Emotions, Empathy, and Normativity Workshop

The workshop’s main aim is to explore the different possible relations between emotions, empathy, and normativity. As of late, there has been a growing literature on the relation between emotions and morality, with a particular focus on emotional reasons and motivational aspects of morality. However, the focus on the possible connections between emotions and different forms of normativity (being it in what regards practical reasons, practical reasoning, epistemic reasons, epistemic reasons for practical reasoning, normative beliefs, value, etc.) have not received nearly as much attention. And while the literature does address the relevance of emotions to a certain extent, the possible relevance of empathy and its relation to normativity has received almost no attention. The possible connections between empathy and normativity are due a proper exploration given the obvious relation between empathy and emotions, and the arguments more recently put forward that empathy can help us understand/know others better.

As such, some of the questions the workshop aims to explore are the following:

• Does the normative importance of emotions imply any metaethical views?
• Should emotions and/or empathy make us question ideas of moral impartiality and/or objectivity?
• Do emotions/empathy help determine what we should do (individually or collectively)?
• Beyond motivational, which role, exactly, can emotions and/or empathy play in determining one’s (different) normativity reasons?
• What is the relation between emotions, normative reasons, and value?
• Do emotions or empathy determine what we should value?
• May emotions/empathy have different normative importance in different normative areas (for example, political, ethical, social)?

We welcome the submission of papers from researchers at any career stage to present at the two-day workshop on Emotions, Empathy, and Normativity. Please send anonymised papers of no more than 5000 words addressing the above (or other related) questions by August 31, 2023. Make sure to include an abstract at the beginning of the paper. Applicants will be notified of the selection process results in October. For additional information and submission of papers, please contact Diogo Carneiro ([email protected]).