An Example of Why We Need a Feelings Model
An interesting illustration of how understanding emotions can be confusing without a model is the emotion of lust (i.e., “being horny”). Lust, as I will define it, is sexual arousal that we want to take immediate action on. Contemporary society seems extremely interested in feelings related to sex and sexual attraction, and yet it appears to me that they don’t really understand what kind of emotion lust really is.
Most people would discuss lust as a Joyful emotion.
To me, it appears not to be that at all. In fact, I see lust as a distinctly anxious emotion because as it turns out, no one really likes being lustful.
Instead, what people really want is relief from that lustful feeling, usually through orgasm. After orgasm, most people have Peaceful feelings, certainly from FW 2.0 perspective. In males after orgasm, they at least feel so bodily Peaceful that they can’t even sexually perform for some period (known as the refractory period.)
I propose that this confusion between lust as pleasurable emotion, rather than an anxious emotion, could cause significant problems in understanding attraction in the individual, how to help people with arousal disorders when treating people with sexual addiction, and dealing with people with compulsive issues committing problematic sexual acts.
Lust also shows why having a model of emotions like FW 2.0 is very important to the understanding of what emotions are doing and what is happening.