8 - Emotion and Consciousness
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
Summary
The stream of consciousness reveals many insights into who we are, how we think, and what we feel. Consider the case of Charlie Kaufman, a character in the film Adaptation, played by Nicholas Cage. Kaufman is a screenwriter who has been hired to adapt a book published by Susan Orleans on people who are fanatical about orchids. Unfortunately, Kaufman struggles with this assignment and worries about an upcoming meeting with his agent. As he paces in his living room one morning, trying to come up with ideas for the adaptation, Kaufman thinks to himself (in voice over):
I'm old. I'm fat. I'm bald. (reaches for notebook, catches sight of bare feet) My toenails have turned strange. I am old. I am – (flipping through notebook, paces) I have nothing. She'll think I'm an idiot. Why couldn't I stay on that diet? She'll pretend not to be disappointed, but I'll see that look, that look – (passes mirror, glances quickly at reflection, looks away) God, I'm repulsive. (another glance) But as repulsive as I think? My Body Dysmorphic Disorder confuses everything. I mean, I know people call me Fatty behind my back. Or Fatso. Or facetiously Slim. But I also realize this is my perverted form of self-aggrandizement, that no one talks about me at all. What possible interest is an old, bald, fat man to anyone?
Many people, like despondent Charles Kaufman, struggle with the ebb and flow of their emotional states, and emotions often dominate the stage of consciousness.
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- Embodiment and Cognitive Science , pp. 239 - 274Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2005