The Subtlety of Emotions

by Aaron Ben-Ze'ev

• ISBN13: 9780262024631
• ISBN10: 0262024632
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-04-01
• Publisher: Bradford Books

Summary

Why do we cry at the movies? What is the best way to manage destructive feelings such as jealousy? Although emotions pervade our lives, their nature, causes, and effects have only recently been studied by social scientists and philosophers. Despite growing scientific interest in the subject, empirical findings have not yet caught up with our intuitive knowledge. In this book Aaron Ben-Ze'ev carries out what he calls "a careful search for general patterns in the primeval jungle of emotions." In an engaging, informal style he draws on a variety of theoretical approaches and popular sources to produce a coherent account of emotions in all their subtlety. All of the ideas are illustrated with examples drawn from everyday life. The book is organized into two parts. The first presents an overall conceptual framework for understanding emotions. It looks at the typical characteristics and components of emotions, distinguishes emotions from other affective phenomena, classifies the emotions, and covers such related issues as emotional intelligence, regulating emotions, and emotions and morality. The second part discusses individual emotions, including envy, jealousy pleasure-in-others'-misfortune, pity, compassion, anger, hate, disgust, love, sexual desire, happiness, sadness, pride, regret, and shame. The text is laced with insightful and often amusing quotations from sources ranging from Mae West to Montesquieu.

Author Biography

Aaron Ben-Ze'ev is Dean of Research, Professor of Philosophy, and Co-director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Emotions at the University of Haifa, Israel.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	xi
Introduction	xiii
Part I The Nature of Emotions	1	(278)
The Complexity of Emotions	3	(10)
Reasons for the complexity of emotions	3	(2)
Explaining emotions	5	(6)
Summary	11	(2)
What Is an Emotion?	13	(36)
The typical cause of emotion	13	(5)
The typical emotional concern	18	(11)
The typical emotional object	29	(2)
Cause, concern and object	31	(1)
Typical characteristics	32	(9)
Difficulties and objections	41	(7)
Summary	48	(1)
Basic Components	49	(30)
Intentionality and feeling	49	(3)
The cognitive component	52	(4)
The evaluative component	56	(4)
The motivation component	60	(4)
The feeling component	64	(3)
Comparing the different components	67	(6)
Difficulties and objections	73	(4)
Some conceptual aspects	77	(1)
Summary	78	(1)
The Affective Realm	79	(38)
Typical cases of affective phenomena	79	(3)
Emotions and sentiments	82	(4)
Moods and affective traits	86	(3)
Affective disorders	89	(3)
Classifying the emotions	92	(7)
Positive and negative emotions	99	(5)
Basic and nonbasic emotions	104	(10)
Summary	114	(3)
When Feelings Overflow---Emotional Intensity	117	(44)
The complexity of emotional intensity	117	(5)
Intensity variables	122	(28)
Personal makeup	150	(8)
Summary	158	(3)
Rationality and Functionality	161	(30)
The rationality of emotions	161	(4)
The functionality of emotions	165	(10)
Emotional intelligence	175	(6)
Emotions and communication	181	(8)
Summary	189	(2)
Emotions and Imagination	191	(30)
The role of imagination in emotions	191	(2)
Types of imagination	193	(3)
Counterfactual imagination	196	(8)
Positive illusions	204	(4)
Emotions in the future world	208	(2)
Emotions and luck	210	(9)
Summary	219	(2)
Everything Is Not under Control---Regulating the Emotions	221	(22)
Possible divisions of regulating means	222	(6)
The nature of regulating means	228	(8)
Combining all means	236	(5)
Summary	241	(2)
Emotions and Morality	243	(36)
Emotions and moral responsibility	243	(5)
Emotional and moral evaluations	248	(8)
Emotional partiality and morality	256	(5)
Further moral advantage of emotions	261	(4)
Integrating emotions into moral decisions	265	(8)
Emotions and tolerance	273	(5)
Summary	278	(1)
Part II Analyzing Emotions	279	(256)
Why Do We Feel Bad When You Feel Good?---Envy and Jealousy	281	(46)
General characteristics	282	(15)
Borderline cases	297	(3)
Relationships with other emotions	300	(5)
Intensity variables	305	(11)
Envy and social inequality	316	(5)
Moral value	321	(6)
Why Do We Feel Bad When You Feel Bad?---Pity, Compassion, and Mercy	327	(26)
General characteristics	327	(9)
Relationships with other emotions	336	(4)
Intensity variables	340	(6)
Moral value	346	(7)
Why Do We Feel Good No Matter What You Feel?---Happy-For and Pleasure-in-Others'-Misfortune	353	(26)
Happy-for	353	(1)
Pleasure-in others'-misfortune	354	(8)
Relationships with other emotions	362	(9)
Intensity variables	371	(2)
Moral value	373	(6)
When You Are Bad, I Am Mad---Anger, Hate, Disgust, and Contempt	379	(26)
General characteristics	379	(14)
Relationships with other emotions	393	(4)
Intensity variables	397	(3)
Moral value	400	(5)
The Sweetest Emotions---Romantic Love and Sexual Desire	405	(44)
General characteristics	405	(20)
Relationships with other emotions	425	(4)
Intensity variables	429	(8)
Hurting the one you love	437	(6)
Moral value	443	(6)
Caring about Oneself---Happiness and Sadness	449	(24)
Happiness	449	(17)
Sadness	466	(1)
Grief	467	(2)
Loneliness	469	(2)
Moral value	471	(2)
Caring about Our Future---Hope and Fear	473	(18)
General characteristics	473	(8)
Relationships with other emotions	481	(3)
Intensity variables	484	(3)
Moral value	487	(4)
Taking Account of Our Specific Deeds---Pride, Regret, Guilt, and Embarrassment	491	(18)
General characteristics	491	(15)
Relationships with other emotions	506	(1)
Moral value	507	(2)
Caring about the Self---Pridefulness and Shame	509	(22)
General characteristics	509	(9)
Relationships with other emotions	518	(7)
Moral value	525	(6)
Epilogue	531	(4)
Notes	535	(32)
References	567	(22)
Index	589