SDSSU

Tandag-Cagpus Module 3 Lesson 1

GE-Ethics The Act: : Emotions / Feelings and Moral Decision-Making

Module 3

1
Lesson
Emotions / Feelings and Moral Decision-Making

Specific Learning Outcomes:

After working on this module, the students will be able to:

1. Identify and differentiate emotions and feelings;

2. Determine the effect of emotions/feelings on moral
decision making;
3. Apply moral decision-making in day-to-day living.

INTRODUCTION
Ethical theory provides only a clarification of conceptual framework within which
moral reasoning takes place; it is therefore, in the required sense, neutral as between different
moral opinions. In this way, there is absolutely no content for moral prescription that is ruled
out logic or by the definition of terms (Leaño, R,et.al.).
Furthermore, according to Blakeslee,et.al, 2007, emotion is never truly divorced from
decision making, even when it is channeled aside by an effort of will. Moreover, both our
feelings and our reason reflect our participation in a moral community, or more likely several
moral communities. However, conscience reflects out integration of moral sentiments and
principles. We should test our conscience by explaining to others the reasons for our moral
presumptions, and listen carefully to concerns they may have. This is especially important
when dealing with ethical issues among family members or friends, but applies as well to
concerns about the environment.

A. 1
1. it in a comic strip.

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Tandag-Cagpus Module 3 Lesson 1
GE-Ethics The Act: : Emotions / Feelings and Moral Decision-Making

B. ABSTRACTION
Human actions, since they are products of our thoughts and desires, reveal our moral
character. What we are and what becomes of us as persons depend on our choices and
actions. Every human act involves a person emotionally. (by Ramon Agapay, p.21)

Emotions and Feelings

For most people feelings and emotions are very much the same. Naturally, we would
perceive them as synonyms; two words with the same meaning. However, even though they
are dependent on each other, emotions and feelings are rather different things. While they
have similar elements, there is a marked difference between feelings and emotions.

What are Emotions?

Emotions are biological states associated with the nervous system brought on by
neuro-physiological changes variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavioral
responses, and a degree of pleasure or displeasure.
Emotions are lower level responses occurring in the subcortical regions of the brain
(for example, the amygdala, which is part of the limbic system) and the neocortex
(ventromedial prefrontal cortices, which deal with conscious thoughts, reasoning, and
decision making). Those responses create biochemical and electrical reactions in the body
that alter its physical state – technically speaking, emotions are neurological reactions to an
emotional stimulus. (https://imotions.com/blog/difference-feelings-emotions/)

Emotions are physical and instinctive, instantly prompting bodily reactions to threat,
reward, and everything in between. The bodily reactions can be measured objectively by
pupil dilation (eye-tracking), skin conductance (EDA/GSR), brain activity (EEG, fMRI), heart
rate (ECG), and facial expressions. (https://imotions.com/blog/difference-feelings-emotions/)
Emotions describe physiological states and are generated subconsciously. Usually, they are
autonomous bodily responses to certain external or internal events.

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Tandag-Cagpus Module 3 Lesson 1
GE-Ethics The Act: : Emotions / Feelings and Moral Decision-Making

What are Feelings?

While emotions are associated with bodily reactions that are activated through
neurotransmitters and hormones released by the brain, feelings are the conscious
experience of emotional reactions. Originating in the neocortical regions of the brain, feelings
are sparked by emotions and shaped by personal experiences, beliefs, memories, and
thoughts linked to that particular emotion. Strictly speaking, a feeling is the side product of
your brain perceiving an emotion and assigning a certain meaning to it.
(https://imotions.com/blog/difference-feelings-emotions/)
Originally used in the English language to describe the physical sensation
of touch through either experience or perception, the word is also used to describe other
experiences, such as "a feeling of warmth" and sentience in general. In Latin, sentire meant
to feel, hear or smell. In psychology, the word is usually reserved for
the conscious subjective experience of emotion. (from Wikipedia)
A physical or emotional experience or awareness. (Cambridge Dictionary)
Feeling, in psychology, the perception of events within the body, closely related to emotion.
The term feeling is a verbal noun denoting the action of the verb to feel, which derives
etymologically from the Middle English verb felen, “to perceive by touch, by palpation.” It
soon came to mean, more generally, to perceive through those senses that are not referred
to any special organ. As the known special organs of sense were the ones mediating the
perception of the external world, the verb to feel came also to mean the perception of events
within the body.
Psychologists disagree on the use of the term feeling. The preceding definition accords
with that of the American psychologist R.S. Woodworth, who defines the problem of feeling
and emotion as that of the individual’s “internal state.” Many psychologists, however, still
follow the German philosopher Immanuel Kant in equating feeling to states of pleasantness
and unpleasantness, known in psychology as effect.

