@MozartLink,
Other Person's Response: Are emotions, by themselves, perceptions of good, bad, beauty, etc.? Or, do we make them perceptions of good, bad, etc. by having the thought or belief that something is good, bad, etc., and that thought or belief giving us perceptions (feelings) of goodness, badness, etc. in regards to that thing?
My Reply: I'm not sure, but I think emotions only become perceptions of good, bad, beauty, etc. through our thoughts and beliefs. So, if someone automatically felt a certain emotion in regards to a given thing, and said emotion wasn't triggered by the person's way of thinking or believing, then I don't think that emotion can be a perception of good, bad, value, beauty, etc. in regards to that thing.
Other Person's Response: So, a thought that something's horrific makes us feel horror in regards to that thing, so we can perceive it as horrific?
My Reply: Yes. Thoughts and beliefs make us feel emotions, so we can perceive things as good, bad, horrific, etc. But, there are things that can prevent thoughts and beliefs from making us feel certain emotions.
Other Person's Response: When a person sees red, actual red is there. When a person sees beauty and goodness, then actual beauty and goodness is there.
My Reply: Yes, and positive emotions are actual beauty and goodness, since they're feelings/perceptions of beauty and goodness. Also, the color red is a perceptual (visual) state, which means red doesn't exist in the physical world. It only exists in our minds. The same idea applies to sounds, smells, and even good, bad, beauty, horror, etc. So, colors, sounds, smells, good, bad, etc. are all perceptual states. They're all produced by the brain. But, the brain can't produce any of them if the necessary brain regions aren't working properly because there are blind people, deaf people, people who can't smell, and people who are unable to feel certain emotions. So, there are people who can't perceive colors, sounds, smells, good, bad, etc.
Other Person's Response: As for sound, there are vibrations in the physical world. But, actual sound is something produced by the brain. So, sound itself doesn't exist in the physical world.
My Reply: Correct.
Other Person's Response: Your philosophy is basically saying there's no good, bad, etc. in this world, and that it's all in our mind?
My Reply: Yes. Things like good, bad, beauty, etc. are all perceptions.
Other Person's Response: So, this world isn't beautiful or horrible, and we make it a beautiful or horrible place for ourselves by perceiving it as beautiful or horrible?
My Reply: Yes. But, without our emotions, we can't make that happen.
Other Person's Response: According to your philosophy, when a person feels good about something, he's perceiving it as a good thing? Since perceptions of good are the only good things in life, then that means feeling good is the only good thing in life?
My Reply: Yes. The only goodness that exists is the goodness we perceive. The same thing applies to bad.
Other Person's Response: Are feelings (perceptions) of value and worth the only valuable and worthwhile things in life, just as how feeling good is the only good thing in life?
My Reply: Yes.
Other Person's Response: I think your philosophy is very childish.
My Reply: There will be people who'd say that any given worldview is childish. For example, atheists would say that Christianity is childish, since Christians aren't growing up out of this mystical, fairy tale nonsense that they live their lives by. Christians would say that atheism is childish, since atheists are rebelling against the Christian doctrine, and not living their lives in obedience to the Lord.
I could even say that people who live by a philosophy opposite of mine is childish, since these people trivialize emotions, have stigma against those who uphold the importance of emotions, deny the fact that emotions are the only good and bad things in life, and call me childish. My point is, when people say that any given worldview is childish, that's just their opinion. So, if people say my philosophy is childish, then that's just their opinion.
Other Person's Response: What if people say that your philosophy is nonsense?
My Reply: Again, when it comes to any given worldview, there will be people who'd say it's nonsense. So, if people say that my philosophy is nonsense, then that's just their personal view. I think any philosophy that opposes mine is nonsense, and that would just be my personal view.
Other Person's Response: You say, in another document, that you're undecided when it comes to controversial topics, which means you should remain undecided as to whether any philosophy that opposes yours really is nonsense or not, since even that's controversial.
