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Author Topic: Emotions aren't a problem to solve.  (Read 358 times)

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Re: Emotions aren't a problem to solve.
« Reply #5 on: August 16, 2026, 04:24:33 PM »
Emotions are a good thing.  God gave us feelings.  Women typically wear their hearts on their sleeves while men are more stoic.  This is a very complimentary relationship.  One thing I have noticed on this forum is that a few of the men don’t respect the opinions of women.  We are accused of being feminists when we are being protective.  In one instance, I myself had raised some concerns over a certain member’s fondness for a young girl.  He was very abrasive and defensive to me but not to Ladislaus or the other men who said the same thing.  He took the protectiveness of the men much better than from me.  It was a good lesson for me.  I think I will lurk more and speak less, except on the ladies forum.  

Re: Emotions aren't a problem to solve.
« Reply #6 on: Today at 12:18:51 PM »
Emotions are important, a lot of men in tradition think they have to be emotionless husks, wearing your heart on your sleeve and feeling strongly and deeply are good qualities. The sensitive young man is a good archetype.

The problem I see is that certain Catholics (especially charismatics and women) treat them with an authority that is completely undeserved. Tell me if any of these sound familiar or feasible:

"I just FEEL that God is calling me to X"
Or maybe you just want to do X, which is totally fine, and maybe God is calling you to it, but a certain nice feeling means nothing.

"I don't FEEL peace about X"
Item.

"What you just said makes me FEEL bad"
Okay? And are we children or rational adults discussing truth?

"I just have the FEELING he's a creep / *any other bad attributes*"
"I get the FEELING he's a very nice and good guy"
Nothing to do with halo effect?

"I FEEL that X is true/false/right/wrong"
Not related in the slightest to truth, feelings are shaped by your upbringing, psychology, specific hang ups and neurosis.

All of this is to say that while emotions are good you should be introspective and give it the appropriate weight which in many matters should be quite low.

And if anyone wants to come at me and tell me that this is some sort of feminine genius thing:

Feminine =/= sub-rational


Offline Ladislaus

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Re: Emotions aren't a problem to solve.
« Reply #7 on: Today at 03:58:43 PM »
So, yes, the emotions are created by God, and so they're good, but how they would work in a human nature that isn't laboring under Original Sin will undboubtedly surprise us.

Problem with Original Sin is that these emotions have a motility that's independent of the intellect and will, i.e. they have a mind of their own, where they can "react" to outside stimuli without the interention of the intellect and will.

In unfallen nature, they only do what they're instructed to by the will.

That's difficult for us to imagine, but that's how it would work.

Bishop Williamson very much emphasized that people need to stop idealizing FALLEN human nature.  That's like when Wojtyla writes his "Ode to Sex" (aka "Theology of the Body"), where he tries to elevate sɛҳuąƖity and the body to being these practically-supernatural things ... except they (deliberately) conflate the ideal / unfallen state and the fallen state.

With that said, in the practical order, it might be a mistake for some to forcibly suppress their emotions (beyond what would be required to avoid sin) ... and could cause some individuals to "crack", but that would be on a case by case basis.


Offline Ladislaus

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Re: Emotions aren't a problem to solve.
« Reply #8 on: Today at 04:20:39 PM »
Men need to show women compassion when in duress.

So, it's well known that men show charity toward women in distress by attempting to remediate the source or cause of their distress to the extent that they can, or in situations where the actual cause cannot be "fixed", say, with the death of a loved one, men will offer considerations to help offset the distress, various hopeful or joyful things to think about.  But that's not what women typically want.  What they want is for others to commiserate with them.

To some extent men should try to show more compassion, but at the same time it can be the case that women need to snap out of it too, since, given fallen human nature, that can be a very strong tendency toward self-pity and attention-seeking

Let's say a man's parent dies.  While the man certainly feels sorrow, he'll respond by springing into action and praying for their souls and having Masses offered for them, etc. ... since the man realizes that you're not actually helping the departed in any real way by just sitting around emoting and (partly) feeling sorry for yourself.  Get it together, man, he thinks, snap to action, and DO something about it (to the extent that it's possible).  I recall that when my father and my mother died, my wife criticized me for showing no emotion.  I rebuked her for that with "How do you know what I'm feeling?" ... since in point of fact I did feel great sorry.  I just am not one to weep openly or walk around all morose.

Women tend to wallow in their emotions, and  relish others coming to offer condolences, whereas the man might not give a crap, but would say "don't cry for me, since I'm not the one who died here ... instead, do something for the departed, pray, offer sacrifices, have Masses said, etc."

