74956 - Moral Philosophy B (1)

Course contents

Overview: This course is an introduction to the philosophy of emotions. We will look at the nature of emotions from the viewpoint of their phenomenology, their intentionality and the relationship they entertain with values. By discussing these central features of emotions, we will gain some insights into the most important contemporary emotion theories. We will also closely examine Aristotle’s theory of emotions and explore its relevance for contemporary accounts. It is expected that students will (1) become familiar with major issues and philosophical theories about emotions; (2) gain an in-depth knowledge of Aristotle’s theory of emotions; (3) develop an ability to analyse and critically assess the major theories of what emotions are.

• This course is designed to be delivered over a period of 5 weeks with three two-hour classes per week. Each week, the first class consists of the lecturer’s general introduction of the relevant topic; the second class consists of the lecturer’s introduction of core readings; the third class consists of students’ presentations or comment on texts (esp. Aristotle’s works) and teacher-led discussion.

Course rules: Non-attending students will be evaluated on the basis of a written test and a viva voce examination. Please note that non-attending students are expected to prepare extra mandatory readings. Attending students are required to attend no less than 12 classes. Each week, they are required to do the assigned readings before class. Grades will be distributed as follows: active participation during classes (20%), final exam paper (80%). Final papers will be discussed individually with the lecturer. Should they prefer to do so, attending students are allowed to take the written test instead of delivering the final paper.

 

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Preparatory reading: Julien A. Deonna & Fabrice Teroni, The Emotions: a Philosophical Introduction, Routledge 2012.

• Week 1: Phenomenology. This week we will look at the phenomenology of emotions, that is how emotions feel and what the role of these feelings is. We will become familiar with key notions such as those of hedonic qualities and valence. We will briefly present the main issues concerning the expression of emotions, the distinction between basic and nonbasic emotions, and evolutionary and universalist approaches to emotional phenomena.

  Readings: W. James, ‘What is an emotion?’, Mind 9 (1884): 188-205; P. Ekman, ‘Biological and cultural contributions to body and facial movement in the expression of emotions’, in A.O. Rorty (ed.), Explaining Emotions, University of California Press 1980, pp. 73-102.

• Week 2: Intentionality. This week we will discuss the thesis that emotions have intentional objects. We will become familiar with key notions such as that of formal objects of the emotions.

  Readings: A. Kenny, Action, Emotion and Will, Routledge 1963: chapter 9; T. Crane, Elements of Mind: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind, Oxford University Press 2001: chapter 1.

• Week 3: Emotions and values. This week we will look at the nature of the relationship between emotions and values. We will review the following approaches: evaluative judgment theories, perceptual theories, constructionist theories, appraisal theories, and enactivist theories.

  Readings: J. Deonna & F. Teroni, ‘In What Sense are Emotions Evaluations?’, in C. Todd & S. Roeser (eds.), Emotion and Value, Oxford University Press 2014: pp. 15-31; P. Goldie, The Emotions: a Philosophical Exploration, Clarendon Press 2000: chapter 3; Moors A., Ellsworth P.C., Scherer K.R. & Frijda N.H, ‘Appraisal Theories of Emotion: State of the Art and Future Development’, Emotion Review (2013): 119-124; G. Colombetti, The Feeling Body: Affective Science Meets the Enactive Mind, MIT 2014: chapter 4.

• Week 4: Aristotle’s De Anima. This week we will look at Aristotle’s treatment of emotions in the De Anima, where he defines the pathē as logoi enhuloi («enmattered accounts»). We will explore Aristotle’s investigation of the soul, with a special focus on the notions of aisthēsis and phantasia.

  Readings: DA book I: 402a 1 – 403b 19, 408b 1 – 411b 30, book II: 412a 1 – 415a 13, 416b 32 – 418a 6, book III: 427a 17 – 429a 9; D. Frede, ‘The Cognitive Role of Phantasia in Aristotle’, in M.C. Nussbaum & A.O. Rorty (eds.), Essays in Aristotle’s De Anima, Clarendon Press 1992: pp. 280-296

• Week 5: Aristotle’s Rhetoric. This week we will discuss Aristotle’s treatment of emotions in the Rhetoric, where he is primarily interested in the ways emotions can produce a change in judgments.

  Readings: Rhet. book II, 1377b 1 – 1388b 30; J.M. Cooper, Reason and Emotion: Essays on Ancient Moral Psychology and Ethical Theory, Princeton University Press 1999: chapter 19.

Readings/Bibliography

Mandatory readings (English-speaking or other visiting students are free to refer to the relevant English editions):

Aristotele, Etica Nicomachea II.

Aristotele, Retorica II 1377b- 1388b.

Aristotele, De Anima I 402a-403b e 408a-411b; II 412a-415a; III 427a-429a.

Oatley K. (2004), Breve storia delle emozioni, trad. it. di C. Spinoglio, Bologna: il Mulino (edizione originale: Emotions. A Brief History, Blackwell).

Non-attending students are also expected to read one of the following studies:

- Gastaldi S. (1990), Aristotele e la politica delle passioni. Retorica, psicologia ed etica dei comportamenti emozionali, Torino.

- Goldie P. (2000), The Emotions: A Philosophical Exploration, Oxford.

