Upheavals of Thought: The Intelligence of Emotions

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Cambridge University Press, Aug 27, 2001 - Philosophy
Emotions shape the landscape of our mental and social lives. Like geological upheavals in a landscape, they mark our lives as uneven, uncertain and prone to reversal. Are they simply, as some have claimed, animal energies or impulses with no connection to our thoughts? Or are they rather suffused with intelligence and discernment, and thus a source of deep awareness and understanding? In this compelling book, Martha C. Nussbaum presents a powerful argument for treating emotions not as alien forces but as highly discriminating responses to what is of value and importance. She explores and illuminates the structure of a wide range of emotions, in particular compassion and love, showing that there can be no adequate ethical theory without an adequate theory of the emotions. This involves understanding their cultural sources, their history in infancy and childhood, and their sometimes unpredictable and disorderly operations in our daily lives.

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Contents

Introduction
Emotions as Judgments of Value
Object
The NeoStoicView Revised I Animals Grieving II The Decline of Reductionist Theories of Emotion III The Resurgence of Intentionality Seligman La...
Nonemotional Animals 3 Emotions and Human Societies
Helplessness Omnipotence Basic
Environment
Music andEmotionI Expression and the Implied Listener
Compassion and Public Life
Plato
13
Walt Whitman I A Democracy of Love
Joyce
Bibliography
Acknowledgments
Copyright

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