Emotionalism

Emotionalism is a doctrine which says that all human thoughts and human behavior are rooted in emotions.

In contrast to emotivism, a theory in moral philosophy, emotionalism does not focus on moral judgments but views emotions as central to all human action and understanding.

Emotionalism implies that all causation, rationality and reason are just coincidental happenstance. Fundamentally, they are not desirable and pursued because they perfectly express any “truth”, but because they create the subjective emotions of, for example,

• calmness, confidence and a feeling of security due to predictability,

• relief from uncertainty,

• satisfaction due to the feeling of “this makes sense”, due to the perceived “order” which rationality brings, or due to the perceived feeling of elegance which especially logical systems can evoke, etc.

Rationality and emotionalism are therefore not contradictory, but instead emotionalism is a doctrine implying that rationality is just a consequence of it.

Implications

Emotionalism is highly beneficial for understanding the world. This can be seen in subtle, but important and generally rather intuitive rephrasings, such as:

• Capitalists are not primarily motivated by money, but instead by the desire for the calmness and subjective freedom (e.g. in regards to being able to travel more) which having money brings them in the capitalist system, greed, desire to exercise power, etc.

• Religious believers are not drawn to religious practices simply because of their rational understanding or logical belief systems. Instead, they are motivated by the emotional comfort that belief provides. Faith offers a sense of purpose, emotional peace, and a connection to something greater than oneself. The rituals and practices are not pursued solely for their intellectual or rational value but because they evoke feelings of security, hope, and a sense of belonging to a greater narrative of existence.

• Parents do not simply raise children based on a logical or rational framework alone. The real driving force is the emotional fulfillment of nurturing a child, the love they feel, and the joy of watching their child grow and thrive. The investment in a child’s future, the teaching moments, and the sacrifices made are often motivated by emotional bonds rather than the desire for logical outcomes like educational success or career achievements.

  • For other people, it can be the opposite: They might be longing for the social status and the benefits which having a child at a prestigious school or a high-paying job brings, they might want to realize their own dreams through their children, etc. After all, the fundamental desire might still be “wanting the best for your child,” even though that might look totally different between parents.

See more examples here, generated by ChatGPT.

True motivation

From this notion, we re-establish causality: We assume that every emotion feels desirable for some, and undesirable for others. Consequently, an individual strives for certain emotions and is repelled by others. This then influences their actions.

That is, even if, from the outside, someone’s actions or behaviors seem incredibly illogical or even stupid according to a certain in-group (related: the “Schwurbler” phenomenon in Germany), just calling them “stupid” makes the divide even worse.

The will to understand can be initiated by either side, even if it feels incredibly hard at first. But genuinely striving towards eudaimonia leaves no other choice. Sooner or later, it always feels fulfilling, because understanding is love.