Can a Belief–Desire Theory Explain All Affective States?

Constant Bonard (University of Bern)

We are pleased to invite you to the next session of the Empirically Informed Philosophy of Mind online Seminar 


Who: Constant Bonard (University of Bern, Switzerland)
When: Wednesday, February 4th, 2026 — 5:00–6:30 pm (CET)
Where: Online via Zoom:
https://pantheonsorbonne.zoom.us/j/92782580594?pwd=a5p3WfunQQxJICrjJaUenFJFzmllbx.1
What:Can a Belief–Desire Theory Explain All Affective States?

The starting point of this talk is that a belief–desire theory of emotion becomes plausible when it is informed by appraisal theories of emotion (a.k.a. “evaluation theories”, such as Klaus Scherer’s or Agnes Moors’) and by notions of belief grounded in cognitive science (e.g., Eric Mandelbaum’s). The central question is whether such a theory can be extended beyond emotions to other affective states. I argue that it can account for most mood episodes, a wide range of pleasures and displeasures, and many affective dispositions. However, some basic affective states arising from so-called “intrinsic pleasantness appraisal” (in Scherer’s framework) or “stimulus–response evaluation” (in Moors’ framework) fall outside the scope of a belief–desire theory, which therefore can explain most, but not all, affective states.

 
For any questions, please contact:
Sacha Behrend — [email protected]
Elodie Boissard — [email protected]


Program

• 17 Sept 2025: Géraldine Carranante — Can we list what we can see?
• 1 Oct 2025: Jérôme Dokic — Two levels of confusion between Imagination and Memory
• 12 Nov 2025: Margherita Arcangeli — Episodic Memory through the lens of Aphantasia
• 3 Dec 2025: James Grayot — How do embodied and extended minds internalize contents?
• 13 Jan 2026: Raphaël Künstler — Is the human mind receptive to reasons? A confrontation with experimental social psychology
• 4 Feb 2026: Constant Bonard — Can a Belief–Desire Theory Explain All Affective States?
• 11 March 2026: Lucie Berkovitch — TBA

 
Organizers:

Sacha Behrend — Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Hradec Králové (Czech Republic) / Affiliated Researcher, Institut d’histoire et de philosophie des sciences et des techniques (IHPST), Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne


Elodie Boissard — Postdoctoral Researcher, Bordeaux Neurocampus Department / Institut de Neurosciences Cognitives et Intégratives d’Aquitaine (UMR 5287), Université de Bordeaux, CNRS