Page 24 ... The register of our emotions therefore systematically conditions our acts. The choice is very limited. If there is one point upon which researchers, therapists and philosophers do agree, it is the binary character of emotion. Emotions are either pleasant or unpleasant. This is even a condition for the very existence of emotions: in a given situation, emotion only appears if we feel pleasure or displeasure.
On the pleasure side it really isn’t a priority to question one’s emotions. When it comes to displeasure, however, there is work to be done; we have to admit that we do not really know how to react on this question. The only common response that we use is to « make relative » or « make positive ».
However, the fact of finding good reasons to tip the balance away from the unpleasant to the pleasant doesn’t answer the fundamental question of why the emotion was unpleasant in the first place. This is the underlying vector and will take control again very easily in reaction to our having the slightest doubt about our so-called good reasons. In short, the bad side is always there, ready to surface. And in general, it does so quite easily.