What is the strongest emotion?

40.48% • 17 votes • Love
21.43% • 9 votes • Anger
14.29% • 6 votes • Hate
11.90% • 5 votes • Depression
11.90% • 5 votes • Sadness
0% • 0 votes • Happiness
Total votes: 42
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What is the strongest emotion?

Magdalena
Spartalena
Tyrant of Words
Wales 62awards
Joined 21st Apr 2012
Forum Posts: 2993

Apparently, it is fear.


“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown”


― H.P. Lovecraft.

CruelHandedWriter
Jamie Rhodes
Dangerous Mind
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Joined 20th Sep 2009
Forum Posts: 1426

balls. surely it all depends on what we do with it, how we interpret it and how it fits in. is it that it hits us hard and staggers us. or is it because we worked our asses off to find it? hmmmm. I'm a little dubious, bit I'll say that the strongest emotion is the sensation of moving forwards.

Magdalena
Spartalena
Tyrant of Words
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Joined 21st Apr 2012
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I would say it depends on what is driving any emotion and the person who is dealing with that emotion.  We each handle things differently.

Anger has served a powerful purpose for me very purposefully.

Viddax
Lord Viddax
Guardian of Shadows
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Even the grief-stricken can smile, and those in despair can have a morbid love for their state of greying stagnation. Anger has power and purpose but in times of peace the god of war trips over themself: without a direction for anger it boils into acidic self-hatred opening a few doors to despair.

As for fear, the stalking shadows are soon banished when shouted at by a raging rampage in their storming campaign or laughed into impotency by a delightful trickster.

A leader with some charisma and a little empathy can make people do almost anything, for good or bad, so empathy must be slightly up there and coming round from the outside.

SEAN
Thought Provoker
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Joined 8th Nov 2012
Forum Posts: 279

love,the one emotion you would give your own life for or take anothers

opheliac
Dangerous Mind
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Joined 29th Aug 2009
Forum Posts: 2122

so I guess I'm the only one who voted for hate!

Satyr
Twisted Dreamer
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Joined 20th Feb 2014
Forum Posts: 59

In psychoanalysis, Freud defined hate as an ego state that wishes to destroy the source ov its unhappiness. Because hatred is believed to be long-lasting, many psychologists consider it to be more ov an attitude or disposition than a temporary emotional state.

opheliac
Dangerous Mind
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Joined 29th Aug 2009
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Satyr said:In psychoanalysis, Freud defined hate as an ego state that wishes to destroy the source ov its unhappiness. Because hatred is believed to be long-lasting, many psychologists consider it to be more ov an attitude or disposition than a temporary emotional state.

That's very interesting Satyr. But if hatred is a disposition because it's long lasting, what about depression that goes on for years? Does it also become part of your attitude?
Also, all emotional states can be temporary or long lasting. Defining emotional states according to their time-span Is tricky and wrong.

Eshai
Strange Creature
Joined 4th Apr 2014
Forum Posts: 4

For me, personally, I have encountered no stronger emotion than hatred; the absolute and unstoppable desire to destroy. Within my life, love itself bows down to hatred, for any significance that my love could generate is motivated by the fear of its loss. My anger, while closely tied to hatred, exists only within the heat of the moment. Hatred pushes past the spontaneous anger, and can thrive for a lifetime in subtle distillation, to purify into Revenge. Only through hatred can any of the positive emotions I have ever experienced be given any marked value. Hatred is my definer. In my view, depression and sadness are merely weaknesses, each bringing forth apathy and thrusting me into a vegetative, dispassionate state. I similarly view happiness as a weakness. It is merely contentment, and therefore a stagnant state where conflict and growth does not exist.

Austin_Rura
Austin Rura
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Forum Posts: 327

eshai... i would say sympathy or even empathy can only be clearly displayed in the actions of humans that are themselves in a good enough mental state to force themselves to feel what others feel whether they feel love towards their fellow man or hatred towards the current world as a whole. apathy is always a choice that becomes easier to make with personal priorities. i would also say that if you view happiness as a state of contentment u sir are not having enough fun with your endorphins jk but thats my opinion ... however once again fear is prevalent in your example. when you want to destroy it is really just likely a vane attempt to protect what you fear will be destroyed. fear is also a motivating factor in my own life. fear will always be the motivating emotion to drive forward hateful passions and loving desires. without the fear that im going to die if i dont move today or the fear my loved ones will go without things that i can provide for them or even the fear that at the end of my life i wont have amounted to anything are all driving factors which personally keep me from turning into a whine-o crackhead under the overpass

poet Anonymous

the feeling of awe! spawns an emotion of fear or amazement

Austin_Rura
Austin Rura
Thought Provoker
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Joined 6th Dec 2013
Forum Posts: 327

i change my mind... the strongest emotion is hope... it cancels out fear altogether

Eshai
Strange Creature
Joined 4th Apr 2014
Forum Posts: 4

Personally, I see a difference, though perhaps a subtle one, between Happiness and Pleasure.

"when you want to destroy it is really just likely a vane attempt to protect what you fear will be destroyed."
In some cases, perhaps, but that is not an absolute answer. And even when that is the case, does that somehow invalidate the desire or make it less appealing? I dare say it does not. There is also the desire to destroy for the sake of destruction, because the physical act itself is amusing. Though granted, this has less to do with hatred.

Austin, do you think a person can dwell in hatred while also maintaining self control and discipline, and ultimately not become a crackhead? Personally, I hate mind-altering drugs because they do exactly that: create vulnerability and foster weakness and dependency.

In terms of strength, hatred coupled with such discipline can be very powerful.

There seems to be a connection many people make with the negative emotions, and self destructive activities. While being self destructive often leads to the negative emotions, the inverse is not necessarily true. Besides, to not explore the negative aspects of the Self is to condemn one's Self to ignorance. For example, Jungian "shadow work" emphasizes this.

Austin_Rura
Austin Rura
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Eshai... good points all around, however i believe that we are all capable of being happy on and off throughout our lives (like any emotion) but, at the same time, i also believe the majority of the world is not truly happy. if we were born with all the happiness we ever needed there wouldnt be any point in humans growing up and learning throughout there lives. thus we are free to chase what it means to be happy in our own way. personally this comes with hating most aspects of my life as well as working to change them... at the same time tho if i was content and didnt hate things in my life i would have no motivation to change. having no motivation and ultimately turning into a crackhead or drunk was only an example... but yes i believe that hatred of things that we would change coupled with self respect-(rather worded than self control) and discipline can lead a person on there way to happiness and a full life no matter what there background or current lifestyle

opheliac
Dangerous Mind
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Joined 29th Aug 2009
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dkruie said:the feeling of awe! spawns an emotion of fear or amazement

like the 18th century definition of sublime... ?

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