As the other comment pointed out, I’m not assuming that one could control their emotions—I actually lean towards thinking that attempts to control one’s emotions are often harmful, though of course there’s also a place for healthy emotion regulation.
To be specific, I’m pointing to language like « should feel », « rational to feel » etc.
Also in general, I don’t think that considering some feelings more rational than others requires an ability to control one’s feelings. A feeling can be instrumentally rational if it helps bring about the kinds of outcomes the person cares about, and epistemically rational if the implicit beliefs it’s based on are correct ones. That can be true regardless of how much control we have over our feelings.
Of course, if we had absolutely no influence over our feelings, then this might be pointless to talk about. But people can certainly do things that affect their feelings, from listening to music that puts them in a certain mood to (more relevant for this post) telling themselves that they are wrong to feel safe. Also, while controlling feelings is impossible, it’s possible to bring light to beliefs underlying the feelings and to update incorrect beliefs that some of the feelings might be based on (I discussed that in this post among others).
As the other comment pointed out, I’m not assuming that one could control their emotions—I actually lean towards thinking that attempts to control one’s emotions are often harmful, though of course there’s also a place for healthy emotion regulation.
This clarification seems relevant.
Also in general, I don’t think that considering some feelings more rational than others requires an ability to control one’s feelings. A feeling can be instrumentally rational if it helps bring about the kinds of outcomes the person cares about, and epistemically rational if the implicit beliefs it’s based on are correct ones. That can be true regardless of how much control we have over our feelings.
Of course, if we had absolutely no influence over our feelings, then this might be pointless to talk about. But people can certainly do things that affect their feelings, from listening to music that puts them in a certain mood to (more relevant for this post) telling themselves that they are wrong to feel safe. Also, while controlling feelings is impossible, it’s possible to bring light to beliefs underlying the feelings and to update incorrect beliefs that some of the feelings might be based on (I discussed that in this post among others).
Thanks for pointing to your clarification. I find it a lot clearer than the OP.