What is Emotion?

This is content to assist with organizing your thoughts. Please keep in mind that it's heavily influenced by my personal perspective, so use it as a reference rather than an absolute guide. Your understanding is appreciated. I'm Korean, and since I'm explaining based on Korean culture, I recommend English-speaking readers to read this casually

What is Emotion?

 

1. Concept

In the previous post, I emphasized the difference between "Thought" and "Thinking" , and explained each concept in detail. I mentioned that Thinking is a part of Thought. (Post ref "Thinking") Feeling(Emotion), similarly, is also encompassed within the concept of Thought.

Emotion is psychological responses that play a crucial role in human survival and social interaction. Emotion primarily arises as reactions to external stimuli. Emotion can occur naturally, but it can also be consciously regulated depending on the circumstances. Emotion primarily influences the interaction with Sentiment. In additon, they are closely related to each other, and each has a substantial impact on human’s Judgment. (This is where the similarity with ‘Thinking’ comes 

in, right?)  the concept of Sentiment has come into play, right? Let's continue

 

2. The difference between Emotion and Sentiment

Emotion and Sentiment have subtle differences. Emotion generally refers to the emotional, physiological, and psychological responses that humans have to sensory stimuli. It manifests along with physiological changes. It's a pretty basic dictionary definition, isn't it? In simpler terms, it signifies clear-cut emotions like joy, sorrow, anger, and such. It's sort of like a cause-and-effect relationship, where specific Sensation lead to changes in emotional states.
On the other hand, Sentiment refers to Sensory Emotion or impressions people have about individuals, artworks, objects, and more. Sentiment is associated with deeper inner experiences and is primarily used in the fields of art, music, literature, design, and the like. It is often linked to an individual's inner world concerning aesthetic senses and encompasses personal subjective interpretations and feelings about objects or events.

It might seem a bit confusing, but let's clarify. While I mentioned that Sentiment refers to Sensory Emotion or impressions, it is an intricate concept that is deeply rooted within our inner world. Sentiment is the realm within us, residing in a corner of our inner world. 

Emotion is responses generated by the senses (causal relationships), whereas Sentiment uses Sensation as a connecting bridge, but the cause is some external presence in the real world. For example, when you meet an old friend, the emotions you feel at that moment are not simply categorized as joy, sorrow, or any single emotion. These emotions are something that emerge from within you. it's Sentiment(Sensory Emotion)

Imagine this: it's a subtle, nuanced difference. Sentiment often encompasses emotions that are challenging to categorize with specific labels, yet you have a sense of what they mean. It's common to say that "it's very sentimental."
In everyday language, it's easier to understand this way. Sentiment refers to those emotions and feelings that are not expressed as clear, distinct emotions but rather evoke a sense of something deeper and more nuanced. It's a general term

for these complex and intricate feelings that we can't quite put a single label on.

ex) 80s Nostalgia, Cyworld Nostalgia, Instagram Aesthetic(or Vibes), Apple Vibes

Can you feel Sensory Emotion(Sentiment) in these all examples? It's often created through visual and sound to evoke an sentimental(emotional) atmosphere. This is exactly Sentiment we can talk about at this moment! Understanding this concept can be an 'aha' moment, but expressing it in text can be quite challenging. It's entirely normal to find it difficult to separate and understand these two concepts because they usually interact and occur together! Emotion and Sentiment often interact, and their interplay influences human emotional experiences and cultural perceptions. This dynamic interaction can significantly impact artistic expressions, emotional representations, and varies across individuals, cultures, and societies. (In this aspect, it can be considered quite distinct from 'Thinking’.)

 

3. MBTI-Related Discussion

In the previous post, I mentioned that the concepts of Thinking and Thought are essential factors in explaining the NT group in MBTI personality types. So, it logically follows that when you add the concept of Emotion to Thought, you can describe the NF group. Similarly, the ENFP, ENFJ, INFP, and INFJ individuals belonging to the NF group are indeed quite different from each other, but they each have their own unique worlds, especially in the mental aspect.
However, it's a bit challenging to say that they share common characteristics as strongly as the NT group does. This is due to the difference between the T and F indicators. While the assertion that both groups share the two middle indicators holds true, the degree of the strength of common characteristics varies because of the difference between the third indicators, T and F.
Let's first explore the common characteristics of the NF group before delving into the reasons behind this observation

NF groups prefer Intuition(N) as their perceiving function over Sensing(S), and Feeling(F) as their judging function over Thinking.

Of course, the concept of Emotion I've discussed and Emotion(F) within the NF group in MBTI are slightly different. Emotion I've discussed is more general and focused on psychological responses as a function or process in themselves. On the other hand, in MBTI, Emotion(Feeling) is seen through the lens of cognitive functions, particularly as criteria for Judgment. They(NF) tend to make Judgments based on considerations related to ethics, meaning, values, and more,

whereas NT groups focus on different cognitive functions(Thinking). For NF groups, the concept of Emotion(Feeling) is expanded beyond the conventional concept of Emotion, because it is closely intertwined with the F and N indicators.

Now, let's explore why NF groups have a weaker degree of common characteristics compared to NT groups. I mentioned that it's due to the difference between the T and F indicators. More precisely, it depends on whether each indicator serves as the criterion for our human judgment process: Thinking(T) or Feeling(F). While there are differences in the perceptual process, the main factor can be attributed to the difference in Judgment. Therefore, understanding the distinction between the concepts of Thinking and Feeling for each of these indicators allows us to directly explain the difference in the strength of these common characteristics, especially in degree of it

Thinking(T): It represents cognitive abilities such as logic, analysis, and inference. Thinking function involves analyzing and comprehending objective facts and data, making inferences based on logical reasoning. Thinking(F) primarily deals with analyzing perceived information to derive general rules and principles, using them to make inferences and solve problems.

Feeling(F) : It represents cognitive abilities involving the experience and expression of emotions. This includes recognizing and understanding one's own emotions as well as the emotions of others. Feeling function involves comprehending that people feel certain emotions in certain situations, and grasping the causes and consequences of these emotions. Feeling function plays a significant role in social interactions, fostering emotional connections with others, and understanding them.

In short, these two cognitive functions use different sources. [Objective facts, data, logical reasoning] These sources are the same or very similar no matter who handles them, right? The NT group’s judgment can't help but be quite similar. However, they are not entirely identical. Depending on the perceived information, experiences, or objective facts, they can make different judgments based on their perspectives or situations.
On the other hand, [people, relationships, emotional interactions] these sources are as unique as individuals themselves, or even more so. Sometimes, individuals can't even fully express their own emotions. These sources not only involve one's own emotions but also consider the emotions of others, and even broader social ethics. Now, think about making judgments based on these criteria. How many possible scenarios can arise? I think that there won't be many who can argue against this.
Now, do you understand why NT groups have a stronger common characteristic in their mental world compared to NF groups?

Sure, we'll wrap it up here for today. I'll continue to post content in the future to help you organize your thoughts. If you have any opinions, please leave them in the comments. Thank you!