Emotion and Peace of Mind: From Stoic Agitation to Christian Temptation. RICHARD SORABJI Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. Pp. xi, 499.
01 Jan 2005-Philosophy and Phenomenological Research (Blackwell Publishing Ltd)-Vol. 70, Iss: 1, pp 245-247
About: This article is published in Philosophy and Phenomenological Research.The article was published on 2005-01-01. It has received 148 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Temptation.
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TL;DR: The implications of natural selection for several classic questions about emotions and emotional disorders are considered.
Abstract: Emotions research is now routinely grounded in evolution, but explicit evolutionary analyses of emotions remain rare. This article considers the implications of natural selection for several classic questions about emotions and emotional disorders. Emotions are special modes of operation shaped by natural selection. They adjust multiple response parameters in ways that have increased fitness in adaptively challenging situations that recurred over the course of evolution. They are valenced because selection shapes special processes for situations that have influenced fitness in the past. In situations that decrease fitness, negative emotions are useful and positive emotions are harmful. Selection has partially differentiated subtypes of emotions from generic precursor states to deal with specialized situations. This has resulted in untidy emotions that blur into each other on dozens of dimensions, rendering the quest for simple categorically distinct emotions futile. Selection has shaped flexible mechanisms that control the expression of emotions on the basis of an individual's appraisal of the meaning of events for his or her ability to reach personal goals. The prevalence of emotional disorders can be attributed to several evolutionary factors.
334 citations
Book•
01 Jan 2008TL;DR: Halliwell et al. as discussed by the authors analyzed both the theory and the practice of laughter as a revealing expression of Greek values and mentalities, and showed how perceptions of laughter helped to shape Greek conceptions of the body, the mind and the meaning of life.
Abstract: The first book to offer an integrated reading of ancient Greek attitudes to laughter. Taking material from various genres and contexts, the book analyses both the theory and the practice of laughter as a revealing expression of Greek values and mentalities. Greek society developed distinctive institutions for the celebration of laughter as a capacity which could bridge the gap between humans and gods; but it also feared laughter for its power to expose individuals and groups to shame and even violence. Caught between ideas of pleasure and pain, friendship and enmity, laughter became a theme of recurrent interest in various contexts. Employing a sophisticated model of cultural history, Stephen Halliwell traces elaborations of the theme in a series of important texts: ranging far beyond modern accounts of 'humour', he shows how perceptions of laughter helped to shape Greek conceptions of the body, the mind and the meaning of life.
188 citations
TL;DR: The word “emotion” has existed in English since the 17th century, originating as a translation of the French émotion, meaning a physical disturbance, and came into much wider use in 18th-century English, often to refer to mental experiences.
Abstract: The word “emotion” has named a psychological category and a subject for systematic enquiry only since the 19th century. Before then, relevant mental states were categorised variously as “appetites,” “passions,” “affections,” or “sentiments.” The word “emotion” has existed in English since the 17th century, originating as a translation of the French emotion, meaning a physical disturbance. It came into much wider use in 18th-century English, often to refer to mental experiences, becoming a fully fledged theoretical term in the following century, especially through the influence of two Scottish philosopher-physicians, Thomas Brown and Charles Bell. This article relates this intellectual and semantic history to contemporary debates about the usefulness and meaning of “emotion” as a scientific term.
184 citations
17 Dec 2009
TL;DR: The Cambridge History of Medieval Philosophy as mentioned in this paper provides a rich and remarkable period in the history of philosophy and will be the authoritative source on medieval philosophy for the next generation of scholars and students alike.
Abstract: The Cambridge History of Medieval Philosophy comprises over fifty specially commissioned essays by experts on the philosophy of this period. Starting in the late eighth century, with the renewal of learning some centuries after the fall of the Roman Empire, a sequence of chapters takes the reader through developments in many and varied fields, including logic and language, natural philosophy, ethics, metaphysics, and theology. Close attention is paid to the context of medieval philosophy, with discussions of the rise of the universities and developments in the cultural and linguistic spheres. A striking feature is the continuous coverage of Islamic, Jewish, and Christian material. There are useful biographies of the philosophers, and a comprehensive bibliography. The volumes illuminate a rich and remarkable period in the history of philosophy and will be the authoritative source on medieval philosophy for the next generation of scholars and students alike.
144 citations
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TL;DR: The implications of natural selection for several classic questions about emotions and emotional disorders are considered.
