I can’t imagine how it must be to not have feelings.
I know some people are supposed to not have feelings (even me), but I just can’t imagine such a state.
I see on many forums and websites about and for Sociopaths i.e. Psychopaths and Antisocials, that a lot of these folks seem to think it an advantage to not feel anything, that it’s a good thing and that it makes life better.
But my question is: How does it make life better if you can’t feel good in the first place?
When I receive mails from my readers I see a lot of feelings in most, even those who would qualify as Sociopaths and partially psychopathic.
Apparently I’m a psychopath … or so they say (I like to use this notion a lot. “So they say” gives me an edge, because who can really know for sure what anybody else is or feels) … but I have a lot of feelings.
Let me give you some examples:
I know what having fun is. I sometimes laugh a lot (truly, not imitation or faking), and I can’t help but think life would be a sad affair if I couldn’t have fun, find things funny and Laugh from time to time.
I also know about Contempt. It is not entirely a bad feeling. You feel superior to the one or those you have contempt for. I’d not be without feelings like this when they make me feel I have worth, would you?
Then there’s Anger. Whereas this feeling can be accompanied by a certain feeling of ‘Helplessness’ in situations where you’re angry because of something that was done to you and which therefore cannot be helped, the feeling in itself – if it is strong enough, and it usually is with me – can be quite empowering. Opposite fear, Anger is an ego-strengthening emotion, basically. And that’s why I classify it as a ‘good’ feeling I’d never want to not experience on a regular basis.
There’s also this Deep Satisfaction at a Job Well Done. The ‘job’ can be any number of things, for example seeing an enemy being torn to pieces, physically or emotionally, or watching a scheme or plan of yours progressing and developing exactly as you’d anticipated and as you wanted it to.
I’ve already touched on other kinds of feelings in other articles, such as letting yourself go with the rhythm of a pleasant sound like in some kinds of songs and music tunes.
And I’ll also not deny that despite my own helplessness where linguistics and eloquence is concerned this is an area that I take great pleasure in, for example in the form of a good conversation or a ‘debate’. – I’m hinting at those kinds of debates where the ultimate goal is really most of all to come out as the winner and/or the one who dominates what will be discussed and the defining rules of the concepts and therefore in the end the consensus itself. Another pleasure from linguistics is learning and getting to understand the writings and philosophies of some of the great personalities you come across, in history or in present day (where a lot more people who would otherwise never get heard can get a voice via blogging and other computerized means).
Those are some of the ‘good’ feelings I’d really not be without and which to me makes life worth living. If it weren’t for Feelings, what would make us get out of bed every morning (or evening as it may be)?
