“Bear Witness, Justice will be Served!” This saying, in its multitude of forms and other such phrases, can be heard frequently among the Palestinians amidst the ongoing genocide. These are not irrational sentiments but logical and pragmatic belief systems that are born and infect those under oppression across history and lands. Using this case study, I argue for the following:

Premise 1: Words representing ideologies that prove to be pragmatic and pragmatic beliefs are rooted in our psychology through evolution.

Premise 2: The material environment scaffolds our affective mind. Ideologies in our environment are just as powerful in doing the same.

Premise 3: Emotions are interpretations and judgments ascribed to events. The perceived cultural dissimilarity of the expression of emotions arises from the alternative interpretations of the events, bringing about different emotions in response to these events. Thus, there is an outward appearance of different ‘expressions of emotions’ in the face of similar events.

Conclusions: Words can scaffold the affective mind, which could lead to a difference in expressing emotions among different cultures, yet emotions are universal in their essential experience.

To argue for premise one, I briefly go over the pragmatic belief by the Naturalist-Prgamatist theories of Darwin and Pierce and then introduce the argument by Colombetti and Kreuger for the material’s ability to scaffold the affective mind (2015). Afterwards, I use Palastenian’s response to grief as a case study to illustrate these points in my argument. In the case study, I first define the terminology ‘Shahied' and what ideology this word represents. To further clarify the reason behind the widespread attachment to this philosophy, I explain its pragmatism that appeals to the oppressed. This argument brings with it questions about the nature of emotions, which is where my second premise comes along, and there in section III. I introduce Nussbaum’s Emotions as Judgments argument to clarify under which emotional framework I am working. In section IV, I bring the discussion back to the possible objection to my argument regarding the nature of emotions. I then raise a vital disclaimer to be aware of the danger of claiming the difference in experiencing emotions across cultures.

I.

Firstly, I shall start with Darwin's Natural Evolution hypothesis, whic...

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