic Vs. Emotion.... [Re: Rahz]
#7510264 - 10/11/07 07:22 PM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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Rahz said: >>>>I ***think*** that the general population has a general belief in a greater power.... No....? . I don't think the general population has a concrete belief. They have many beliefs. If a person says they believe in god, they also don't believe in god. Most go with whatever belief suits their purpose at the time, while maintaining an exterior belief that reinforces their status among their peers.
I don't understand: "If a person says they believe in god, they also don't believe in god." What does this mean....? I believe the sun will rise tomorrow, but that doesn't inherently mean that I believe that the sun will not rise tomorrow also.... Are you implying that there is no real faith, or that people don't have the capacity for having faith in "something"....? Maintaining a peer status....? I wouldn't exactly call that faith driven....
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Rahz said: >>>>***IF*** those general assumptions are true, does it tell us anything at all about the developed mental capacity for the abstract, like "faith"....? . I'm not sure what you're hinting at.
I had a direction for this, but it is not coming to me at the moment....! 
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Rahz said: >>>>The logical parts of our minds seem to be serving us pretty well in life, so why even the need for an emotional side to things.....? . Without emotions, what would be the point of thought?
I can speculate that there are prolly~ people out there that were born without the capacity for feeling emotions.... If it IS the case, then there can be emotionless thought, and there doesn't need to be a point....
>^;;^<
-------------------- I'll be your midnight French Fry.... "The most important things in life that are often ignored, are the things that one cannot see...." >^;;^<
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Ego Death
Justadropofwaterinanendlesssea


Registered: 04/27/03
Posts: 10,447
Loc: The War Machine
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Re: Logic Vs. Emotion.... [Re: PhanTomCat]
#7510716 - 10/11/07 08:42 PM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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I can see a greater power.
There is a being called DNA, we humans are just a small part of this being.
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PhanTomCat
Teh Cat....



Registered: 09/07/04
Posts: 5,908
Loc: My Youniverse....
Last seen: 14 years, 11 months
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Re: Logic Vs. Emotion.... [Re: NiamhNyx]
#7511007 - 10/11/07 10:01 PM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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NiamhNyx said: I've said it once, and I'll say it again: Logic and emotion are not polar opposites. We require and benefit from embracing both of them. Humans are a sort of candy cane of characteristics. Candy canes just wouldn't be as appealing if they were one solid colour... it's the intertwining and mingling that makes them so attractive.
I never said anything about polar opposites.... I don't disagree with you, logic and emotion are just different colors in the spectrum.... Different aspects of life and the current "mood set" determines the amount of the two colors mixed, in the local area of the mental aspect as an event occurs....
Or, something like that.... 
>^;;^<
-------------------- I'll be your midnight French Fry.... "The most important things in life that are often ignored, are the things that one cannot see...." >^;;^<
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Rahz
Alive Again


Registered: 11/10/05
Posts: 9,230
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Re: Logic Vs. Emotion.... [Re: PhanTomCat]
#7511067 - 10/11/07 10:22 PM (16 years, 3 months ago) |
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>>>>I don't understand: "If a person says they believe in god, they also don't believe in god." What does this mean....? I believe the sun will rise tomorrow, but that doesn't inherently mean that I believe that the sun will not rise tomorrow also.... Are you implying that there is no real faith, or that people don't have the capacity for having faith in "something"....? Maintaining a peer status....? I wouldn't exactly call that faith driven....
Faith implies doubt. If a person had no doubt, they would not need faith. It would be worthless to them. If a person is faithful, they must also be doubtful, and those with the most faith also have the most doubt. A person needs no faith to believe the sun will come up tomorrow, unless they have doubt. Most believers don't bring up their doubt in casual conversation. They hold in their doubt while expressing their faith as a belief. Because god cannot be logically proven, when a person says they believe in god, I know they are only telling half the truth. When a person says they don't believe in god, they are only telling half the truth.
>>>>I can speculate that there are prolly~ people out there that were born without the capacity for feeling emotions.... If it IS the case, then there can be emotionless thought, and there doesn't need to be a point....
"The logical parts of our minds seem to be serving us pretty well in life"
If they have no emotions, what will they serve?
-------------------- rahz comfort pleasure power love truth awareness peace "You’re not looking close enough if you can only see yourself in people who look like you." —Ayishat Akanbi
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