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GracefulDave comments on Feeling Rational - Less Wrong
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Emotions can result in conclusions that do not arise rationally. You don't CHOOSE to be angry, and this anger can make your decision for you.
We are also very well acquainted with hindsight. We can look back on a situation that resolved itself in a way we would have avoided, if only we hadn't been so emotional. I really feel that the emotionless state is the default.
Speak for yourself!
To a point, you do choose to let yourself be angry or not. The same thing that will make you angry in general, when you know you can't afford to be angry (like you're in a job interview or a first promising date) you'll not let yourself be angry.
It's not always easy, but you can train yourself to control your anger better, and everyone does have a limited ability to choose when to be angry and when not.
To some extent this is true. Strong emotions do have the power to shut down activity in the executive centers of the brain. There's a physiological basis for the idea of "seeing red" when you're angry. However, you can also train yourself to stop your emotional reactions in their tracks, think about them, and change them. You can choose not to be angry, but you likely need education and training to do so, and you may not be successful 100% of the time. But you can certainly improve dramatically.