Thesis: We all seem to have those moments in life where we cannot seem to put our emotions into words and even when we are able to place our emotions into language, are we accurately describing our feelings? One might object and say they are confident in expressing themselves but, language is no comparison to expression of emotion therefore it makes it difficult to express our self or understand the experience of others.
Main Source: Stumbling on Happiness By: Daniel Gilbert
Quote 1: (Gilbert p. 60)
“And yet, strange as it is, there are times when people seem not to know their own hearts. When conjoined twins claim to be happy, we have to wonder if perhaps they just think they’re happy. This is, they may believe what they are saying, but what they’re saying may be wrong. Before we can decided whether to accept people’s claims about their happiness, we must first decide whether people can, in principle, be mistaken about what they feel.”
This quote is an excellent example of establishing credibility from the main source I have chosen, Gilbert. He clearly states in this quote that he does not believe that people are always accurate on how they feel and whether they even truly believe what they state. It will always be a great way to connect the personal experience of the little boy without one of his limbs. With a strong persuasive argument and the connection to a creditable author readers will be more likely to accept my position on an individual’s expression of emotion.
Quote 2: (Gilbert p.45)
“One of the functions of language is to help us palp them—to help us extract and remember the important features of our experiences so that we can analyze and communicate them later.”
Within this quote there is a direct reference to language in comparison to our experiences. I plan to utilize this quote to establish how language is meant to allow us to express things we have experienced and also to share these experiences of our life with other people. It shows that in general all people who have language have the capability to express themselves whether they can accurately or not.
Quote 3: (Gilbert p.70)
“As we have seen, it is extremely difficult to measure and individual’s happiness and feel completely confident in the validity and reliability of that measurement.”
More than likely, I will develop this quote toward the end of my paper when I am trying to ensure I have established my view and show how difficult it is to use language to express and measure our happiness and feelings. If we cannot accurately use language in our own experience how can we even attempt to judge, and express the happiness and feelings of others?
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