1. Emotion……
The heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothing.” –Blaise Pascal-
TOK Introduction

2. Emotion….
Emotion
Are emotions universal? Can/should we control our emotions? Are emotions the enemy of, or necessary for, good reasoning? Are emotions always linked to belief?
The naturalistic view of emotions is that they are the products of natural processes, with physiological causes and effects. One supporter of this view was Darwin, who believed that emotions are purely physiological and therefore universal and experienced across all cultures. However, there seem to be many examples of culturally bound emotions, for example, the Chinese notion of “sad love”. The opposite view is therefore that of the social constructionists, who argue that emotions depend on a social consciousness, and have no natural basis at all. For example, emotions such as shame seem to presuppose a notion of right and wrong.
Emotion has sometimes been regarded as an unreliable way of knowing. Emotions have, for example, been criticized as being irrational obstacles to knowledge that distort our picture of reality. However, others believe that not only do emotions help make sense of social and cultural experiences and behaviours, but they are also the source of social, ethical and political knowledge by helping us form an understanding of the world around us.
TOK Introduction

3. Emotion….some questions.
Art.History.Ethics.
knowledge
Does emotion colour our knowledge systems?
shared
Is it accurate?
personal
Does emotion bring bias?
How does it influence language?
How is the story recorded?
How does it influence faith?
Is faith not built on emotion?
How are we affected?
World issues ..famine, war, poeverty…
TOK Introduction

4. TOK Introduction

5. Emotions… The Happiness Machine
Imagine that you have received a special machine—the “Happiness Machine”. This machine will give you wonderfully positive emotions. All you have to do is hook yourself up to the machine and switch it on. There is a price, however. Once the machine is switched on you will not remember anything that happened prior to switching on the machine.
Your question: Do you want to switch on the machine? (Note: the machine will never break down or be switched off by someone else...)
TOK Introduction

6. Is emotion all in the mind?
How does emotion affect the world of knowledge?
1. List all the emotions you can think of:
Emotions: ………….
Compliments of Sha Tin College
TOK Introduction

7. Is emotion all in the mind?
Are there any emotions listed which have identical meanings?
Does our inability or ability to describe these affect the way we perceive them?
Are any emotions related directly to our survival?
Are emotions learned or are they innate?
Can we classify emotions into specific groups?
TOK Introduction

8. a list sadness love epiphany hate jealousy fear frustration, confusion
amazement, wonder
appalled
love
hate
fear
lust
anger
embarrassment
shame
Have student demonstrate the emotion …. No words.
TOK Introduction

9. Which would you consider the 6 basic emotions?
Which 6 are the most prominent within your life?
TOK Introduction

10. Compare with these lists:
Happiness, sadness, fear, anger, surprise, disgust
(Van de Lagemat p. 147)
Pleasure, anger, sorrow, joy, love, hate, desire
(Korean Philos T’oegye, Alchin p. 294)
Fondness, dislike, delight, anger, sadness, joy
(Chinese Philos Tzu, Alchin p. 294)
Which emotions common to all 3 (and common to yours). Do you agree with these 6 basic? What should we consider to be our 6? Why?
Discuss translation…. What if you could only have one (left in the world and why?) Which would you most like to never feel?
TOK Introduction

11. Write a description of fear.
e.g. an intense feeling toward a threat that makes you want to run away from the situation.
Who gave a description based on physical characteristics?
Who described a frightening situation?
Can you give an example? Teacher anecdote….. Can the emotion be made worse through differences with culture?
If the emotion is related to the situation, can persons from any culture/background understand the emotion?
TOK Introduction

12. James-Lange Theory
James and Lange do not accept the following sequence :
I see the examination question, I get scared and then my heart rate increases (and I get a dry mouth etc.)
I see the exam question, my heart rate increase and I get scared.
Emotions are the feelings which come about following physiological changes in the body.
TOK Introduction

13. Lange specifically stated that vasomotor changes are emotions
The theory states that within human beings, as a response to experiences in the world, the autonomic nervous system creates physiological events such as muscular tension, a rise in heart rate, perspiration, and dryness of the mouth.
Emotions, then, are feelings which come about as a result of these physiological changes, rather than being their cause.
Lange specifically stated that vasomotor changes are emotions
TOK Introduction

