Information and free will (Introduction)

by BBella , Thursday, October 27, 2011, 07:12 (4755 days ago) @ dhw1

So what part of the self actually feels the emotions that cause the material reactions?

It seems to me, the part of the self that feels emotions IS the body not the brain, altho the brain does detect the emotion/feeling in the body. If we think a fearful, angry or joyful thought, the body reacts to the image in our mind and "feels" the emotin. If we hear music or see something outside us that brings us pleasant feelings, it is in the body that feels the feelings/emotions. As I said, I don't think the mental brain feels, it just detects feeling when the material body reacts with emotion. A thought can "bring" us anguish or pain, but unless our body feels it, it's not really anguish or pain.

Christie Wilcox writes: “Where music comes from, or even why we like and create music, is still a mystery.” The same can be said of all our creative, aesthetic and emotional experiences. Does one part of the brain affect other parts (materialist view), or is there something immaterial and independent of the brain that affects it?

I think the love of music, aesthetics and creativity comes with the effects we experience, in a physical sense, from their effects on the material body. The body is like a balloon full of water, and when vibrations pass thru it, either from our thoughts of an image or from something outside us we see or hear, we experience vibration within the body. So what we usually have an affinity for is what "moves us" (in a good sense). If what moves us brings negative images to our brain we tend to avoid it or avoid bring up the images to our mind.

Not sure if this addresses the question...I may be missing the point here.