Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!mailrus!cornell!batcomputer!itsgw!steinmetz!uunet!epicb!david From: david@epicb.UUCP (David P. Cook) Newsgroups: comp.ai Subject: Re: Thought/Emotion/Feeling Message-ID: <569@epicb.UUCP> Date: 7 Dec 88 18:53:15 GMT Reply-To: david@epicb.UUCP (David P. Cook) Organization: Truevision Inc., Indianapolis, IN Lines: 55 References: > Does Emotion and Feeling come from Thought? Or the other way around? In speaking of these items... I assume you mean modern man as opposed to early man? Some recent findings cause "the people who think of such things" to theorize that "Thought" (or to be more apt... "Intelligence") stems from mans early usage of psycoactive plants. As pointed out... early **non-thinking** man would forage for survival. Part of the forage system was to EAT EVERYTHING and THROW UP that which did not sit properly. In doing so, early man would eat the psychoactive mushroom. The properties would cause their conconscience to expand slightly... and the beauty of the mushroom itself would stand out. Therefore, early man would continuouly return to the mushroom... each time pushing their minds further and further. From this we can postulate that **Intelligent Thought** was "aquired" (by intelligent thought I mean thought that can lead to civilization). Therefore, prior to intelligent thought, early man must have had basic Feeling and Emotion. These were the simpliest and most basic of structures and were the easiest for the properties of the mushroom to act upon. Once thought was occuring, it was Feeling and Emotion that drove early man back to the mushroom. However, over the centuries... man has developed a more complex organization of thought. Though I still believe that Thought is a more complex, hence higher level, function than Feeling and Emotion, the three are interwoven. Feeling and Emotion can beget Thought... and Thought can beget Feeling and Emotion. Look at suicide where a continuous loop of Thought... Feeling... Emotion... Thought... Feeling... Emotion... build to create a no-win (no-way-out) situation. Therefore, I feel that in EARLY man, you can say that Feeling and Emotion begat Thought (via environmental issues). In MODERN man, both beget each other (ie.. thought makes feeling and emotion and feeling and emotion make thought). Though Feeling and Emotion remain the prevasive and lowest survivalistic instinct. Another proof of this can be seen in the "highly emotional state" of humans. Humans placed in an extreemly emotional situation TEND to react automatically (or WITHOUT THOUGHT). It is only under EXTREEM learning (via thought) that barriers can be created to overcome the SEMANTIC REACTION which occurs NATURALLY and at a very LOW LEVEL. (For more on this, study NON-ARISTITILIAN logic). --- GREAT TOPIC --- LET'S TALK MORE ABOUT IT! David Cook, Truevision Inc. uunet!epicb!david -- | David P. Cook Net: uunet!epicb!david | | Truevision Inc. | "Sometimes I cover my mouth with | | Indianapolis, IN | my hand to tell if I'm breathing" | -----------------------------------------------------------