Introduction
More than human emotions is highly associated with negative impacts such as mental illness. Apart from fueling mood disorders like Major depressions, overflow of emotions results to various psychological problems like anxiety, hoarding, borderline personality disorder, phobias, and drug and alcohol abuse. The negative impacts of excess human emotions overshadow the advantages of the same. Survival is presented as the sole reason for the existence of human emotion: feelings have helped the human race to survive over time (Izard 23). Human emotions act as part of our sensory system that helps us survive and avoid a dangerous situation. The argument that human beings need emotions for survival purposes holds a lot of loopholes. Other animals and plants have advanced sensory systems without emotions, but they still survive the worst nature has to offer. If the negative effects of emotions on human beings outweigh its benefits, then we should ask the question: What if we did not have emotions?
Human emotions are made up of three components; the subjective component, the psychological component and the expressive component. The subjective component of emotions concerns the way human experience emotions. On the other hand, the psychological component of emotion deals with how the human body reacts to emotion. Similarly, the expressive component of emotions entails how the human body performs in response to emotion. These components of emotion aid in understanding the significance of emotion (Izard 23).
According to Antonio Damasio, we need human emotions for survival. Human beings generate an emotional system since it induces a rapid response to the hazard. There various plant and animal system that survive without the use of emotions, instead they use their sensory system. Human beings have a sensory system in addition to emotions. It is important to understand the role of human emotions apart from survival. Apart from the sensory system, human beings posses advanced conscious and rational system that aid in survival. As a consequence, the argument that emotion is for human survival is not sufficient for human beings to need emotions. It is without a doubt that emotions help us to build relationships with each other. These relationships help define us as a human being and separate us from the other animal species (Simons 1).
It is apparent that the significance of emotions goes far much beyond human survival. Emotions motives human being to take action, it helps in our decision-making processes and, it allows for the understanding among human beings. Without emotions, human beings would not enjoy the benefits it offers.
Research Plan
Works Cited
Izard, Carroll E. Human emotions. Springer Science & Business Media, 2013.
Simons, Ilana. "Why Do We Have Emotions?". Psychology Today. N.p., 2016. Web. 3 Mar. 2016.
