From: David D. (mars@bga.com)
Date: Thu Oct 17 1996 - 22:36:53 MDT
Michael Butler wrote:
>
> Chris said:
> Emotion is mere entertainment from my viewpoint. Emotion comes from the ancient reptilian brain deep within your cranium where logic is fresh and
new and one of the higher forms of thought to help us rationalize and use
tools. Why deny the fact that emotion is vestigial and only for mere
entertainment now that we have logic?
>
> Emotion may be considered primitive; HOWEVER, I don't find it
> "vestigial" in the slightest.
> I'd argue that all "motivation", the kind that actually gets you out
> of bed in the morning, bent on doing something other than
> elimination or(perhaps) eating, is emotional/chemical at root.
>
> Gedanken time: Eliminate dopamine, serotonin, epinephrine and
> norepinephrine from my system, them take out all the endocrine
> substances that are not currently known to act as neurotransmitters
> --I doubt that I'd feel like doing anything at all, even think.
I wouldn't mind volunteering for that experiment.
But without experiment we'll never know. Emotion might be to
extropian/transhumanists as the genes that produce fetal hemoglobin are
to adult humans. Worthy at one time, but now, so much garbage.
It seems you've already drawn your conclusions before the experiment. I
happen to think CH is on the right track, but we'll never really know for
sure until we try.
David D.
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