Abstract: Emotions research is now routinely grounded in evolution, but explicit evolutionary analyses of emotions remain rare. This article considers the implications of natural selection for several classic questions about emotions and emotional disorders. Emotions are special modes of operation shaped by natural selection. They adjust multiple response parameters in ways that have increased fitness in adaptively challenging situations that recurred over the course of evolution. They are valenced because selection shapes special processes for situations that have influenced fitness in the past. In situations that decrease fitness, negative emotions are useful and positive emotions are harmful. Selection has partially differentiated subtypes of emotions from generic precursor states to deal with specialized situations. This has resulted in untidy emotions that blur into each other on dozens of dimensions, rendering the quest for simple categorically distinct emotions futile. Selection has shaped flexible mechanisms that control the expression of emotions on the basis of an individual's appraisal of the meaning of events for his or her ability to reach personal goals. The prevalence of emotional disorders can be attributed to several evolutionary factors.
334 citations
Book•
01 Jan 2008TL;DR: Halliwell et al. as discussed by the authors analyzed both the theory and the practice of laughter as a revealing expression of Greek values and mentalities, and showed how perceptions of laughter helped to shape Greek conceptions of the body, the mind and the meaning of life.
Abstract: The first book to offer an integrated reading of ancient Greek attitudes to laughter. Taking material from various genres and contexts, the book analyses both the theory and the practice of laughter as a revealing expression of Greek values and mentalities. Greek society developed distinctive institutions for the celebration of laughter as a capacity which could bridge the gap between humans and gods; but it also feared laughter for its power to expose individuals and groups to shame and even violence. Caught between ideas of pleasure and pain, friendship and enmity, laughter became a theme of recurrent interest in various contexts. Employing a sophisticated model of cultural history, Stephen Halliwell traces elaborations of the theme in a series of important texts: ranging far beyond modern accounts of 'humour', he shows how perceptions of laughter helped to shape Greek conceptions of the body, the mind and the meaning of life.
188 citations
TL;DR: The word “emotion” has existed in English since the 17th century, originating as a translation of the French émotion, meaning a physical disturbance, and came into much wider use in 18th-century English, often to refer to mental experiences.
Abstract: The word “emotion” has named a psychological category and a subject for systematic enquiry only since the 19th century. Before then, relevant mental states were categorised variously as “appetites,” “passions,” “affections,” or “sentiments.” The word “emotion” has existed in English since the 17th century, originating as a translation of the French emotion, meaning a physical disturbance. It came into much wider use in 18th-century English, often to refer to mental experiences, becoming a fully fledged theoretical term in the following century, especially through the influence of two Scottish philosopher-physicians, Thomas Brown and Charles Bell. This article relates this intellectual and semantic history to contemporary debates about the usefulness and meaning of “emotion” as a scientific term.
184 citations
17 Dec 2009
TL;DR: The Cambridge History of Medieval Philosophy as mentioned in this paper provides a rich and remarkable period in the history of philosophy and will be the authoritative source on medieval philosophy for the next generation of scholars and students alike.
Abstract: The Cambridge History of Medieval Philosophy comprises over fifty specially commissioned essays by experts on the philosophy of this period. Starting in the late eighth century, with the renewal of learning some centuries after the fall of the Roman Empire, a sequence of chapters takes the reader through developments in many and varied fields, including logic and language, natural philosophy, ethics, metaphysics, and theology. Close attention is paid to the context of medieval philosophy, with discussions of the rise of the universities and developments in the cultural and linguistic spheres. A striking feature is the continuous coverage of Islamic, Jewish, and Christian material. There are useful biographies of the philosophers, and a comprehensive bibliography. The volumes illuminate a rich and remarkable period in the history of philosophy and will be the authoritative source on medieval philosophy for the next generation of scholars and students alike.
144 citations
Book•
17 Sep 2004
TL;DR: Inherited repertoires of emotion built upon culture and experience as mentioned in this paper have been built upon cultures and experience, from Epicureans and Stoics via the seven deadly sins to cognitive therapy.
Abstract: Preface.1. Meaning and ambiguity.Emotions: signals of what is vital.2. Evolution, culture, and a necessary ambivalence.Inherited repertoires of emotion built upon by culture and experience.3. Medicine for the soul.From Epicureans and Stoics via the seven deadly sins to cognitive therapy.4. Emotions and the brain.Accidents, imaging technologies, the new psychopharmacology.5. Social histories: emotions and relationships.Social goals of aggression, attachment, affiliation, and their mixtures.6. Individual histories.Emotional development from childhood to maturity.7. Emotional disorders.Excesses of sadness, anxiety, shame, and anger.8. Emotional intelligence.What is it to be emotionally intelligent? Are there skills to learn?.Endnotes.References.Index
120 citations