Subject: Philosophy

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The human (in)capacity of dominating emotions

To which extent is it possible for humans to control their emotions?

Table of Contents

Stimulus ........................................................................................................................................................3

Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................4

Stoic philosophy: Epictetus on emotions.......................................................................................................5

A counter to Stoics: Hume ............................................................................................................................6

Evaluation of the positions ............................................................................................................................8

Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................................9

Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................... 11

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 Stimulus

The stimulus chosen is a scene from the TV series Doctor Who (2005) from season 1, episode

6 called “Dalek”. The scene contains a dialogue between a creature called Dalek and a human,

Rose Tyler. Daleks can only feel hatred and anger but right before the dialogue, due to an

alteration in its DNA, it starts feeling all emotions available to humans. The dialogue is as

follows,

“DALEK: I can feel so many ideas. So much darkness. Rose, give me orders. Order me to die.

ROSE: I can't do that.

DALEK: This is not life. This is sickness. I shall not be like you. Order my destruction! Obey!

Obey! Obey!

ROSE: Do it.

DALEK: Are you frightened, Rose Tyler?

ROSE: Yeah.

DALEK: So am I. Exterminate.” (Shearman, 2005)

It mentions “feeling ideas” and darkness. It sees its new ability as sickness and despises it so

deeply that it wants to die. The Dalek asks Rose if she’s frightened, when she affirms, it answers

“So am I.” implying it is able to feel frightened like her. After this exchange the Dalek starts

to levitate, while up in the air it explodes and dies. Although what triggered the explosion is

unknown, it is clear that it was due to the new feelings it could feel. There are many ways of

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interpreting this scene, but I will address two possible interpretations of the Dalek’s fate. One

way of looking at it would be assuming that the Dalek’s previous actions were informed by

anger and hatred which made him do cruel and violent things in the past and when he got

introduced to other emotions such as guilt, compassion, mercy, shame, it killed itself as a result.

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On the other hand, one can argue that the Dalek was in control of his anger and hatred, but the

new emotions made him lose that control and eventually explode. The question here would be

whether the Dalek’s death was caused by a loss of control over its emotions, or did he take an

emotionally triggered decision to destroy itself?

THE
IDENTIFIED.HOWEVER
Introduction CLEARY
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The stimulus led me to consider the extent to which we can control our emotions. Therefore,

the philosophical issue discussed will be whether our human nature allows us to control our

emotions. Even though all humans constantly feel emotions, since Plato emotions are seen as

a threat. This threat emerges from the notion that emotions are irrational and cloud judgements.

This argument is still used to argue how women should not have executive positions because

they are too emotional. Even if the previous statement is totally erroneous, it is almost common

knowledge that emotions affect our judgements, thoughts and actions. This is the reason why

it is significant to discuss whether we are capable of controlling them or not.

I will be discussing the thoughts of Epictetus and Hume regarding the possibility of controlling

emotions. Briefly, Epictetus believes that through reason, emotions can be controlled whereas

Hume argues that even reason is informed by emotions and that it is impossible to control them.

My own opinion for this issue would be that emotions are like impulses, as they appear and

influence us involuntarily, it is not possible to dominate their influence. Nevertheless, I believe

that we have some control over our actions because emotions do not determine them, but they

do influence our judgements and ideas. Nonetheless, both perspectives will be thoroughly

µ
discussed, and a conclusion will be reached as a final answer to the philosophical issue, which

may be different from my initial claim.

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Stoic philosophy: Epictetus on emotions

Epictetus’ main point is that humans are able to and ought to keep their emotions under control.

For the Stoics, self-control is key for leading a virtuous life, Epictetus even said “No man is

free who is not a master of himself.” (Epictetus & Crossley, 2006) Epictetus’ emphasis on self-
rim
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control derives from his claim that it is the only way of achieving apatheia which is a state of

tranquillity, serenity and freedom. Judgements made in apatheia are free of the influence of

emotions because in order to reach the state one should control their emotions through reason

(Baltzly, 2018). Therefore, as according to Epictetus reason is the only thing capable of

controlling emotions, it is considered a virtue. On the other hand, emotions are thought to be

false judgements that hinder virtuous actions (Scarantino & de Sousa, 2018). For instance,

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crimes of passion are crimes committed due to the sudden outbreak of emotions. This example

illustrates how emotions can interfere with judgements and lead to irrational, unvirtuous

actions. In order to avoid such unvirtuous actions, Epictetus concludes that emotions must be

controlled. The issue, however, asks whether we are capable of doing so. In that case, Epictetus

would point out the power reason has. In our daily lives, we do control our emotions, examples

of this would be how we calm ourselves down when angry or overcome our fears. It should be

noted that emotions are not eliminated or totally ignored, they are controlled. The goal is to be

able to control emotions if the virtuous act is to go against them which is why being the master