Difference Between Emotions and Feelings

A fundamental difference between feelings and emotions is that feelings are experienced

consciously, while emotions manifest either consciously or
subconsciously. (https://counseling.online.wfu.edu/blog/difference-feelings-emotions/)
By contrast, feelings are subjective experiences of emotions and are driven by conscious
thoughts and reflections. This means that we can have emotions without having feelings;
however, we simply cannot have feelings without having emotions. The emotion comes
first and is universal. What kind of feeling(s) it will then become varies enormously from
person to person and from situation to situation because feelings are shaped by individual
temperament and experience? Two people can feel the same emotion but label it under
different names.

What Causes an Emotion?

Scientists have discovered that our emotions are often caused by our thoughts. This
means two people could be in the same situation, but they might feel different emotions
because they have different thoughts (see Figure 1). Maybe you have noticed this with your
own friends and family. For example, imagine two people were both at a neighbor’s house
and this neighbor had a dog. One person might think, “This dog could hurt me!” and feel

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Tandag-Cagpus Module 3 Lesson 1
GE-Ethics The Act: : Emotions / Feelings and Moral Decision-Making

scared. This might happen if that person never had a pet dog before. The other person might
instead think, “Oh, what a cute dog!” and feel happy. This might happen if that person grew
up having dogs as pets. This shows how, if two people have had different experiences, they
might have different thoughts and emotions in the same situation.

Figure 1 - A person can have different thoughts about the same situation. Different
thoughts can then lead to different kinds of changes in (1) what your body is doing,
(2) what you pay attention to and think about, and (3) how you want to act. When you
notice these changes, you can use them to figure out what emotion you are feeling.

Emotions and Decision-Making

Effects of Emotions in Decision-Making

One good reason to understand emotions is that it can help you figure out the best
way to make decision of responding to them. To figure out how to respond, it is important to
first decide if your emotions match the current situation. Emotional reactions can be helpful
when they happen in the right situations. For example, if you feel scared of a snake, your
emotion of fear will help you stay away from snakes and avoid getting bitten. Or, if you get
angry when someone does something mean to you, your anger can let that person know not
to be mean anymore. Or, if your family and friends notice that you are sad after a friend
moves away, your sadness can help them see that you need their love and support.

However, sometimes these same emotions can be unhelpful if they happen in the wrong
situations. For example, if you get angry with a friend because he hurt you by accident, then
this might just make your friendship worse. Or, if you are so scared of taking a test that you
stay home from school, then this might stop you from getting a good grade in that class. Or,
if you are sad for too long after a friend moves away, then this might make it harder for you
to make new friends.

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Tandag-Cagpus Module 3 Lesson 1
GE-Ethics The Act: : Emotions / Feelings and Moral Decision-Making

If an emotion is helpful, you can listen to what it is telling you to do. But what should you do if
an emotion is unhelpful? Scientists have found that there are some good skills you can
practice, which can help you deal with unhelpful emotions. One skill—called “reappraisal”—
involves trying to change your thoughts. For example, if you are scared to go to school to
take a test, then you could try to find another way to think about the test that is less scary.
For instance, you might think, “Well, I passed all of the other tests I have had to take, so this
one will probably be OK too.” Or, if you were angry with a friend because he hurt you by
accident, you might try to think, “It was just bad luck—I know he didn’t mean to hurt me.” If
you change your thoughts about a situation, this can sometimes help change an unhelpful
emotion as well.

