The following is an essay I wrote for my Humanities Forum (Philosophy in Television Series) class. It is in response to Dr. Carl Colavito's prompt, "How can emotions be educated or governed?"
Human feelings and emotions, in and of themselves, are natural and can neither be learned nor taught. Even our fundamental expression of these emotions are ubiquitous across vastly different cultures, as has been proven through various experiments in which individuals across the world recognize the emotion corresponding with facial expressions likewise gathered from a variety of cultures. Most probably, emotions are a product of our human evolution, originally and in many cases still serving to aid our survival as a species. Fear and anger aid our defense against that which may cause us harm, such as precarious ledges or natural enemies; happiness and joy encourage us to partake in those things which aid our survival, such as food and intercourse; and compassion, empathy, and love allow us to form bonds with others, aiding our develop into a supportive community in which people come to the aid of others. Over time, however, as we have created a great many stimuli unrelated to our direct survival we have exhibited an emotional reaction to such things, independent of our own survival needs. These types of triggers, as well as which emotion is consequentially felt, its intensity, and how it is expressed, are most certainly both learned and taught.
The greatest educator of all is experience. The ways in which others react to our actions, achievements, and failures – particularly doing our youth – have a pivotal effect upon our learned emotional response to future such replications of behavior. The child who receives praise and support from his or her parents, teachers and/or peers upon receipt of a good grade on a school assignment will most likely develop a positive emotional reaction to future such grades. Conversely, a child who is in someway ridiculed for achieving high marks in school, perhaps by teasing from friends or family, will most likely develop a negative emotional reaction to achieving high grades. In other words, one child may feel proud and happy from an “A” grade, while another child upon receipt of the same grade may feel scared, ashamed, or embarrassed. This emotional reaction is not the product of evolution but rather the product of environmental education.
In addition to emotional reactions, we are also taught throughout life the intensity and means by which we express our emotions. These elements, combined with our degree of empathy for others, comprise what psychologists Peter Salovey and John Mayer called emotional intelligence. After their development of the theory of emotional intelligence, and its subsequent popularization via the New York Times, a debate arose regarding whether or not emotional intelligence should be taught in schools. It’s important to note that the debate was not whether or not emotional intelligence could be formally taught, but rather whether or not it should be.
Regardless of the aspect of emotional intelligence being examined, a conscious education of it would prove difficult to effectively achieve by others. The best way to “educate” an individual’s emotions would be through conditioning, as earlier described. By triggering or rewarding desired emotional expression one could attempt to teach certain emotional behavior. Individuals, however, cannot simply experience an emotion at will. It must be triggered, which means the educator of emotions would need to be always present so that the proper conditioning could occur at every applicable moment. In addition, the means of conditioning itself could prove counterproductive, as individuals may have already learned to have a negative emotional reaction to praise or some other form of reward.
Can our emotions be trained or governed by others? Absolutely. The best way to achieve an enhanced emotional intelligence, however, is by self education. By examining when and how our emotions are triggered as well as the intensity of those emotions and in what ways we express them, and comparing these things to that which we most desire or the ways we believe we ought to be, we can begin to make adjustments to our emotional behavior. In addition, by becoming aware of the ways in which our emotions are trained - by the conditioning from other people in our lives and from the messages present in media and popular culture - we can choose which “lessons” of emotion we embrace, and which we reject. Only by becoming aware of these subconscious stimuli can we engage in the act of true emotional self education. It is due to this that when it comes to the education of others, the most effective means is not through active conditioning, but rather the encouragement of such reflection combined with the examination of what emotional behaviors and reactions are the best possible ones to exhibit.
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