Emotions provide regulation and motivation of logical thinking. Combination of emotions and logical thinking produces the basis for intuition and parallel data processing. I already described my understanding of intuition in an early chapter. Now I will add the concept of emotions to this explanation.
Here is a model. It is somewhat oversimplified, but it does illustrate how we use our emotions to supplement our thinking with intuition. During the life, we develop emotional values. Let's call them values for short.
Take for example a medieval person who is a scientist and a healer. His values are positive for family, love, knowledge, health, science and spirituality. His values are negative for aggression, disease, war, crime, mainstream brainwashing etc. These pieces of knowledge are stored in his memory and are associated with the values. I see them as more or less hard wired. There are many variables and experiences that change with time, but there are basic repetitive experiences and values associated with them. Now, say, a new event is perceived, say an enemy is approaching the town, causing an emotion of fear. This provides a certain overall vibration. This vibration brings up relevant memories and experiences all at once and an optimal path starts to evolve in a mind connecting most relevant pieces of knowledge. Values, associated with these pieces are taken into account and weighted. Obviously, the main question is to flee or not to flee? Family, children, belongings, social relationships, risks of fleeing are all taken into account all at once. Then a decision is made based on overall weights of different values. The logic is used but only after intuitive paths haveclarified the questions and plans. Maybe most rational is to protect the town?
My grandfather was a child in Dubossar at the time of pogroms. The Jews new that pogroms are organized by the Russian police. In Dubossar, a school teacher was brave and conscientious enough to organize and train Jewish self-defense militia. They practiced in advance, prepared weapons and the system of watching for pogrom crowd approaching. As the crowd was approaching the town, the militia was ready and firing preventive shots. The crowd was scared away. So pogroms happened in Kishinev and other towns, but never in Dubossar.
So generally, intuition and emotions help us to solve survival questions quickly, often helping to decide to flee or to fight.
Different emotions activate different pieces of information which are most relevant for each situation. The purpose of many emotions is to help intuition and logical mind to formulate a plan for action.
It looks like emotions a based in one part of the brain and logical mind is based in another part. They are interconnected. Since values assigned to pieces of knowledge depend on interpretation, logical thinking and interpretation are important. Interpretations change with new experiences or due to reanalysis of old experiences.
Current transformation of the humanity changes many values.
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Chapter 18