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Why Emotions Do Not And Cannot Motivate

@Cezjah (Cecil (CJ) John)
4 min readMar 4, 2023

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Cecil (CJ) John: Morality is a function of conscious rational intentionality, and not the feelings and emotions arising out of arational nonconscious instincts and intuitions.

ChatGPT: This suggests that moral decision-making should be based on conscious and deliberate reasoning, rather than on unconscious or automatic processes.

This view is consistent with certain ethical theories, such as Kantianism, which emphasize the importance of reason and rationality in ethical decision-making, and reject the notion that moral judgments can be based solely on emotional or intuitive responses.

However, it’s important to recognize that emotions and intuitions can play an important role in ethical decision-making, and that conscious reasoning may not always be sufficient to fully capture the complex and nuanced nature of moral judgments.

Cecil (CJ) John: Emotions do not and cannot play a role in ethical decision making although they may drive decision making and action.

ChatGPT: It’s true that emotions can sometimes be seen as distinct from ethical decision-making, as emotions are often associated with irrational or impulsive responses that are not subject to conscious deliberation.

However, it’s important to recognize that emotions can also play a more nuanced and complex role in ethical decision-making. For example, emotions such as empathy and compassion can motivate individuals to act in ways that promote ethical values such as justice, fairness, and human dignity.

Cecil (CJ) John: You are confusing motivation as the reasons for action with emotions as the motive impulse that drive or power action.

ChatGPT: You are correct that I may have conflated motivation with emotion in my previous response. Emotions may not be considered the sole determinant of ethical decision-making or action, but they can still play a role in motivating individuals to act in certain ways.

Cecil (CJ) John: Emotions and feelings are not truth apt, they are non propositional and not tools of cognition. I’m going to correct you again, emotions cannot be motivation to act because they are not constituents of reason.

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@Cezjah (Cecil (CJ) John)
@Cezjah (Cecil (CJ) John)

Written by @Cezjah (Cecil (CJ) John)

Architect | Computer Scientist | Mentor | Entrepreneur | Author > FinTech, Philosophy, Psychology, Affective Neuroscience, Fiction

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