The rationality of emotion /

In this urbane and witty book, Ronald de Sousa disputes the widespread notion that reason and emotion are natural antagonists. He argues that emotions are a kind of perception, that their roots in the paradigm scenarios in which they are learned give them an essentially dramatic structure, and that...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: De Sousa, Ronald
Format: eBook
Language:English
Published: Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press, ©1987.
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Online Access:Connect to the full text of this electronic book
Description
Summary:In this urbane and witty book, Ronald de Sousa disputes the widespread notion that reason and emotion are natural antagonists. He argues that emotions are a kind of perception, that their roots in the paradigm scenarios in which they are learned give them an essentially dramatic structure, and that they have a crucial role to-play in rational beliefs, desires, and decisions by breaking the deadlocks of pure reason.The book's twelve chapters take up the following topics: alternative models of mind and emotion; the relation between evolutionary, physiological, and social factors in emotions; a taxonomy of objects of emotions; assessments of emotions for correctness and rationality; the regulation by emotions of logical and practical reasoning; emotion and time; the mechanism of emotional self-deception; the ethics of laughter; and the roles of emotions in the conduct of life. There is also an illustrative interlude, in the form of a lively dialogue about the ideology of love, jealousy, and sexual exclusiveness.A Bradford Book.
Physical Description:1 online resource (xix, 373 pages) : illustrations
ISBN:0585325006
9780585325002
9780262284080
0262284081
DOI:10.7551/mitpress/5760.001.0001