But, the short answer to your statement that men NEED to show women compassion when they're in duress ... it really depends, often on the woman.  If a woman is wallowing in self-pity, you might only be compounding the problem by feeding into it, and you might do well to try snapping her out of it.

Sadly, too, many women, laboring as they do under Original Sin, confuse love (and charity) with emotion.

Man:  Parent dies.  He's sad of course.  But he concludes that his feeling sad does nothing to help the parent.  So he gets a grip, and redoubles his prayers, and tries to find priests who could offer Mass.

Woman:  Parent dies.  Wallows in emotion.  Spends more time welcoming visitors and glad-handing with them than in actually praying for the departed parent and having Masses offered.

Which of these reactions show greater charity, greater actual love?

So, one of my daughters just "loves, loves, loves" animals, including a dog that she considers mostly hers (since she was the one who had begged for it).  Yet ... she doesn't take time to take her out for exercise, or to feed her, or even to get her water, to take her to the vet, or to groomings.  I don't like that dog.  But I feel pity for it, will take it out for walks, clean up after it when it pukes, take time and spend money to take it to the vet when it's sick.  Meanwhile, the daugher likes to pet the dog.  That's how she expresses "love".  Again, while we don't "love" animals the way we do people, who loves the animal more ... the one who gets an emotional rush out of petting the dog ... or the one who feeds it, takes care of it, and  will get up every hour on the hour throughout the night to let it outside when it's having stomach issues?

In other words ... some women also need a man to blance their emotions and to keep them in check.

Offline Gray2023

  • Supporter
Re: Emotions aren't a problem to solve.
« Reply #9 on: Today at 06:15:03 PM »
So, it's well known that men show charity toward women in distress by attempting to remediate the source or cause of their distress to the extent that they can, or in situations where the actual cause cannot be "fixed", say, with the death of a loved one, men will offer considerations to help offset the distress, various hopeful or joyful things to think about.  But that's not what women typically want.  What they want is for others to commiserate with them.

To some extent men should try to show more compassion, but at the same time it can be the case that women need to snap out of it too, since, given fallen human nature, that can be a very strong tendency toward self-pity and attention-seeking

Let's say a man's parent dies.  While the man certainly feels sorrow, he'll respond by springing into action and praying for their souls and having Masses offered for them, etc. ... since the man realizes that you're not actually helping the departed in any real way by just sitting around emoting and (partly) feeling sorry for yourself.  Get it together, man, he thinks, snap to action, and DO something about it (to the extent that it's possible).  I recall that when my father and my mother died, my wife criticized me for showing no emotion.  I rebuked her for that with "How do you know what I'm feeling?" ... since in point of fact I did feel great sorry.  I just am not one to weep openly or walk around all morose.

Women tend to wallow in their emotions, and  relish others coming to offer condolences, whereas the man might not give a crap, but would say "don't cry for me, since I'm not the one who died here ... instead, do something for the departed, pray, offer sacrifices, have Masses said, etc."

But, the short answer to your statement that men NEED to show women compassion when they're in duress ... it really depends, often on the woman.  If a woman is wallowing in self-pity, you might only be compounding the problem by feeding into it, and you might do well to try snapping her out of it.

Sadly, too, many women, laboring as they do under Original Sin, confuse love (and charity) with emotion.

Man:  Parent dies.  He's sad of course.  But he concludes that his feeling sad does nothing to help the parent.  So he gets a grip, and redoubles his prayers, and tries to find priests who could offer Mass.

Woman:  Parent dies.  Wallows in emotion.  Spends more time welcoming visitors and glad-handing with them than in actually praying for the departed parent and having Masses offered.

Which of these reactions show greater charity, greater actual love?

So, one of my daughters just "loves, loves, loves" animals, including a dog that she considers mostly hers (since she was the one who had begged for it).  Yet ... she doesn't take time to take her out for exercise, or to feed her, or even to get her water, to take her to the vet, or to groomings.  I don't like that dog.  But I feel pity for it, will take it out for walks, clean up after it when it pukes, take time and spend money to take it to the vet when it's sick.  Meanwhile, the daugher likes to pet the dog.  That's how she expresses "love".  Again, while we don't "love" animals the way we do people, who loves the animal more ... the one who gets an emotional rush out of petting the dog ... or the one who feeds it, takes care of it, and  will get up every hour on the hour throughout the night to let it outside when it's having stomach issues?

In other words ... some women also need a man to blance their emotions and to keep them in check.
And that is the problem.  Both are necessary.  The men need to get things done.  The women need to nurture each other and those around her.  One is not more important that the other.  And prudence is required for both.