ideas, one of which is not conscious and manifests itself only in the form of a feeling. The resolution of such
conflicts is not always simple; it depends on the complexity of the issues involved. But resolutions are
achievable—and the necessary first step is to recognize the actual nature of that which needs to be resolved.
The guiltless emotional spontaneity that men long for—the freedom from torturing self-doubts, enervating
depression and paralyzing fears—is a proper and achievable goal. But it is possible only on the basis of a rational
view of emotions and of their relation to thought. It is possible only if one's emotions are not a mystery, only if one
does not have to fear that they may lead one to destruction. It is the prerogative and reward of a person who has
assumed the responsibility of identifying and validating the values that underlie his emotions—the person for
whom emotional freedom and openness do not mean the suspension of awareness.
Emotion and Actions
The pleasure-pain mechanism of man's consciousness—the capacity to experience joy and suffering—performs a
crucial function in regard to man's survival. This function involves the motivational aspect of man's psychology.
Imagine a living entity so constituted that every time it took an action beneficial to its life, it experienced pain —and
every time it took an action inimical to its life, it experienced pleasure. Clearly, such an entity could not exist; it
would be a biological impossibility. But if, impossibly and miraculously, it were to come into existence, it would
quickly perish. With its pleasure-pain mechanism set in reverse, against its own life, it could not survive. Nothing
could prompt or motivate it to perform the actions its survival required.
Pleasure (in the widest meaning of the term, as both a physical and an emotional experience) is a concomitant of
life—a concomitant of efficacious action. Pain is a signal of danger—a concomitant of inefficacious action.
Such is the basic biological function of pleasure and pain. Pleasure is the reward of successful (life-serving) action
and is an incentive to act further. Pain is the penalty of unsuccessful (life-negating) action and is an incentive to act
differently.
On the physical level, i.e., on the level of sensations, it is a man's physiology that determines what he experiences
as pleasur-