Emotion

  • Emotion is a cultural concept that relates physiological states states to external stimuli using language
    • Humans possess multiple approaches (cognition (Private), memory, sentience) that enable this mental linkage
    • Despite their presence in many human cultures, emotions are ambiguous and inconsistent across and within cultural groups
    • Cultural norms affect how humans interpret and respond to emotions (e.g., repression, shame, guilt, ethics, law, punishment)
  • Many non-human species (Private) experience predictable physiological reactions to external stimuli
    • They may avoid certain stimuli (environments, predators, plants, landscape features) based on memory, instinct, environmental cues (sounds, smells, other agents), or warnings from others (bird calls).
  • The key difference between an "emotion" and a "physiological response to an external stimuli" is its expression using language
    • Language facilitates efficient sharing, regulation, and anticipation of physiological states and stimuli between individuals
  • This distinction is arguably semantic in nature

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