I may have got the emotions all wrong, in terms of the philosophy of mind. There is an interesting concept put forward by a psychologist, Paul MacLean, that the brain stem and cortex are responsible for our cognitive and rational thoughts.
The Freudian idea of Ego and Id puts forward the notion that raw emotion, or id, is held in check by the conscious, cognitive power of reason or ego. MacLean’s biological evidence that this might be the case is described in Susan Greenfield’s book, The Private Life of the Brain.
Emotions as ‘rudders of the mind’ might be the wrong way round. Unless our cognitive abilities are ‘skewed’ in some instances, and the baser reactions might be like an auto-pilot.
odespinner 