Sarek: Are Vulcans Constantly Fighting Their Inner Emotions?

[sonak]

I think they've screwed up the rationale for rigid suppression ever since Sybok was introduced. Then it became not an issue of a real need for suppression for safety reasons, but instead as Stoek wrote, just an issue of a society imposing cultural orthodoxy.

 

[TerragonSix]

Well, it simply came down to either suppressing their violent emotions or destroying themselves.

Violent, I may be able to see.

But all?

As a follower of the way of Surak I would like to respond to this question. Specifically to the unspoken but implied conceit that there are such things as "good" or "bad" emotions.
It is the fact that emotions are not static states but rather tend to flow into each other.

If I might offer an example from my own life... I have someone with whom I am intimately involved. For a variety of reasons ours is a long distance relationship so we spend time together via chat program.

When I am anticipating getting to spend time with her I am happy. My thoughts are in joyful anticipation of the impending time when I will get to see her.

But then the time comes and she does not appear. And does not appear. And does not appear. Now I am worried. Frightened that something has happened to her. As time goes on I am angry as well.

Later when I finally get to see her I discover that she went earlier in the day to help a friend at the friends place of business and in attempting to return was prevent by an accident closing the only road between where she had been and home.

Because she assumed she would be home in time she had not emailed with any kind of a message about what she was doing.

Now I am enraged. We quarrel.

Now there are many, most in fact who would be inclined to label certain of those emotions as "good" and certain other of them as "bad". But there truth of the matter is that there is no such thing.

One of the first lessons that one learns when seeking to master one's emotions is to move away from such thinking. The truth of the matter is that the emotions simply are what they are. The good or bad comes from how I choose to act upon those emotions.

When I am so swept away with the thought of getting to see my lover that I cannot effectively focus on anything else I am doing, then my actions are out of balance. Likewise when I am consumed by fear, or rage. So the truth of the matter is that none of the above stated emotions are "good" because they were all let grow out of control and caused me to move out of balance.

Now picture an entire planet of beings dealing with such levels of emotionality All Of The Time.

The ideal is to recognize whatever emotional state one is experiencing at any given moment and to utilize it in a constructive fashion while never permitting it to grow out of control.

Many times however the demands of life make this nearly impossible. Sometimes the best choice is to simply suppress the emotion in question so that one is able to function effectively.

I would not dare stomp on someone's beliefs and philosophies on a whim. That is not my way.

But I would make the argument that suppression is not necessarily a good idea either.

I will make the concession that emotion in and of itself should be somewhat controlled, but I do not think it should be suppressed. I would also conceed that emotion, in and of itself, is neither good nor bad, rather, an emotion, nothing more. An emotion, depending on the severity and nature in which it happened can be justified and logical.

Here is the main problem. I think a lot of people misinterpret emotional control, over mental discipline as being the same thing. It isn't. I consider emotional control similar to that of a gain adjuster of an amplifier. There is love...then there IS LOOOOOOVVVVVVEEEE. I consider mental discipline in reacting justifiably in any given situation.

I'm not downplaying or invalidating your thoughts and emotions, but lets take the example of your missed chat connection with your lover. You were excited to be able to talk to your significant other at a given time. I"m assuming you have a feeling of closeness to this person; this is a valid emotion; happiness, love, and excited. It is a logical response to the proper situation.

The time passes, and a no show occurs. You have feelings of fear, then anger.... Why? Because you made an assumption that:
1.) Something awful has happened to her
2.) She stood you up to hurt your feelings, forgot, or some other hurtful thing. (I'm not a mind reader)

This is not a valid emotional response to a situation, and its illogical. There could be many reasons why she didn't show up to chat, and, as you found out, there was. She was helping a friend out and got stuck in traffic because of an accident.

You made an assumption based off illogical reasoning and had an error of mental discipline. If I'm not mistaken, the Way of the Surak encourages the use of logic and intelligence for a more tranquil way of life.

Then, as you say, you became enraged. And proceeded to argue with her.... Why? She gave you a valid, reasonable explanation of why she was late for the meeting, and even said that she would've made it on time, had it not been for an accident. She fully intended to speak to you on time, at the proper moment.

A more logical approach, and a more valid, harmonious reaction might have been one of relief that she was okay, or if you had used your logic and mental discipline in the first place, might have waited for an explanation instead of making an assumption that something was wrong, or that she forgot about you and/or was trying to hurt you.

Look, I do have emotions. I have anger, love, fear, etc. as part of my being. Upon further reflection, I suppose that if a person is to feel love, then they have to know the feeling of hate as well. A person may feel fear, but they also feel joy as well. I don't suppose it would be any easier for Vulcans to eliminate, anger, hate, fear but still have love and joy.

I could not and would not try to fully suppress my emotions.

To be honest, it's hard for me to suppress my emotions at all. I want to feel pure joy as I may hold my future son/daughter in my arms. I want to be happy and humored as I watch a comedy show.

..And though I'm not looking forward to it, I need to feel sadness when a close one to me passes away, and I need to feel anger at someone who has wronged me.

That's my way of life.

 

[Stoek]

Hey T6,

This is a placeholder response. I want to give your intelligent and thoughtful reply the response it deserves and didn't want you to think I was either ignoring it or offended, so when I'm able (hopefully tonight or tomorrow) to read more closely and reply I'll edit this post into that reply.

Peace
And
Long
Life

 

[7thsealord]

IMO, comes down to the old line, "Too much of anything is not necessarily a good thing."

 

[Anwar]

That was the big lesson Spock finally learned in TMP: He finally gets to experience what a mind utterly devoid of emotion is like, a mind utterly ruled by logic.

And it ends up being such an empty existence he realizes his quest to be totally logical was all BS and it wouldn't help him at all. It's when he realizes that his irrational human emotions have enriched his life more than limited him and that it will always be up to him to balance both instead of just blaming his human side for any frustrations.

 

[BillJ]

IMO, comes down to the old line, "Too much of anything is not necessarily a good thing."

Even Star Trek!

 

[7thsealord]

IMO, comes down to the old line, "Too much of anything is not necessarily a good thing."

Even Star Trek!

BLASPHEMER!!!!!