Sumários
Revision session
16 Dezembro 2025, 14:00 • David Yates
Discussion of all aspects of the course, preparation for the exam.
Basic Emotions and Definitions
9 Dezembro 2025, 14:00 • David Yates
In this session, we started by discussing basic emotion theory and presenting skeptical challenges.
The main argument for basic emotions relies on cross-cultural studies on the recognition of facial expressions. This argument can be criticized in light of significant cultural differences and of the design of experiments.
The main conceptual argument for basic emotions relies on their adaptive value: emotions are key to solve the problems of life, and universal / automatic facial expressions of emotions facilitate this function. However, this does not seem to be true of conflict situations and deceptive / manipulative uses of expressions. Behavioral ecology conceives of expressions as social strategies.
Other empirical arguments rely on characteristic neural and physiological signatures, which is controversial.
In light of these challenges, constructionism questions the existence of discrete emotions: emotions are better conceived as emerging from core affect (arousal and valence). Conceptual act theory claims that emotions involve conceptualization of core affect.
Lastly, we considered mixed evidence regarding the universality of emotion concepts. According to social constructionism, emotions are significantly shaped by cultures (cultural scripts).
In response to these challenges, new basic emotion theory doesn’t appeal to characteristic physiological / neural signatures but to action tendencies with control precedence.
We concluded by presenting definitions of emotions. Emotions are complex episodes involving various components, such as subjective feeling, cognitive evaluation, expressions, and action tendencies. Yet, philosophical definitions have tended to privilege one dimension as essential (bodily feeling view, evaluative view, and motivational view). We ended the module by discussing the bodily feeling view.
(i) The view implies that all emotions are conscious. Yet, there are unconscious emotions: some emotions are not felt (e.g. subliminal emotions, studies on defense mechanisms in trauma, implicit attitudes).
(ii) The view suggests that there are clear physiological signatures, which is questionable.
(iii) The view has difficulty capturing the idea that emotions involve the body yet are about situations in the world.
In response to these challenges, the evaluative view conceives of emotions as evaluations of situations. Kinds of emotions correspond to significant situations in light of our concerns (loss, injustice, threats, etc.).
Study questions
1. What are the main arguments for basic emotions, and are they plausible?
2. What is constructionism about emotions, and what motivates it?
3. What are the main facets of emotions?
4. What are the main views of emotions?
5. What is the bodily feeling view of emotions, and is it plausible?
Moods, valence and basic emotions
2 Dezembro 2025, 14:00 • David Yates
In this class, we pursued our typology of affective phenomena and the presentation of the main distinctions within the affective realm. We started by distinguishing between three kinds of affective states: emotions, sentiments, and moods. While emotions are directed at specific events, moods do not seem to be directed at anything in particular. Some argue that moods do not have intentional content (non-intentionalism). However, this collides with the intentionalist framework, which is central in the philosophy of mind and cognitive science: all mental states have intentional content. In light of this challenge, we presented two intentionalist accounts of moods: the global content view and the intentional mode view.
We then explored affective valence. What does it mean to say that emotions are positive, negative, or mixed feelings? We highlighted the importance of negative emotions as indicating fine-grained problems and motivating us to act to cope with the challenges of life. We then presented the three main accounts of valence in terms of action tendencies, hedonic tone, and evaluative content. Surprisingly, it appeared that we sometimes seek negative feelings (e.g., sad music) and that feeling bad sometimes feels good (e.g., righteous indignation, extreme sports). Or so the challenges go.
We concluded by presenting basic emotion theory. Basic emotions are innate and universal emotions which have specific neural, physiological and expressive signatures. The main conceptual argument for basic emotions pertains to the adaptive value of emotions to deal with life tasks in a fast manner and by communicating relevant information through canonical expressions. The main empirical justification pertains to cross-cultural studies on the recognition and production of facial expressions.
Study questions:
1. 1. In which sense are moods pervasive?
2. 2. What is the distinction between emotions and moods?
3. 3. What are intentional content and intentional modes, and why is this relevant to understand moods?
4. 4. What are the main accounts of affective valence?
5. 5. What is basic emotion theory?
The importance of emotions
25 Novembro 2025, 14:00 • David Yates
This session introduces the main issues in affective science and in the philosophy of emotions. In order to question the nature and importance of emotions, we started with a thought-experiment: the world without emotions. This exercise corroborated by studies on neuro-atypical affective conditions (particularly affective blunting) revealed at least five dimensions of the importance of emotions in our lives:
(1) importance of emotions for well-being and happiness (including the relevance of negative emotions);
(2) importance of emotions for the social life (particularly through emotional expressions);
(3) importance of emotions for morality (in particular in decision-making);
(4) centrality of emotions in aesthetic pursuits (including the main paradoxes of aesthetics);
(5) role of emotions in epistemic pursuits (epistemic emotions).
This delineation of the importance of emotions goes against the traditional divide between reason and emotion. On the contrary, emotions are an integral part of practical rationality.
We then started to draw a typology of affect by considering examples of kinds of emotions. After exploring the contrast between positive and negative emotions (which revealed the centrality of negative emotions), we discussed the distinction between emotions and sentiments. Emotions are better conceived as affective episodes towards specific situations, while sentiments are affective dispositions that are directed at specific objects and manifest themselves in a wide range of discrete emotions.
Study questions
1. Why are emotions important?
2. What is the role of emotions for well-being?
3. What are emotional expressions, and why are they important?
4. What is the role of emotions for morality?
5. What is the distinction between emotions and sentiments?