Emotional Epistemology
Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 3:38 am
More often than we would like to admit, we rely on emotion to shape our beliefs. We frequently use our ability to reason in order to justify our already-held emotion-based beliefs, rather than starting without any conclusions and reasoning our way to the best conclusion based on all the available information. We oftentimes decide what to believe based on what “feels” right, rather than following a well thought-out process of reason and logic.
In addition to the way emotion affects how we think, it also influences our beliefs about religious and moral truth. Frequently, people form religious convictions based on their personal emotional experiences with religion rather than using a cohesive, well thought-out approach to doctrines and consequences. Many call this religious emotional experience “the spirit,” or “feeling the spirit.” These feelings are often described as a warm sensation in one’s chest; or a pleasant impression of peace in one’s mind and heart. These strong emotional feelings can cause us to suspend reason and logic by overriding our judgment causing us to believe and behave in ways we normally wouldn’t.
While it would be an impractical expectation to completely strip all emotion and feeling from the decision making process, relying solely on, or weighting these emotional experiences to heavily can cause behavioral inconsistencies, thereby rendering our feelings an unreliable source of truth.
These feelings are a real and powerful motivating force. However, as diverse as the world is there are equally as many factors to consider when interpreting these emotional feelings. Our unique biological and chemical makeup, cultural conditioning along with many other complex mental and psychological factors all contribute to what our emotional responses will be.
Another strong emotional driver in our lives is our need to belong or social acceptance. Humans are social beings that need emotional validation from our peer groups. We do not want to be viewed as a social outcast, the fear of not belonging has a powerful effect on us emotionally and psychologically and frequently causes us to suspend better judgment in our desire for social validation. Regardless of the subject we need our belief system validated and seek for additional converts to validate our ideology. We become entrenched in our convictions when people join us, particularly those who can offer some social credibility such as intellectuals or the rich and famous. You often here the phrase, “smart people inside a church does not make it true just like smart people outside a church does not make it false,” nonetheless social validation seems to be a high priority. (see famous Jehovah Witnesses or famous Mormons).
Another factor in basing truth on feeling is defining and then replicating the process. What may draw out emotion or feeling for one will do little to nothing for another. Inevitably people will experience feelings in their own way for their own reasons; it may be a book, high powered sermon, or meditation that provides the emotional spark. Not only is replicating the process a problem but so is defining outcomes. People have different emotional responses that lead to different outcomes thus creating definition problems. Unavoidably, people will define their emotional responses differently invariably causing others to question the process utilized, you often here from the ardently religious, “surly had you followed the correct process you would have gotten the same response as I.”
When an emotion based system is over emphasized in determining truth, confusion is often the result. This emotional conflict can lead to cognitive breakdown in rational thought creating more anxiety and stress. When a more pragmatic approach is utilized in assessing truth emotion is minimized allowing sound reason to prevail.
It has been my experience when speaking with people who have strong religious convictions, regardless of how irrational there convictions may be, when evidence is laid out before them that may counter their belief system, they can always override the evidence because they have an emotional witness of the truth. It does not matter what you provide for them, they have a "higher" knowledge that Trump's any facts you could show them. This "spiritual witness" allows them to entrench into their position and ignore the realities before them. I find this to be very dangerous, when people allow their emotions to override reason we have a problem, this is when we start to see planes flown into buildings.
This is where the disconnect or breakdown begins when discussing the issues around Mormon history, I see it more pragmatically, they see it emotionally, where I see fraud, my TBM friends see someone trying to overcome human weakness such as Joseph Smith - the list could go on. Essentially the emotional witness has given the true believer an "override" function in their brains allowing them the ability to suspend judgment and defer to this emotional witness as a primary source for truth.
In addition to the way emotion affects how we think, it also influences our beliefs about religious and moral truth. Frequently, people form religious convictions based on their personal emotional experiences with religion rather than using a cohesive, well thought-out approach to doctrines and consequences. Many call this religious emotional experience “the spirit,” or “feeling the spirit.” These feelings are often described as a warm sensation in one’s chest; or a pleasant impression of peace in one’s mind and heart. These strong emotional feelings can cause us to suspend reason and logic by overriding our judgment causing us to believe and behave in ways we normally wouldn’t.
While it would be an impractical expectation to completely strip all emotion and feeling from the decision making process, relying solely on, or weighting these emotional experiences to heavily can cause behavioral inconsistencies, thereby rendering our feelings an unreliable source of truth.
These feelings are a real and powerful motivating force. However, as diverse as the world is there are equally as many factors to consider when interpreting these emotional feelings. Our unique biological and chemical makeup, cultural conditioning along with many other complex mental and psychological factors all contribute to what our emotional responses will be.
Another strong emotional driver in our lives is our need to belong or social acceptance. Humans are social beings that need emotional validation from our peer groups. We do not want to be viewed as a social outcast, the fear of not belonging has a powerful effect on us emotionally and psychologically and frequently causes us to suspend better judgment in our desire for social validation. Regardless of the subject we need our belief system validated and seek for additional converts to validate our ideology. We become entrenched in our convictions when people join us, particularly those who can offer some social credibility such as intellectuals or the rich and famous. You often here the phrase, “smart people inside a church does not make it true just like smart people outside a church does not make it false,” nonetheless social validation seems to be a high priority. (see famous Jehovah Witnesses or famous Mormons).
Another factor in basing truth on feeling is defining and then replicating the process. What may draw out emotion or feeling for one will do little to nothing for another. Inevitably people will experience feelings in their own way for their own reasons; it may be a book, high powered sermon, or meditation that provides the emotional spark. Not only is replicating the process a problem but so is defining outcomes. People have different emotional responses that lead to different outcomes thus creating definition problems. Unavoidably, people will define their emotional responses differently invariably causing others to question the process utilized, you often here from the ardently religious, “surly had you followed the correct process you would have gotten the same response as I.”
When an emotion based system is over emphasized in determining truth, confusion is often the result. This emotional conflict can lead to cognitive breakdown in rational thought creating more anxiety and stress. When a more pragmatic approach is utilized in assessing truth emotion is minimized allowing sound reason to prevail.
It has been my experience when speaking with people who have strong religious convictions, regardless of how irrational there convictions may be, when evidence is laid out before them that may counter their belief system, they can always override the evidence because they have an emotional witness of the truth. It does not matter what you provide for them, they have a "higher" knowledge that Trump's any facts you could show them. This "spiritual witness" allows them to entrench into their position and ignore the realities before them. I find this to be very dangerous, when people allow their emotions to override reason we have a problem, this is when we start to see planes flown into buildings.
This is where the disconnect or breakdown begins when discussing the issues around Mormon history, I see it more pragmatically, they see it emotionally, where I see fraud, my TBM friends see someone trying to overcome human weakness such as Joseph Smith - the list could go on. Essentially the emotional witness has given the true believer an "override" function in their brains allowing them the ability to suspend judgment and defer to this emotional witness as a primary source for truth.