Comments on: Negative and positive writing

By: Language on the Move

Language on the Move — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 02:09:00 +0000

In reply to Person. Welcome! Thanks for stopping by! :-)

By: Person

Person — Tue, 06 Mar 2018 19:21:00 +0000

10000th view!

By: Jenny Zhang

Jenny Zhang — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 03:36:55 +0000

I think Boobialla might miss the salient point that Ingrid was trying to convey here. Ingrid did not refute the “benefits” or “usefulness” of human emotions on thinking and behavior, be it “positive”, “neutral” or “negative” in Professor Forgas’ terms. It is the oversimplification of human emotions into a few mutually exclusive categories in positivist researches conducted in carefully controlled experimental conditions that we need to query. Just like what Ingrid questioned, “Whatever happened to the nuances?” Can’t we, as complex social beings in complex social conditions, have complex, nuanced and sometimes ambivalent emotions? Can’t we, as individuals from diverse cultures, have distinct understanding and practices of what counts as “positive/neural/negative” emotions. Even the most delicate lie detector can’t read human minds, let alone complex emotions. Personally, I feel “positive” and “negative” of myself. I don’t know which writer category I could fit in, maybe …“neutral”?

PS: Ingrid, please don’t write from “the depths of despair”. That’s not gonna be “more effective” for us poor EFL readers. 😉

By: vittoria

vittoria — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:37:02 +0000

I felt many mixed emotions at once this week following feedback of what I think is an example of impoverished vocabulary. I was following up my child’s school report for science. His teacher described his performance as ‘barely adequate’. As this didn’t actually tell me anything about how to follow up and help him, I asked for elaboration. Does this mean lack of comprehension of concepts/not handing in homework/behavior in class/handwriting/attendance/lateness/?. Her summary, so negative, yet so empty, gave me no indication of the real problems. As for the point of sadness, I think it can often spurs us on to take action on issues that we want to see changed.

By: Emily Farrell

Emily Farrell — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:21:29 +0000

I think the issue isn’t that so-called negative emotions can’t be positive or productive, but rather a problematization of the notion of sadness as, in Professor Forgas’ words (as you quote them), ‘one emotion’. What of the range, the spectrum, the vast networks of emotions that we experience from moment to moment and simultaneously? And indeed of the myriad ways that we can use our language resources to express these emotions?

By: Boobialla

Boobialla — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:46:43 +0000

Professor Forgas has a much richer (and more positive!) view of negative emotions than this post suggests. Read his own words here:
http://www.science.unsw.edu.au/news/special-feature-the-upside-of-feeling-down/
It’s fascinating material for anyone interested in how our moods and emotions influence not just our use of language but the way we think, the judgements we make, the effectiveness of our memory and so on. Here’s one quote:

“It is strange indeed that the one emotion we all seem to want to avoid – sadness – can be so beneficial and useful. Equally odd, perhaps, is that the pursuit of happiness – one of the “inalienable rights” famously set down by Thomas Jefferson in the United States Declaration of Independence – can sometimes lead our clever brains so astray.

“Since Plato’s time, many theorists have seen emotion as a potentially dangerous, invasive force that subverts rational judgment and action. This idea gained its most powerful expression in Freud’s psychodynamic theories early last century. In this view, emotions can “take over” thinking and behaviour unless psychological resources are deployed to control them. When logic and reason deliver so many tangible benefits, why are we humans so prone to succumb to our feelings, throw caution to the wind, fall head over heels in love or get overwhelmed by despair? In short, what good are these seemingly irrational states of mind, and why did our evolutionary heritage bestow them on us?

“More to the point, if being happy is such a universal goal why is the human emotional repertoire so heavily skewed towards negative feelings? Apart from happiness and surprise, four of the six deeply ingrained basic emotions identified in humans are negative ones: fear, anger, disgust and sadness. Fear, and anger and disgust have obvious evolutionary benefits, triggering a fight, flight or avoiding response. But what is the point of sadness?”