If you are feeling fear, and it is unhelpful in the current situation, then another useful skill is
called “approaching your fear” - To understand how this works, first remember that, when
people are scared of something, they usually want to do everything they can to avoid it. For
example, you might not want to go to school because you are scared of giving a class
presentation. The problem is that when you avoid situations like this (situations that are not
actually dangerous), then you can never learn not to be scared of them anymore. Instead, if
you force yourself to give many different class presentations, then eventually you’ll probably
stop feeling as scared of them (see Figure 2). Scientists have found that approaching your
fears (this means doing what you are scared of) is one of the best ways to make your fears
go away.
Figure 2

Figure 2 - In the example on the top, you decide to stay home from school because you are
scared to give a class presentation. In the future, you are always too scared to give class
presentations. In the example on the bottom, you are also scared to give a class
presentation, but you decide to do it anyway. In the future, you become less scared of giving
class presentations. These examples show how “approaching your fears” can help you learn
to be less scared in the future.

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Tandag-Cagpus Module 3 Lesson 1
GE-Ethics The Act: : Emotions / Feelings and Moral Decision-Making

Moral Emotions

Moral emotions are a variety of social emotion that are involved in forming and

communicating moral judgments and decisions, and in motivating behavioral responses to
one's own and others' moral behavior.
Emotions – that is to say feelings and intuitions – play a major role in most of the
ethical decisions people make. Most people do not realize how much their emotions direct
their moral choices. But experts think it is impossible to make any important moral
judgments without emotions.
Inner-directed negative emotions like guilt, embarrassment, and shame often
motivate people to act ethically. Outer-directed negative emotions, on the other hand, aim to
discipline or punish. For example, people often direct anger, disgust, or contempt at those
who have acted unethically. This discourages others from behaving the same way. Positive
emotions like gratitude and admiration, which people may feel when they see another acting
with compassion or kindness, can prompt people to help others.
Emotions evoked by suffering, such as sympathy and empathy, often lead people to
act ethically toward others. Indeed, empathy is the central moral emotion that most
commonly motivates pro-social activity such as altruism, cooperation, and generosity.
Agapay (2015) had also pointed out that emotion is one modifier of human act when
he admonished that, since our action is under the control of the intellect and will, there are
factors that may influence the intellect and will which we call as modifiers of human act
because they interfere with the application of the intellect and will, which either reduce or
increase accountability. One of these modifiers is “passions” which are psychic responses
which are tendencies towards desirable objects (positive emotion such as love, desire,
delight, hope and bravery), or tendencies away from undesirable objects (negative emotions
such as hatred, horror, sadness, despair, fear and anger). In themselves, passions are not
evil, however, they predispose a person to act, and they need to be subjected to the control
of reason.
Man is not a robot devoid of feelings and emotions. Every human act involves a
person emotionally. Thus, we pray fervently, we work earnestly, we play eagerly, we eat
heartily, or we live happily. So, emotions are natural and beneficial. However, emotions need
to be subjugated to reason because unbridled passions could lead a person to his perdition.
One must rein his emotions and work to his advantage.
“It is evident”, says Bernard Haring, “that education, through proper discipline and
cultivation of emotional life is in many ways more significant than the tense straining of will
power.” (The Law of Christ, I-199)
Moral perfection, therefore, should come from within. We Filipino speak of a good
person as possessing “mabuting kalooban”. He is one who has the fallowing feelings and
emotions: “mapagmahal, matulungin sa kapwa, at may takot sa Diyos.” (Agapay, p.40)
So, while we may believe that our moral decisions are influenced most by our
philosophy or religious values, in truth our emotions play a significant role in our ethical
decision-making.

How can emotional intelligence help us make better decisions?

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Tandag-Cagpus Module 3 Lesson 1
GE-Ethics The Act: : Emotions / Feelings and Moral Decision-Making

Both emotion and logic have a role to play in helping us make positive decisions. If
we understand where our emotions come from, and start to notice how they affect our
thinking and behavior, we can practice managing our response, and learn to make better
choices.
You can find out more about how to develop your emotional awareness in our guide
to emotional intelligence. You’ll soon feel confident in knowing when to listen to your
emotions, and when to tune them out.

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