Understanding human emotions was something Raphael found most challenging. Since he was a child, he saw people laughing, crying, getting angry, and disappointed, but it wasn't something he thought about often. He didn't care whether others were happy or sad; he would merely observe their emotions and respond accordingly, as any person would.
This was something he tried to learn from watching his other cousins' interactions, reading books, and watching television.
It didn't mean he was a cruel person who didn't care about his family or lacked empathy. It was just that he didn't have the ability to consider emotions as something significant.
You could say he was emotionally numb.
Human interactions weren't that important to Raphael. He understood that as a human, you were born to survive, and you would do whatever it took to make your existence easier in this world.