Leader's Words:Man is not an emotional animal, man is a cost-effective animal!There is no shortage of examples of "emotionally motivated, impulsive" in our daily lives. But is there really only emotion behind the emotion? In this article, the word "non-also" is deduced from examples in daily life, and people are accustomed to careful calculations in the process of evolution. The next time when emotions arise, we might as well jump out of the surface of emotions and make a statement to our hearts.
The eighteenth-century philosopher Hugh Mo said, "Reason is a sl**e of the passions." This is classical Chinese, and the vernacular is: "Man is an animal of emotions and emotions!" ”
Whether it is literary or vernacular, for joy, anger, sorrow, love, hatred, hatred, etc., philosophers and the general public have all believed that it is the original power to control people. Man-made emotions and emotions, even a pitiful amount of reason and reason, are only in a position of domination and enslavement. The condition of man is truly pitiful and pathetic.
However, the recently deceased French anthropologist Lévi-Strauss reminds the world that there are traces of strange and even absurd rituals in primitive tribes, and that there is a common logic behind them in all their worldviews. The views of this master have changed the understanding of primitive tribes in the academic community and the world to a considerable extent.
Of course, the logic of the primitive tribesmen is obviously different from the logic of modern physics, chemistry, mathematics, economics and other disciplines. So, does modern science also have new and different interpretations of feelings such as joy, anger, sorrow, love and hatred?
Go far and start with a simple situation. If humans are really emotional animals, then once the animal is stimulated by the environment, it will directly express joy, anger and sorrow without pretense and embellishment. However, it is very strange that everyone can ask themselves: when they are reprimanded by their parents and teachers, how many people will talk back or look at each other angrily? For the boss or the examiner of the interview, how many people will directly vent their dissatisfaction? Probably not much, unless you make up your mind that "no one will be left here"!
It can be seen that there are still rules to follow for the use of emotions. In a word,The logic of joy and sorrow is simple cost-effectiveness. Being angry with your boss, examiner, or supervisor is cost-effective and cost-effective, so it's not worth it, and it's not cost-effective!
However, many people are angry with their parents, siblings, and are very polite to their friends: they would rather offend their family than be rude to their friends. It seems that family is not as good as friends, and why is that?
This kind of phenomenon, where there are many, seems strange, in fact, it is clear at one point, and there is no need to seek anything else, that is, the consideration of cost-effectiveness: offend the family, the family is still the family, and the blood is always thicker than water; However, if you offend a friend, the friend may cease to be a friend or even become an enemy. Therefore, you don't need to add or subtract new toes to know that offending friends is costly and ineffective, and offending family members is the opposite. People who are the spirits of all things will naturally go to the other side to take this.
However, another state of mind seems to be common: when you offend a friend, you don't feel guilty; Doing things that are sorry for your parents and disappointing them often leads to a strong sense of guilt. What's going on? This contrast is actually not difficult to explain. In the traditional society, the family should play the functions of production and consumption, savings and insurance, and the family should face the test of nature together and survive man-made disasters and natural disasters together. Only when ethics are closely related can we be in the same boat. In order to bring the relationship between parents and children closer, it is best to develop the corresponding conditions of support in terms of concepts; The concept of filial piety between the father and the son is an important condition for supporting the structure of ethics.
However, isn't that a bit of a contradiction? You can offend your family, but you don't want to offend your friends; However, when I am sorry for my parents, I feel sorry for my parents, but I feel the same way when I am sorry for my friends. Why? With a little reflection, you can realize that this superficial contradiction reflects the gross subtleties of human beings in dealing with emotions. Friends are temporary, parents are permanent. Therefore, in terms of small interests, you can put your friends first and sacrifice your parents and family; In the long run, of course, it is necessary to take care of the rights and interests of parents and families.
It can be seen that the use of love, hatred, joy, anger and sorrow is still consciously and consciously affected by cost-effectiveness. Precisely and concretely, man is not an emotional animal, man is a cost-effective animal! Reason is not a slave to emotion, emotion is controlled and controlled by reason!
In fact, the feelings of joy and sorrow deserve careful consideration, not philosopher-style wishful thinking. In the final analysis, in the process of evolution of nature, the human being, the spirit of all things, has also undergone a long transformation. Joy, anger, sorrow, love, hatred, etc., are the crystallization of this long process.
To a superficial extent, organisms have a need for warmth and satiety, and once the needs are satisfied, the organism naturally sends a signal and does not need to be explored. Therefore, after the stomach is stuffed with food, there will be a feeling of "fullness"; When you have clothes on your body, you will have a "warm" reaction. In the same way, emotions such as joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness are also biological reactions, reflecting the situations that the organism faces or experiences. When you catch a fish in the river, you will feel happy; When you lose the fat in your mouth, you will feel angry, and so on are all natural physiological reactions.
What is more important is that these physiological reactions, in addition to being catharsis for the organism, also have a very positive effect. Specifically, every life can be seen as a multi-round game (a repeated game). What happens in this round will have implications for the future. Therefore, emotions of joy, anger and sorrow are reactions to what has already happened, and in addition to this, they also have the effect of reminding, warning, stimulating, and inducing the future. For example, if you achieve a goal in your studies or work, receive encouragement, and have feelings of "joy", this physical and psychological state will induce future behaviors, hoping to bring more similar feelings.
At a more abstract level, emotions such as joy, anger, sorrow and rationality are integrated vertically and horizontally, playing complementary and cooperative functions, hoping to protect and enhance the well-being of living organisms. For example, if the bargain fails, the "angry" turns around; Thinking left and right and hesitating, "Flesh Bravery" directly shows love and so on. Therefore, emotions are equivalent to a stopping rule that instructs the organism to abandon the path in front of him and switch to another track!
The rituals and rules of primitive societies have a common logic that is worth understanding. In the same way, human emotions such as joy, anger, sorrow, love and hatred also have hidden logic, which is worth understanding - the world is meaningful.
Xiong Bingyuan is a well-known legal economist.
Excerpt from The Cost of Justice (1) The Beauty of Reason