14. A closer look at deduction.
(James) My theory ... is that the bodily changes follow directly the perception of the exciting fact, and that our feeling of the same changes as they occur is the emotion. Common sense says, … we meet a bear, are frightened and run… The hypothesis here to be defended says that this order of sequence is incorrect ... and that the more rational statement is that we feel … afraid because we tremble ... Without the bodily states following on the perception, the latter would be purely cognitive in form, pale, colorless, destitute of emotional warmth. We might then see the bear, and judge it best to run … but we should not actually feel afraid …
Note:
Euclid was the first to write down the axioms/postulates on which mathematics is founded. These are statements we accept without proof.
Like laws of the church? Can we disprove/justify them?
Euclid is the Mosses of mathematics?
The Pythagoreans reasoned that mathematical principles should always be justified rather than simply accepted and used. Sometime between the Greek mathematicians of Thales in 600 B.C. and Euclid in 300 B.C. the idea was perfected that what would be accepted as justification for mathematical principles would be a sequence of rigorous deductions. In other words, to establish a statement one must show that the statement is a necessary logical consequence of some previously established statements. These, in their turn, must be established on previously established statements, and so on. Since the chain can not go back indefinitely, the Greeks realized that at the start one must accept some small body of statements without proof. These statements in mathematics are called axioms or postulates, and the entire foundation of mathematics rests on these. This process, called the postulational method, has become the core of modern mathematics.
TOK Introduction

15. James-Lange TOK Introduction Note:
Euclid was the first to write down the axioms/postulates on which mathematics is founded. These are statements we accept without proof.
Like laws of the church? Can we disprove/justify them?
Euclid is the Mosses of mathematics?
The Pythagoreans reasoned that mathematical principles should always be justified rather than simply accepted and used. Sometime between the Greek mathematicians of Thales in 600 B.C. and Euclid in 300 B.C. the idea was perfected that what would be accepted as justification for mathematical principles would be a sequence of rigorous deductions. In other words, to establish a statement one must show that the statement is a necessary logical consequence of some previously established statements. These, in their turn, must be established on previously established statements, and so on. Since the chain can not go back indefinitely, the Greeks realized that at the start one must accept some small body of statements without proof. These statements in mathematics are called axioms or postulates, and the entire foundation of mathematics rests on these. This process, called the postulational method, has become the core of modern mathematics.
TOK Introduction

16. Does this translate for all emotions?
A closer look at deduction.
Questions:
If the physical characteristics could be removed then we would also remove the emotion. Do you accept this?
Does this translate for all emotions?
Do emotions exist only in their physical effect?
Note:
Euclid was the first to write down the axioms/postulates on which mathematics is founded. These are statements we accept without proof.
Like laws of the church? Can we disprove/justify them?
Euclid is the Mosses of mathematics?
The Pythagoreans reasoned that mathematical principles should always be justified rather than simply accepted and used. Sometime between the Greek mathematicians of Thales in 600 B.C. and Euclid in 300 B.C. the idea was perfected that what would be accepted as justification for mathematical principles would be a sequence of rigorous deductions. In other words, to establish a statement one must show that the statement is a necessary logical consequence of some previously established statements. These, in their turn, must be established on previously established statements, and so on. Since the chain can not go back indefinitely, the Greeks realized that at the start one must accept some small body of statements without proof. These statements in mathematics are called axioms or postulates, and the entire foundation of mathematics rests on these. This process, called the postulational method, has become the core of modern mathematics.
What about epiphany, déjà vu? Are these physically related?
TOK Introduction

17. Activity: Reflect on the following in your journals
A closer look at deduction.
Activity: Reflect on the following in your journals
“Emotion has the advantage of being open to all, the weak and the lowly, the illiterate and the scholar. It is seen to be efficacious as any other method and is sometimes said to be stronger than the others since it is its own fruition.” Bhagavad Gita
Efficacious: effective, efficient, successful
Fruition: final result, end, realization, fulfillment, achievement.
Note:
Euclid was the first to write down the axioms/postulates on which mathematics is founded. These are statements we accept without proof.
Like laws of the church? Can we disprove/justify them?
Euclid is the Mosses of mathematics?
The Pythagoreans reasoned that mathematical principles should always be justified rather than simply accepted and used. Sometime between the Greek mathematicians of Thales in 600 B.C. and Euclid in 300 B.C. the idea was perfected that what would be accepted as justification for mathematical principles would be a sequence of rigorous deductions. In other words, to establish a statement one must show that the statement is a necessary logical consequence of some previously established statements. These, in their turn, must be established on previously established statements, and so on. Since the chain can not go back indefinitely, the Greeks realized that at the start one must accept some small body of statements without proof. These statements in mathematics are called axioms or postulates, and the entire foundation of mathematics rests on these. This process, called the postulational method, has become the core of modern mathematics.
TOK Introduction