My Reply: You're right. But, for me, my emotions are the only good and bad things in life, since that's just my personal experience.
Other Person's Response: What are your thoughts on changing your philosophy to a better one?
My Reply: If people think my philosophy is childish nonsense, and they try to convert me to a different philosophy, then that would be like trying to convert a Christian or atheist. It's just a waste of time because it's not going to work. As a matter of fact, nothing will work. So, you can argue with a Christian or atheist all day, and that won't convert him/her. Also, to try to convert me to a different philosophy would be no different than me trying to convert someone to my philosophy. Like I said, it's just not going to work.
Other Person's Response: So, why are people wasting their time having a discussion with you in this very document? Their attempts to change your philosophy are in vain.
My Reply: Such a discussion gives plenty of insight for readers in regards to my philosophy, and I wish to share this insight to people, such as my therapist, my mother, and anyone else who'd be interested in reading it. This discussion section addresses plenty of questions, objections, and responses people have in regards to my philosophy.
Other Person's Response: Do you think it's a futile endeavor to try to change your philosophy?
My Reply: Yes. So, this is just my philosophy, and I don't think anything can change it.
Other Person's Response: There are some Christians and atheists who convert over to a different worldview. So, I think it's possible for you to convert over to a different worldview.
My Reply: But, I think most people don't convert from whatever worldview they had. For example, most Christians don't convert. So, if you're a Christian, then it's very likely you'll remain a Christian your entire life. As for my worldview, which says that feeling good is the only good thing in life, and feeling bad is the only bad thing in life, many people would say it's a very limiting, self-defeating view. Unfortunately, I think it's very likely I'll remain stuck with this view my entire life.
Other Person's Response: I heard that our souls have incarnated into physical bodies here on Earth for the purpose of learning and growing. We undergo suffering and hardships to develop as individuals. You've had much suffering, since you've had many miserable struggles, and said struggles were a cycle of suffering that lasted many years. If god and his angels wanted you to have these struggles in the hopes that you'd develop a better philosophy, then they're really just wasting their time, aren't they? If you can never develop a better philosophy, then reincarnating here on Earth again and again to suffer a life of misery and unhappiness is pointless. It's never going to change your philosophy. So, what's the point?
My Reply: Exactly.
Other Person's Response: Hedonism is a philosophy that advocates the idea of seeking pleasure and avoiding pain. I think your philosophy would be a form of hedonism, since your philosophy says that we should pursue positive emotions and avoid negative emotions.
My Reply: Yes. But, the emotion perception theory is added into this hedonistic view of mine. So, instead of me having a hedonistic view that simply says we should pursue positive emotions and avoid negative ones, I have a view that says we should pursue positive emotions (perceptions of goodness, beauty, magnificence, awesomeness, etc.), and avoid negative emotions (perceptions of badness, horror, tragedy, disgust, etc.).
Other Person's Response: Many people, such as therapists, would even say to look on the bright side, and not the dark side. In other words, they'd say to look at the positive and not the negative (i.e. to see the goodness, beauty, etc., and not the bad, horrible, etc.).
My Reply: Right. When you see something as beautiful, good, or amazing, that's giving you a beautiful, good, or amazing experience (a positive experience), and we need these positive experiences. Our perception is our life's experience, and if we're perceiving things as horrible, bad, or disgusting, then we're just creating a negative life experience for ourselves. When we feel positive emotions (have positive perceptions), our minds are in the bright side (the realm of the holy light), and not the dark side.
Other Person's Response: Your philosophy says that feeling good is the only good thing in life, and feeling bad is the only bad thing in life. That means how we feel is the only thing that matters.
My Reply: Yes, because our perception/life's experience is all that matters.
Other Person's Response: I think hedonism says that feeling good is the only good thing in life. But, when hedonism talks about feeling good, I don't think it means perceiving someone or something as good. It just means a pleasant feeling. For example, if a person feels well after having recovered from the flu, then that would be feeling good, according to hedonism. When a person feels a pleasant, bodily sensation, then that would also be feeling good, according to hedonism.
