EUROPEAN REVIEW of PHILOSOPHY

Emotion and Action

European Review of Philosophy 5 (2002)

Élisabeth Pacherie (ed.)

In recent years, there has been an explosion of interest in the study of emotion and cognition. Interdisciplinary work on normal emotions and on ‘emotional disorders’ has led to a better appreciation of the complex nature of emotion and of the many components involved in emotional processes. As a result, the traditional philosophical prejudice against emotions, seen as essentially irrational and disruptive, has been replaced by a more positive attitude towards them. The philosophical essays in this collection explore various facets of the relationships among emotion, action, rationality, and self-knowledge. Three main sets of issues are addressed: the relationships between emotions and action; the role emotion and action play in the development of self-awareness and in our knowledge of our mental states; and the rationality of emotions and emotional action. This volume is a must-read for anyone interested in the important role emotion plays in rational thought and action.

Table of contents

David Pears
Akrasia and the Power of Reason

Nico H. Frida
Emotions as Motivational States

Johannes Roessler
Action, Emotion, and the Development of Self-awareness

Élisabeth Pacherie
The Role of Emotions in the Explanation of Action

Pierre Livet
Emotions, Revision, and the Explanation of Emotional Actions

Stephane Lemaire
From Emotions to Desires

Jerrold Levinson
Sound, Gesture, Spatial Imagination and the Expression of Emotion in Music

Christine Tappolet
Long-term Emotions and Emotional Experiences in the Explanation of Action

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