The following is from http://home.comcast.net/~neoeugenics/Hate.htm
Hate, Fear and Disgust: Evolutionary Emotions for Tribal Survival
Matt Nuenke
June, 2003
Research into how the brain functions are now finally advancing to a
level where basic emotion can be studied. Using various scanning
techniques, along with studies of brain lesions, and an assortment of
psychological evaluations, we are slowly unweaving the varying levels
of cognitive functions and interactions. In reading several books on
emotions, consciousness, and feelings, it occurred to me that we are
looking inside of a primitive ape, but we are pretending that the ape
has been tamed and is now in pursuit of peace and bliss. All of the
data however says otherwise.
According to Damasio, there are six universal or primary emotions:
happiness, sadness, fear, anger, surprise and disgust. Secondary or
social emotions include embarrassment, jealousy, guilt or pride. And
background emotions include well-being, calm or tension. (Damasio,
1999) Other research on the emotions within marriage included in the
primary emotions: anger, hatred and jealousy. Jealousy however may be
a secondary emotion comprising fear, anger, sadness and even hatred.
Or again, "hate derives from the basic emotion of disgust, whereas
others believe that hate is a personalized version of anger….[or] hate
can be distinguished from anger in a number of ways. For
example…people experiencing hate want to avoid, or even eliminate, the
source of their emotion [of hate]…." (Fletcher, 1996)
In this article, I want to discuss primarily hatred, disgust and fear,
so I will dispense with happiness, sadness, anger and surprise before
moving on. Sadness and surprise are self-evident emotions and I will
not elaborate. Anger however is very closely associated with hatred in
the literature, so I will need to delineate its meaning as it pertains
to my discussion of hatred. I was discussing emotional outbursts with
a friend of mine, and he stated how when he gets angry and attacks
someone, he is not always certain it is not just play-acting. The same
thoughts had occurred to me, and the research, whether of chimpanzees
or humans seems to conclude the same thing - anger is directed at
those around us for a variety of reasons, including dominance,
feelings of being wronged, humiliated, etc. That is, anger as emotion
is primarily directed at those around us and it does not involve a
perceived threat of danger. An explosion of anger may have very
negative repercussions, including extreme violence, but whatever sets
it off it is not fear of something but rather an attack towards
someone[s] or something[s].
Complete article is at http://home.comcast.net/~neoeugenics/Hate.htm
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