Knee-deep in Oxytocin

Interlude — About Emotions July 6, 2009

Everything is connected.

The human body is an amazingly complex system facilitated by electrical and chemical communication between and within the smaller systems that combine to create the moving, feeling, thinking human being. Even within cells, the “smallest building block” of the human body (they’re not, by the way–we can go deeper by explaining that cells are made up of molecules, which are made up of individual atoms, made up of electrons, neutrons, protons, et cetera–but I do not feel the need to take it this deep, so we’ll stop at the cell), there is communication within and between. The slighest changes in the electrical field of a cell membrane can facilitate a massive shift in the cell’s function.

And emotions? Feelings of sadness, fear, anger, betrayal… and, of course, happiness and contentment, love–a direct result of the body’s communication system. Everything has a purpose. Why do we feel physical pain? Because if we didn’t, there would be no mechanism for slowing down and forcing one’s self to rest, allowing the body time to heal. The area swells to make way for the rush of blood, complete with leukocytes (white blood cells) to ward off infection and oxygen to encourage cell repair. The swelling also helps prevent the animal (us) from using that body part, actions that could potentially cause further injury. The feeling of pain alerts us to the fact that something is wrong. Now, if these physical sensations are all mechanically, deliberately perpetuated, would it not be plausible that there be an equally deliberate mechanism for emotions as well? For as much as we like to believe that, as humans, we are intellectually calculating beings, much of what we do is driven and decided upon by our emotions. So much so, in fact, that humans incapable of feeling emotion of any kind have difficulty in making even such simple decisions as choosing to write with a blue or black pen.

Consider again the example relating to pain; the same can be seen to hold true for emotional pain as well. When do we feel emotional pain? It usually corresponds to a socially negative situation, yeah? As often a deterrent to acting outside the established norm, the anticipation thereof a preventative measure, emotional pain is the brain’s way of saying, “You’re an idiot. Don’t do that again.” And happy feelings? “This is good. Here’s a reward!” Highly simplified, of course, but… psh. The question we must ask now is, “But why? Why do we need these rewards and deterrents?” Excellent question, Billy–you get an A for the day. (forgive me, it’s been a long day, and my brain is fading slowly in and out)

Humans are incredibly social animals. We need others of our kind. A person in solitary confinement will slowly go mad without any human interaction. There’s a reason hermits are crazy! But, getting back to the serious tone with which I began, I don’t believe this simple fact that humans need other humans is at all debatable. The question again would be, “Why?” There may be one or several reasons for this. The group is stronger than the individual, more efficient at gathering food, protecting itself, raising offspring, et cetera, et cetera. In any case, however this sociability initially arose, the fact remains that those hominids with the natural desire to hang around and adhere to the social rules of other hominids were more likely to pass on their genes, and in this way this need for a connection with one another was perpetuated.

Several biological factors play into this. I shall go into them on a later date. But, for now, on with the story, as the plot has thickened yet further since I’ve begun writing this blog…