The Earth According to Mark.

I had a discussion today with Charlene about what the purpose of art was (I argued the “physical manifestation of emotion”) and then we discussed the evolutionary purpose of emotion. How does emotion allow us to increase our fitness (probability of the actual survival of the fittest)? I believe that emotion is very binary – polar. In so many ways, you can look at it like this: the human brain constantly tries to apply logic and reason. The neurobiology of man is a perfect example. The human eye sees only lines and dots, no distinctive figures. Instead, the brains fills in the rest in accordance to logic. That being said, an angry emotive response can be applied to man’s inability to apply logic to a problem. When we can’t find a resolution to a problem we ultimately get angry. The stress starts a mechanism that’s quite complicated (take a neuroscience class). But when we are happy, the body releases chemicals to reaffirm the happiness, not only on a conscious level, but also on a physical level (endorphins, laughter, etc.). It’s a Pavlovian response: if life wasn’t all about happiness, then why would happiness be so good for us on especially on a physical level. This can also prove to be an argument against people who philosophize that “life is about joy and pain.” Because maybe life is about pain, but biologically, we strive for happiness. If anything, happiness keeps us alive longer. Why would we want pain when it can decrease our life span on a biological level? That’s like saying it’s okay to smoke because it causes cancer and cancer is pain and pain is love.

Pain is love. Sounds like something Michael P. explained to me once in terms of the Catholic religion. Which proposes another question: What’s the evolutionary advantage of religion?