What do lukewarm garbage juice, an intimate hug from a close friend, and the sight of a two-year-old child breathing their last breath on a hospital bed have in common? Essentially nothing, except for the fact that they all trigger emotions. Emotions are argued by many to be at the core of the human experience, yet the scientific community can only objectively define emotions with great ambiguity. Emotions are said to be “complex reaction pattern[s], involving experiential, behavioral, and physiological elements, by which an individual attempts to deal with a personally significant matter or event.”
Emotions Are Functional
There are a number of ways in which experts further define emotions. Scientists agree that emotions are functional, and their definitions diverge from there. Despite the puzzling and subjective nature of emotions, there exists common ground upon which many can agree upon: Garbage juice is disgusting, hugs make people happy, and a dying child is saddening. Not only do these emotions trigger thoughts in our heads, but they often have physical manifestations that validate their functionality. …