Emotions: An Essay in Aid of Moral Psychology

by Robert C. Roberts

• ISBN13: 9780521525848
• ISBN10: 0521525845
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-03-24
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Life, on a day to day basis, is a sequence of emotional states: hope, disappointment, irritation, anger, affection, envy, pride, embarrassment, joy, sadness and many more. We know intuitively that these states express deep things about our character and our view of the world. But what are emotions and why are they so important to us? In one of the most extensive investigations of the emotions ever published, Robert Roberts develops a novel conception of what emotions are and then applies it to a large range of types of emotion and related phenomena. In so doing he lays the foundations for a deeper understanding of our evaluative judgments, our actions, our personal relationships and our fundamental well-being. Aimed principally at philosophers and psychologists, this book will certainly be accessible to readers in other disciplines such as religion and anthropology.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
1 Studying Emotions	1	(59)
1.1. What This Book Is About	1	(3)
1.2. The Supposed Poverty of Conceptual Analysis	4	(2)
1.3. Deconstructing Emotion via the History of Philosophy	6	(8)
1.4. Deconstructing Emotion via the Life Sciences	14	(22)
1.5. Conceptual Analysis of Emotions	36	(24)
2 The Nature of Emotions	60	(120)
2.1. A Dozen Facts 60
2.2. Feelings	65	(4)
2.3. Construals	69	(14)
2.4. Judgments	83	(23)
2.5. Propositions	106	(26)
2.6. Causes	132	(9)
2.7. Concerns	141	(10)
2.8. Bodily States	151	(6)
2.9. Actions	157	(19)
2.10. Strength	176	(4)
3 The Variety of Emotions	180	(134)
3.1. Introduction	180	(13)
3.2. Bad Prospects	193	(9)
3.3. Offense	202	(20)
3.4. Fault	222	(5)
3.5. Defect	227	(7)
3.6. Loss	234	(13)
3.7. The Weight of Time	247	(3)
3.8. Opposition	250	(6)
3.9. Rivalry	256	(8)
3.10. Excellence	264	(5)
3.11. The Beyond	269	(5)
3.12. Enhancement of Self	274	(3)
3.13. Goodness	277	(4)
3.14. Prospects	281	(3)
3.15. The Beloved	284	(13)
3.16. Disorientation	297	(13)
3.17. Traits and Emotions	310	(2)
3.18. Conclusion	312	(2)
4 The Play of Emotional Feelings	314	(39)
4.1. Emotional Error	314	(4)
4.2. Emotions and Feelings	318	(5)
4.3. Feelings as Awareness of Self	323	(5)
4.4. How False Feelings Come About	328	(4)
4.5. Truth Criteria for Feelings	332	(11)
4.6. Response to Literature	343	(6)
4.7. Emotional Education	349	(3)
4.8. Conclusion	352	(1)
Index	353