Éi
of one’s emotions is important. Following the aforementioned example, it is possible avoid

committing a crime of passion because if one has mastered self-control, in such a situation their SIS
APN.AM

judgement would not be affected by emotions. In the Discourses, Epictetus argues that it is

possible to achieve this total self-control and explains how Socrates has an exemplar character

in regard to being virtuous (Epictetus & Long, 2004). Socrates’ rational behaviour justifies how

self-control is possible and it is actually in our nature to do so. Epictetus describes humans as

rational animals and therefore, we are programmed to master the control of our emotions.

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However, there are some possible counterarguments to Epictetus’ point. Reason is claimed to

be more powerful than emotions on the basis that it can control emotions. However, it is really
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common and easy for humans to lose control of their emotions. Most fights are caused by losing

one’s “temper” which suggests that there is a loss of control over emotions. The fact that we

can easily lose control suggests that reason might not be as powerful as Epictetus paints it to

be, so reason’s power is overestimated. I consider this overestimation to be an excuse to

underestimate emotions. Their influence on one’s behaviour cannot be ignored and living a

virtuous life is not an applicable goal. I believe apatheia is unattainable as it requires total self-

control. One can never achieve such a state because it is not possible to control the influence

of emotions. A different perspective might suggest that emotions are actually motivators. Hume

argued that judgements and actions are triggered by emotions. In the next section, his

philosophy will be explored in depth to determine whether it has more explanatory power than

Epictetus’.

A counter to Stoics: Hume

DEVELOPMENT

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Following up on the idea that emotions are motivators of actions, the essay will propose

Hume’s theory of impressions as a counter to Epictetus. The main point he argues is that all

our actions are motivated by emotions or ideas that come from emotions. Therefore, having
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control over emotions is not possible as even the action of controlling would be informed by

emotions. In A Treatise Of Human Nature, emotions alongside ideas are referred to as

impressions and those impressions make up a network (Schmitter, 2006). Ideas can lead to

emotions and emotions can lead to ideas and the network works as a force to motivate actions.

Hume suggests that without the impressions, ideas cannot be created which means that no

action could be taken. For example, when faced with a danger, be it a car coming at us, if our

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 ü
fear does not trigger an action, we would not move away from the road. Emotions can be

understood as indicators that tell us how to deal with certain situations. Furthermore, as Hume

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defines reason as a mental tool, consequently even reason couldn't be used if emotions are

oppressed. Therefore, it is fair to say that “reason is and ought only to be the slave of the

passions” (Schmitter, 2006). By passions Hume refers to emotions as we know them, and they

are more powerful than reason due to two main reasons. First of all, they have influence over

actions and sometimes even reason fails to prevent emotionally fuelled actions from being

manifested. A simple example of this might be how in a serious situation, smiling or laughing

can be involuntary and uncontrollable. It is irrational to laugh if there is something serious

going on, however our emotions are so powerful that we cannot help but laugh. Another similar

scenario would be how it is difficult to control crying because a feeling of sadness, anger or

even happiness needs to manifest itself somehow. Secondly, as Hume states, reason loses its

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functioning and power if emotions are not present. This, I would say, is a weaker argument as

there is no way to actually eliminate one’s emotions and check if they can use reason without

emotions. Nevertheless, one can argue that the goal of being rational and virtuous is actually

fuelled by emotions such as fulfilment, achievement or superiority. In short, for Hume

emotions are the main triggers of our actions alongside ideas which are also connected to

emotions through the network of impressions. In order to control emotions, we need reason,

however reason cannot exist if emotions do not act as motivators. Therefore, it is not possible

to have self-control, as reasons depends on emotions to exist. Besides, emotions are vital for

any action we take, so we depend on emotions to survive. Given the power and importance

emotions have, it would be unrealistic to think that one can have total control over their

emotions.

It

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 Nonetheless, there are some possible criticisms to Hume as well. For instance, one can argue

ÉI
that letting emotions dictate actions would lead to impulsive decisions that fail to account for

the harm they might cause. Emotions can lead to violent actions triggered by anger, in that case

emotions would be causing suffering to others as well as the person. It seems problematic to

advocate for not controlling emotions while it poses such a risk. Therefore, it could be argued

that controlling emotions would prevent harm and suffering which makes self-control a goal

worth trying.