My Reply: Right. So, when I talk about feeling good, I'm talking about perceiving good, which is a positive emotion.
Other Person's Response: Positive emotions are also loving, happy, sexually erotic, etc. perceptions, right? We should pursue those perceptions as well, shouldn't we?
My Reply: Yes. So, instead of just perceiving something as good, such as seeing a certain idea as good, we should also pursue loving, happy, and sexually erotic forms of goodness. That means we should happily perceive our hobbies, goals, and dreams as good, we should lovingly perceive someone as a good person, etc.
Other Person's Response: So, we should pursue feelings of happiness and love that are good feelings?
My Reply: Yes.
Other Person's Response: I heard the only thoughts that have traumatized you were thoughts of worry and concern in regards to yourself, and not others. For example, there was a moment in your life where you lost your ability to feel positive emotions, and that made you miserable. You're not really concerned about others, which is why the death and suffering of people and animals doesn't bother you at all. There were moments where pets in your house died, and it didn't matter to you. As a matter of fact, a person could suffer and die before your very eyes, and that wouldn't bother you. You'd just have a positive, casual mindset about that situation that causes you to feel positive.
My Reply: I wouldn't want to be traumatized and miserable when witnessing the death and suffering of others anyway, since that would be giving me a negative experience. I also wish I never had all these thoughts and worries that traumatized me and made me miserable, since that was nothing but a negative experience for me.
Other Person's Response: Since it's your mindset that causes you to feel certain ways, and since you don't feel bothered by the death and suffering of others, then that must mean you have the mindset that the death and suffering of others doesn't bother you.
My Reply: Correct.
Other Person's Response: Do you also have the mindset that people and animals don't matter to you at all?
My Reply: Actually, I have the mindset that they matter to me. For example, I had the thought that Michael Jackson was an awesome person, that thought made me feel awesome about him, and that feeling was a perception of him being awesome. The very fact I had that thought means I had the thought that he mattered to me. But, even though I see him as an awesome person, I wasn't bothered at all by his suffering and death.Other Person's Response: You say you normally have a positive mindset that causes you to feel positive emotions, and that you feel many negative emotions only during your miserable struggles/emotional traumas. Is it because you have a lot of negative thoughts making you feel negative emotions during these struggles?
My Reply: I think so. If one negative thought or worry causes you to feel miserable, then you're going to have other negative thoughts and worries making you feel other negative emotions. Also, I can't help but have these negative thoughts and negative emotions during an emotional crisis. During an emotional crisis, many things bother me, such as the name calling of others, having to do certain tasks, etc. But, they don't bother me at all when I'm not having an emotional crisis.
Other Person's Response: Since emotions are the only good and bad things in life, then our thoughts alone can't be positive or negative (good or bad). So, it's just thoughts making you feel positive or negative emotions, and not positive or negative thoughts making you feel positive or negative emotions.
My Reply: Right. But, I can still refer to thoughts as being positive or negative anyway, just for the sake of convenience.
Other Person's Response: You say you can't help but feel negative emotions during an emotional crisis. So, does that mean you do feel miserable when witnessing the death and suffering of others during an emotional crisis?
My Reply: Yes, sometimes, because negative emotions sometimes pop up. They're not traumatic feelings. But, they're still very negative feelings I don't want. But, like I said, when I'm not having an emotional crisis, I normally don't feel sad, miserable, tragic, etc. in regards to others dying and suffering, and that's a good thing because feeling good is the only good thing in life, and I normally feel good when I don't have an emotional crisis.
Other Person's Response: According to Hume, if we were rendered without the ability to feel emotions, then it wouldn't be a good thing to pursue our goals and dreams, help others, do certain tasks, etc. We'd just be apathetic vessels who are hollow on the inside. So, emotions have to be the only good and bad things in life.
My Reply: Right.