Feelings as Information

Abstract

Feelings convey meaningful information about the state of our internal milieu and our relationship with the external world. Feelings are subjective qualities we attribute to the objects and events we perceive, since there is nothing inherently good or bad (or right or wrong, ugly or beautiful, etc.) about the patterns of energy and matter we detect. The various types of feelings we experience include qualia, somatic sensations, mental state appraisals, moral sentiments, esthetic feelings, and emotions. Emotions convey qualitative types of evaluative information about the world around us, which helps us navigate our way through it. All living creatures have a built-in imperative to behave in ways that maximize pleasant feeling states and minimize unpleasant ones in order to promote their own and their species’ survival.