The Difference Between Human Emotions and Behaviors

Bryce's post, titled One's Semantic Environment, inspired me to differentiate between human emotions and behaviors. The difference between such seemingly similar entities is that language can control behavior, but not emotions.

A good example for differentiating the two is a fixed set of laws in a community. Let's say a woman was pulled over for littering. The policeman fined her for breaking the law, and she obeyed by paying the fine. This fixed law illustrates language controlling people's behavior. (The woman will probably avoid littering in the future).

This particular law, however, does not have any control over the woman's emotions. Although the woman was obligated to pay the fine, she was not coerced to repress her feelings on the matter. The woman therefore could've expressed her emotions--which would most likely be anger and/or humiliation after receiving the fine--through verbal, mental, or physical performance.

Language can act as a regulator of human behaviors, but cannot control human emotions, whether the emotions are expressed externally or not.

-Chloe Martianou