Emotions are intrinsically good and bad

[Transcended Dimensions]

Personally, I thought my sight analogy works very well to get my point across even though it might not be a perfect analogy. We can still use analogies and metaphors to get our points across even though they might not be perfect. They just have to be good enough to get our point across.


Without this inner light (our positive emotions), then your life can only amount to nothing.  Even without the light of god within us, acknowledging the values of things and situations would still be vital in order for you to make wise decisions.  But that can never replace the inner light which means our lives would still be empty without it.  The lives and artistic endeavors of genius artists who didn't have this inner light would also have amounted to nothing.  It doesn't matter how many magnificent goals they've achieved.  The inner light is the ultimate thing and nothing can replace it.  Without it, then you have nothing.  Remember, this religious worldview of mine could also take on a secular form as well if we are living in a purely naturalistic universe where there is no god, afterlife, or paranormal.  If it were to take on a secular form, rather than saying that our positive emotions are the inner light of god and that our lives would be empty without his inner light, we would instead say that our positive emotions are simply things we need.  Otherwise, our lives would be empty.

Some would say that pleasure without meaning is empty.  Is 'meaningfulness' an emotion?  I don't think so.  Regardless, studies have shown that people who are depressed have a more realistic assessment of things than those who are happy.  This seems anathema to your claim that positive emotions are foundational to identifying objectively positive values.

Beyond that, I just don't get what it is you are on about.  Good emotions feel good.  Bad emotions feel bad.  Got it.  So what?

Again, you can still identify (acknowledge) good values without positive emotions, but you cannot perceive them.  Also, all I am saying here is that, from my own personal experience which was a revelation, the positive emotions of joy in my life go far beyond simply acknowledging good values in my life.  The same thing applies to my feelings of misery and despair.  From this, I conclude that thoughts alone are no way to live.  It can only be our positive emotions that make our lives and artistic endeavors truly worth living for.