Evaluation of the positions

So far both positions have been explained and some possible counterclaims have been

discussed. However, in order to reach a thorough conclusion, the arguments will be contrasted

and evaluated. Starting from the latter criticism of Hume, the possibility of being harmed by

emotional impulsivity, I believe, is an important criticism. Even so, Hume’s position does not

remove reason altogether, it just argues that reason comes from emotional roots. One can still

use the tool that is reason to overcome irrational and impulsive behaviour. The main difference

in Hume’s understanding of reason would

f be that it is a product of emotion, and not a virtue.
Epictetus argues that our nature is rational which is why we are capable of controlling emotions.
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However, Hume’s approach of classifying reason as a tool seems more convincing. This is

because emotions are already a part of our being due to their inevitability and everydayness

whereas a purely rational lifestyle requires an extra effort. One can argue that this effort to go

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against instincts can even separate us further from our nature by trying to do something we are

not capable of.

JUSTIFICA In OF MAIN POINT

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criteria

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The two perspectives might be brought together by acknowledging that the influence of

emotions is impossible to avoid, however the responsibility of our actions and the freedom to

choose are still ours. In which case, apatheia could be possible to an extent as the goal would

be to act virtuously. The influence of emotion on action cannot be controlled but we can control

whether we take that action or not. Emotions as motivators can function like a fuel for a car,

whether to drive the car would be up to one’s own decision.

Nevertheless, I personally do not agree with the goal of apatheia itself. In my opinion it is an

illusion that disregards the significance of our emotions consequently pushing us into a
s
pointless internal fight between emotions and our conscious. A more harmonious and peaceful

alternative would be embracing Hume’s idea that emotions cannot be controlled but keeping

in mind that it is still one’s responsibility to act. Reason could be used to decide on these actions

although it is not a virtue but rather a tool.

Conclusion

To sum up, even though Epictetus has strong arguments against emotions, he promotes a

lifestyle with self-control rather than addressing the human capability of controlling emotions.

He justifies why we should control them but, in my opinion, stating that reason is more

powerful than emotions is not enough to declare the possibility of a total dominance over

emotions. Therefore, the essay concludes that Hume’s theory seems to be the stronger and the

one that better corresponds to our nature and behaviour. Therefore, the answer to the

Ionisiggi
philosophical issue is that we, humans, cannot control our emotions. However, even though

Hume’s approach is attributed as the final conclusion, it should be added that what determines

one’s actions are not the emotions. Throughout the essay I have assumed that emotions do not

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 __ÚÉÉÍ

determine actions given free will exists, however that might be another point of discussion. It

may be the case that our actions are determined by emotions and there is no real free will. Apart

from that, the morality of actions and the ethics of emotionally triggered actions is a topic to

further explore. If our actions are necessarily influenced by emotions, then are we actually

morally responsible for what we do? Do emotions help make moral decisions or impede them?

Last but not the least, some implications of the conclusion would be that seeing emotional

actions as inferior, or irrational is erroneous as all actions are emotionally motivated. Moreover,

reason is not as powerful as it is thought to be and the debate between reason and emotion is a

pointless one. If reason is fuelled by emotion, then they are not separate, reason needs emotions

to exist which implies that emotion is more powerful.

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Bibliography

• Baltzly, D. (2018, April 10). Stoicism. Retrieved January 21, 2022, from

https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2019/entries/stoicism/

• Brennan, T. (2006). The stoic life: Emotions, duties, and fate. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

doi:10.1093/0199256268.001.0001

• Epictetus. (2004). A Selection from the Discourses of Epictetus with the Encheiridion (G.

Long, Trans.). Project Gutenberg. Retrieved January 24, 2022, from

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/10661/10661-h/10661-h.htm

• Epictetus. (2006). The Golden Sayings of Epictetus (H. Crossley, Trans.). Champaign, IL:

Project Gutenberg. Retrieved January 21, 2022, from

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/871/871-h/871-h.htm

• Scarantino, A., & De Sousa, R. (2018, September 25). Emotion. Retrieved January 21, 2022,

from https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2018/entries/emotion/

• Schmitter, A. (2006, May 25). 17th and 18th century theories of emotions. Retrieved January

21, 2022, from https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2016/entries/emotions-17th18th/

• Shearman, R. (2005, April 30). The doctor who transcripts - "Dalek". Retrieved April 05,

2021, from http://www.chakoteya.net/DoctorWho/27-6.htm

• Solomon, R. (1998). Emotions, philosophy of. In The Routledge Encyclopedia of

Philosophy. Taylor and Francis. Retrieved 5 Apr. 2021, from

https://www.rep.routledge.com/articles/thematic/emotions-philosophy-of/v-1.

doi:10.4324/9780415249126-N

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