Three Emotions

     One of the things I'm geeky about is the human condition. At the center of the human condition is emotions; without the emotional impact of all the things that define what it means to be human, you just...miss the point.

     I once read an article describing three categories of physiological responses to emotions. These categories roughly fall into the three emotions anger, fear, and love. (The fight, flight, or *cough* friend response.) This does not mean that all emotions fall neatly into one of these three categories of emotion, just that the responses of the mind and body to any given emotion tends to fall into one of the categories.

     And, even if I read that article wrong or the information has been disproved, I think that anger, fear, and love warrant a little discussion.

What is anger?

     Anger is the knowledge that something is not as we believe they should be. Someone has disturbed our sense of the order of the universe and how it is or should be. They have challenged our identity, our property, or our loved ones. We can easily be wrong about the source or nature of the problem, but anger drives us to do something about it. Usually, it motivates us to fight or destroy.

     And yet, it can be a tool for social cohesion. It can bind people together into an army, or a revolution. Finding a common source of anger, a common enemy, is recognized even in popular culture as an effective tactic for binding a group together. 1984 details how anger (in this case, usually in the form of hatred) can tie people together. Scrubs had an episode with a character drawing everyone's anger to unite them as a group. It was also done in Avengers and Agents of SHIELD.

     But you must not let anger blind you. For anger loves to make a fool of the person it drives. Anger seeks destruction, but wisdom and patience may find a greater good.

What is fear?

     Fear is, in many ways, the opposite of anger. Where anger is centered on certainty, fear mucks about with uncertainty. Fear is the sense that something, usually unidentifiable, is not right in the world. People may even fear fear, and induce misdirected anger or hatred.

     Make no mistake: fear serves us. Anger seeks to make the world right, but fear seeks to keep us alive, first and foremost. It calls our attention to, and warns us to distance ourselves from, potentially dangerous people and situations. And yes, fear even has a social role; the fear of being seen or discovered encourages people to behave in the expected social manner.

     But we must question our fear, for fear inherently overreacts. It must, to ensure safety from danger. But fear is at its best as a warning, or an attention grabber. When you are afraid, pay attention. Is the fear justified? What can you do about the source of the fear, and how can you prepare for its consequences?

     Listen for that emotional alarm, and look for the trigger. You may save a life, or learn you did not need to fear.

What is love?

     So many plays, movies, books and poems have been written about love that it boggles the mind. It is such a universal force, that most movies and most stories, whatever the genre, seem incomplete if they don't address it on some level, whether it is love spurned, fulfilled, or distorted beyond goodness.

     At its core, love is preference. As we describe more complex forms of love, it becomes addictive and powerful. The fear of its loss drives people to terrible ends, but healthy love looks at the well-being of the person or object, as well as a preference for their company.

     Love is the most often recognized form of social cohesion. Loving those who raise you, or around whom you are raised, can provide critical emotional support and increase your lifespan. Love of country drives people to work together to create great works or fight for their fellow citizens. Love of humanity generates great deeds of charity, courage, and self-sacrifice.

     Love is not all roses. Like fear and anger, it can blind us. Experience the joys of love and giving; but don't let an unhealthy preference destroy the uniqueness you or others bring to the world.

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     A final thought: Love has a genre (romance), fear has a genre (horror), but anger does not have a clear genre. All three emotions can be themes in any genre. Is this because, as a friend recently suggested, that anger cannot exist in isolation? Can we simply love, or simply fear, but not be angry without a cause?

     What do you think? Why isn't there an anger genre? Or, if there is one, what is it?