Serialised book (with a progressively updated >>dashboard/ToC<< page). Part II: Philosophy of the Life Instinct
Book: Philosophy of Life Instinct: Chapter 13: Emotional Wisdom
Thinking and feeling together
(Ideally, Chapter 12 should be read before this chapter, as it lays out the origins and functions of our emotions and surveys the important ones.)
I could have called this chapter 'Emotional Intelligence', but intelligence can be misused and has been by humans. Wisdom, on the other hand, is about doing things that are good for everyone.
Emotional intelligence is the ability to accurately identify, understand and manage our own emotions and those of the people around us in the immediate and long term. It is emotional wisdom when we consciously ensure that the ability delivers positive outcomes for everyone based on morals and ethics.
(Morality and ethics are explored deeply in Chapters 23 and 24. Here we will assume we understand them sufficiently for our purposes. The reader may also read or return to this chapter after reading those chapters, if required.)
(The phrase 'emotional intelligence can imply that emotions can be intelligent, which is not the case, as emotions do not…
