What are feelings?
Scientifically and philosophically speaking, feelings are the body’s subjective experience of its internal state and its relationship to external reality. They can be broken down into three key components:
- Physiological (body): this is the reaction of the nervous system and hormones. For example, fear is accompanied by the release of adrenaline and an increased heart rate.
- Cognitive (mind): this is the assessment of the situation. “This object is dangerous” or “This person is kind to me.”
- Subjective (soul): this is how it feels. The warmth inside from joy or the heaviness in the chest from sadness.
Feelings perform several vital functions, without which survival is impossible. They are a navigation and survival system that evaluates whether something is good or bad. This is the most ancient and basic function. Pain and suffering give the signal “avoid”. If a creature did not feel pain, it would hold its hand in a fire until the tissue was completely destroyed. Pain says: “Danger! Do something right now.” Pleasure and joy give the signal “seek”. Food tastes good because the body needs calories. Sex is pleasurable because we need to reproduce. Feelings are a compass that leads us toward what prolongs life and away from what shortens it.
Feelings fuel action. Without them, a creature would be passive. Fear makes one run or hide. Anger mobilizes forces to defend territory or offspring. Curiosity encourages exploration of new territories in search of better conditions.
For creatures living in groups, including humans, feelings become the glue that holds society together. Affection and love force parents to care for their helpless offspring for years; this is especially important for mammals. Empathy gives the ability to sense the state of another; it allows one to understand, cooperate, and predict their actions. If I am in pain, and I see that you are in pain, I understand that you need help, or that you should not do what causes pain.
Feelings help in decision making. Modern neuroscience has proven that without emotions, a person cannot make decisions. When we choose what to eat for dinner or whom to marry, we review the options in our minds, and each is colored by a feeling, such as mild anxiety, anticipation, or warmth. People with damaged emotional centers can spend hours analyzing where to go for lunch, because logically all options are equal, but there are no feelings.
It is important to understand that feelings are not a human privilege. They are an evolutionary tool. Simple creatures, such as insects, experience so-called proto-feelings—"taxis"—responses to stimuli and "drives," hunger and pain. They feel, but are not conscious of this "I" as the subject of the experience. Higher animals, such as mammals or birds, have the same limbic system as we do; this is the part of the brain responsible for emotions. Dogs clearly feel joy, fear, and affection. Elephants grieve. Humans are different in that they can reflect on their feelings. We not only get angry, but we can also think, “Why am I angry? Is this right? How can I use this anger?” Our feelings are filtered through the prism of culture, language, and morality.
From all this it follows that feelings mean the same thing to a living being as colors mean to sight or sounds mean to hearing. They make reality meaningful. Without feelings, the world would be just a set of facts and physical parameters (temperature +5, object is solid). Feelings color these facts in tones of importance: cold (bad, need to get dressed), stone (heavy, dangerous), a friend is nearby (warm, safe).
A living being is not just an energy processing machine. It is an energy processing machine that senses whether its life is good or bad, and strives to live well. This is the essence of life.