Anger Is an Illusion
An emotion is a message from the subconscious about how a fact relates to one’s values. It is not always true, but it is always a definite assertion.
Joy says that something has been gained.
Sadness says that something has been lost.
Love says that something should be sought.
Hate says that something should be avoided.
(These concepts are broader than the versions used in everyday life. “Love,” for example, refers to any degree of desire, rather than to the greatest degree specifically.)
Each emotion has a function. Joy and sadness are the ends that make love and hate possible, while love and hate are the means of driving one toward or away from what will bring joy or sadness.
If one did not enjoy sandwiches, then one could not desire them. Conversely, if one did not desire them, then one would be much less likely to walk to the kitchen to make one, even if one did enjoy them.
The four emotions already mentioned are primary. Every other emotion has the same function as one of these, only more complex.
The function of anger, for instance, is to deter threats by inciting retaliation, rather than to move one away from them directly, as simple hate would.
That this is the function of anger is clear if one compares situations that provoke it with ones that do not.
Wasting one’s money on lottery tickets does not provoke it, but robbing someone to pay for those tickets does. This is because wasting one’s money, though possible to deter, is not a threat.
Property damage caused by the weather does not provoke it, but vandalism does. This is because the weather, though a threat, is impossible to deter.
The function is not the feeling, however. Anger is for deterrence, but it is about injustice, as these examples equally demonstrate.
This raises the question of how animals experience anger.
Dogs snarl and bark to warn off threats, yet they lack the moral concerns made possible by reason, including justice.
How is anger possible without a sense of justice?