I will actually make one last point here. It is a logical argument that supports my view:
1.) Emotions themselves are value judgments. Positive emotions are always good emotional value judgments and negative emotions are always bad emotional value judgments.
2.) Emotions are qualities. They are a quality of euphoria and dysphoria and they are also a quality of a good or bad emotional value judgment. Not only are emotions simply value judgments of good and bad, but they are also profoundly beautiful or profoundly horrible value judgments that take on various tones, atmospheres, and personalities. For example, you can judge, through your thinking, a certain character and his/her traits and personalities.
But so can your emotions which means the emotions take on the attributes of this character. But like I was saying, since a good emotional value judgment is synonymous with a positive emotion, then positive emotions are a quality of good just as how having water inside a glass is having a real quality of water inside that glass. Likewise, negative emotions would have to be the quality of bad.
3.) The thought/rational/reasoning form of value judgments are not any real quality of good or bad value in our lives. If you had the thought of water, then that is not any real water. If you had the thought of pain or pleasure when no feeling of pain or pleasure was there, then that thought itself is not any real pain or pleasure. If you couldn't feel a positive emotion and you judged a positive emotion to be there, then that thought itself would also not be any real positive emotion. The same rule applies to negative emotions.
Likewise, if you had the thought/belief of being able to smell certain scents, hear certain noises, or see certain colors when you couldn't smell, hear, or see, then that would not be any real smells, noises, or sighted colors. In addition, positivity and negativity, along with love, joy, beauty, happiness, worth, suffering, misery, etc. are also qualities that cannot come about through our thoughts/beliefs/mindsets alone either. As you can see here, thoughts alone are just notions/instructions that help us make decisions and whatnot, but do not give our lives any real form of those qualities mentioned. They are just notions of qualities, but not any real qualities.
Therefore,
Conclusion: Positive emotions are the only things that can give our lives real good value and our negative emotions are the only things that can give our lives real bad value just as how having actual water and not a personally defined version of water is the only real water we can have.
It is also no different than how smelling certain scents are the only real scents we can have in our lives, how hearing certain noises are the only real noises we can have in our lives, how feeling pain and pleasure are the only real pain and pleasure, how feeling positive and negative emotions are the only real positive and negative emotions we can have in our lives, and how seeing colors are the only real colors we can have in our lives.
In short, positive emotions are the only real good and our negative emotions are the only real bad just as the hedonistic philosophy advocates regardless of the moral implications, shortcomings, or dangers of such a worldview. Personally, I would choose to avoid any foolish choices and dangers. But there are some stupid people out there in this world who would use my worldview to do reckless and harmful things to themselves and others.
Lastly, here is a response from a highly intelligent skeptic who points out emotional value judgments:
1.) Emotions themselves are value judgments. Positive emotions are always good emotional value judgments and negative emotions are always bad emotional value judgments.
2.) Emotions are qualities. They are a quality of euphoria and dysphoria and they are also a quality of a good or bad emotional value judgment. Not only are emotions simply value judgments of good and bad, but they are also profoundly beautiful or profoundly horrible value judgments that take on various tones, atmospheres, and personalities. For example, you can judge, through your thinking, a certain character and his/her traits and personalities.
But so can your emotions which means the emotions take on the attributes of this character. But like I was saying, since a good emotional value judgment is synonymous with a positive emotion, then positive emotions are a quality of good just as how having water inside a glass is having a real quality of water inside that glass. Likewise, negative emotions would have to be the quality of bad.
3.) The thought/rational/reasoning form of value judgments are not any real quality of good or bad value in our lives. If you had the thought of water, then that is not any real water. If you had the thought of pain or pleasure when no feeling of pain or pleasure was there, then that thought itself is not any real pain or pleasure. If you couldn't feel a positive emotion and you judged a positive emotion to be there, then that thought itself would also not be any real positive emotion. The same rule applies to negative emotions.
Likewise, if you had the thought/belief of being able to smell certain scents, hear certain noises, or see certain colors when you couldn't smell, hear, or see, then that would not be any real smells, noises, or sighted colors. In addition, positivity and negativity, along with love, joy, beauty, happiness, worth, suffering, misery, etc. are also qualities that cannot come about through our thoughts/beliefs/mindsets alone either. As you can see here, thoughts alone are just notions/instructions that help us make decisions and whatnot, but do not give our lives any real form of those qualities mentioned. They are just notions of qualities, but not any real qualities.
Therefore,
Conclusion: Positive emotions are the only things that can give our lives real good value and our negative emotions are the only things that can give our lives real bad value just as how having actual water and not a personally defined version of water is the only real water we can have.
It is also no different than how smelling certain scents are the only real scents we can have in our lives, how hearing certain noises are the only real noises we can have in our lives, how feeling pain and pleasure are the only real pain and pleasure, how feeling positive and negative emotions are the only real positive and negative emotions we can have in our lives, and how seeing colors are the only real colors we can have in our lives.
In short, positive emotions are the only real good and our negative emotions are the only real bad just as the hedonistic philosophy advocates regardless of the moral implications, shortcomings, or dangers of such a worldview. Personally, I would choose to avoid any foolish choices and dangers. But there are some stupid people out there in this world who would use my worldview to do reckless and harmful things to themselves and others.
Lastly, here is a response from a highly intelligent skeptic who points out emotional value judgments:
Quote:Emotions are value judgments too. If they weren't, humanity would not be distinct from other mammals; we would be biological machines with no autonomy, acting purely on instinct. For example, if you are physically hurt, and the doctor treating you causes you pain during treatment, do you become angry and bite him? No, because you are able to override your instinctive anger and fear at someone causing you pain with your ability to reason that the treatment is necessary and the pain is temporary. But a dog can't reason, and will bite to stop the person causing the pain. Both the instinctive emotions AND the reasoned thoughts are value judgments.