- Konstan D. (2006): The Emotions of the Ancient Greeks. Studies in Aristotle and Classical Literature, Toronto.

- Deonna J.A. e Teroni F. (2012): The Emotions. A Philosophical Introduction, London - New York.

or one of the following groups of articles:

Group A

- Goldie P. (2007): ‘Emotion’, Philosophy Compass 2/6, pp. 928-938.

- James W. (1884), ‘What is an Emotion?’, Mind 9, pp. 188-205 (disponibile qui: gruberpeplab.com/3131/James_1884_WhatisanEmotion.pdf).

Group B

- Cairns D. (2008), ‘Look Both Ways: Studying Emotion in Ancient Greek’, Critical Quarterly 50, pp. 43-63.

- Konstan D. (2016): ‘Their Emotions and Ours: A Single History?’. In Histoire intellectuelle des émotions, de l’Antiquité à nos jours, ed. by P. Nagy and D. Boquet, L'Atelier du Centre de Recherches Historiques 16 (2016); disponibile qui https://acrh.revues.org/6756.

Further optional readings:

Modern and contemporary approaches:

• Arnold M. (1960), Emotion and Personality, 2 vols., New York.
• Colombetti G. (2014), The Feeling Body. Affective Science meets the Enactive Mind, Cambridge.
• Damasio A. (1994), Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason and the Human Brain, New York.
• Darwin C. (1872), The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals, London (disponibile qui: http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?pageseq=1&itemID=F1142&viewtype=text ).
• De Sousa R. (1987), The Rationality of Emotions, Cambridge.
• Deonna J.A. e Teroni F. (2012): The Emotions. A Philosophical Introduction, London - New York.
• Ekman P. (1980), ‘Biological and cultural contributions to body and facial movement in the expression of emotions’, in Rorty A.O. (ed.), Explaining Emotions, Berkeley, pp. 73–102.
• Frijda N. (1986), The Emotions, Cambridge.
• Goldie P. (2000), The Emotions: A Philosophical Exploration, Oxford.
• Goldie P. (2007): ‘Emotion’, Philosophy Compass 2/6, pp. 928-938.
• James W. (1884), ‘What is an Emotion?’, Mind 9, pp. 188-205 (disponibile qui: gruberpeplab.com/3131/James_1884_WhatisanEmotion.pdf).
• Prinz J. (2004), Gut Reactions: A Perceptual Theory of Emotion, Oxford
• Scherer K. (2009), ‘The dynamic architecture of emotion: Evidence for the component process model’, Cognition and Emotion (23), pp. 1307–1351.
• Varela F.J., Thompson E., Rosch E. (1991): The Embodied Mind. Cognitive Science and Human Experience, Cambridge MA.

Methodological challenges:

• Cairns D. (2008), ‘Look Both Ways: Studying Emotion in Ancient Greek’, Critical Quarterly 50, pp. 43-63.
• Cairns D. (2016): ‘Mind, Body, and Metaphor in Ancient Greek Concepts of Emotion’. In Histoire intellectuelle des émotions, de l’Antiquité à nos jours, ed. by P. Nagy and D. Boquet, L'Atelier du Centre de Recherches Historiques 16 (2016) ; disponibile qui : https://acrh.revues.org/7416 .
• Konstan D. (2016): ‘Their Emotions and Ours: A Single History?’. In Histoire intellectuelle des émotions, de l’Antiquité à nos jours, ed. by P. Nagy and D. Boquet, L'Atelier du Centre de Recherches Historiques 16 (2016); disponibile qui https://acrh.revues.org/6756 .
• Theodoropoulou M. (2012), ‘The emotion seeks to be expressed: thoughts from a linguist’s point of view’, in Chaniotis (ed.), Unveiling Emotions. Sources and Methods for the Study of Emotions in the Greek World, Stuttgart, pp. 433-468.
• Wierzbicka A. (1999), Emotions Across Languages and Cultures: Diversity and Universals, Cambridge.

Ancient emotions:

• Cairns D. (2016): “Emotions”, in Encyclopedia of Ancient History (**url**: forthcoming).
• Cairns D. and Nelis D. (eds.) 2016: Emotions in the Classical World: Methods, Approaches, and Directions, Heidelberg: Steiner Verlag (Heidelberger Althistorische Beiträge undEpigraphische Studien (HABES) vol. 55).
• Fortenbaugh W. (1975): Aristotle on Emotion, London.
• Konstan D. (2006): The Emotions of the Ancient Greeks. Studies in Aristotle and Classical Literature, Toronto.

Teaching methods

Lectures and teacher-led discussions.

Assessment methods

Non-attending students will be evaluated on the basis of a written test and a viva voce examination. Please note that non-attending students are expected to prepare extra mandatory readings. Attending students are required to attend no less than 12 classes. Each week, they are required to do the assigned readings before class. Grades will be distributed as follows: active participation during classes (20%), final exam paper (80%). Final papers will be discussed individually with the lecturer. Should they prefer to do so, attending students are allowed to take the written test instead of delivering the final paper.

Teaching tools

A course-related site on Moodle will feature study topics and tools.

Office hours

See the website of Pia Campeggiani