Whenever I discuss my view on emotions, that they are no more than instincts. That they are preprogrammed neural connections, Something that was either, formed in the womb, or formed during infancy, not based off of environment, but instead, genetics.
Whenever i discuss my view that we should strive to entirely rid ourselves of such basic instincts, and to attempt to be as rational as possible.
I always get at least one person saying something along the lines of. "what? You want to be to no different than a mindless robot?".
Here's my response to such people.
So, I had owned a pet snake for nearly 5 years.
Every few weeks I would feed him live mice. I would watch him hunt, and eat them. One time, I dropped mice into his tank, but he did not go after them, he instead, stared at the reflection of the mice, in the mirror behind his tank. I thought, like nearly all animals I had come across, that he would be smart enough to eventually figure it out. But no, he just kept...staring, continously smashing his head up the agaisnt glass. As I think back, I realize how...automated. My snake seemed.
Well, it turns out that most reptiles are indeed automated. After doing some research, I've come to learn that the reptilian brain is very primitive. That it does not, can not, invent new pathways.
This process of forming new connections, is limited to mammals, specifically the neocortex.
The neural connections this reptilian brain holds, are all formed, due to genetics, not Environment. This means, the reptillian brain is all instinct.
Even more interesting, is that when species evolved over time. They did not get rid of the old brain, they simply built ontop of it. This means, that you, and I, both have a part of our brain, that is exactly the same as my snakes.
You see, it is your emotions that are the very thing that make you no different than that of some mere automata
It is the reason why people are so easily manipulated. Because they are so easily, predictable.
