Emotions Come from Circumstances and Relationships

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I agree to large extent that emotion is a strong way of knowing. According to the oxford English dictionary, the definition of the word “ emotion” is “ A natural instinctive state of mind deriving from one’s circumstances or relationship with others.” Seeing that emotions are influenced by certain experiences and events, one can gather that emotions are therefore tainted in that they vary depending on the various experiences that individuals have undergone and thus be very subjective in nature. As with all things subjective; only a singular or a few perspectives dominate to the exclusion of other viewpoints, which may actually be more insightful or pertinent. This can sometimes result in decisions being made irrationally without the benefit of an objective process, which is the main weakness of emotion. On the other hand, the key strength of emotion; accordingly; is its capability to lend itself to the enhancement of the experience of life. This in turn leads to the corresponding benefits such capability can bring. I will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of emotion as a way of knowing, in relation to the areas of knowledge in the arts and ethics.

Area of knowledge: The arts

Emotion is an essential ingredient in the pursuit and validation of knowledge. “ Art is everything, and everything is art”. Although this is quite an ambiguous statement, it is also my fundamental belief. Obviously, emotion has influenced this belief because emotion is what drives passion, which in turn fuels creativity. Creativity is seen in various artistic positions, whether they are painters, actors, musicians, etc. When we look at it in a historical contexts, we realize that the best work of artists come about when they have deep feelings about a top...

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...ment trigger the initial retribution, which causes the other party to feel equally aggrieved and vengeful. The dispute is subsequently fueled by a long-running cycle of retaliatory violence. In the case of the Albanian example given above, it is the very same negative emotions that form the ethical basis of their belief system of taking revenge. It is evident how emotion can be considered as a weakness in the area of knowledge of Ethics.

In conclusion, I agree that emotion is a good way of knowing. It is an intrinsic part of human nature, which requires no formal training to carry out. It is considered strength under the condition that it is very useful as an initial response to what is right and wrong. However, at the same time, emotions are very raw, and may not always result in the correct decision, which therefore undermines its reliability as a way of knowing.

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