Owning our emotions — Emotion, authenticity and the self
Institute of Philosophy, Senate House, Malet Street
London WC1E 7HU
United Kingdom
Sponsor(s):
- The Mind Association
- Institute of Philosophy, University of London
- The Open University
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How do emotions relate to the self? On one possible view, emotions stand outside the self: they reflect biological drives or cultural demands independent of – perhaps even inimical to – the subject’s own interests or values; when we act out of emotion, we are driven to act by psychological forces external to ourselves. But on another view, our emotional dispositions help to constitute who we are; words and deeds that come ‘from the heart’ are judged to have a special kind of worth, arising from their authenticity. In everyday contexts, people seem to think about emotion in both these ways, depending on the situation. But can these two views be reconciled? And if not, which view comes closer to the truth?
The purpose of this conference is to throw light on these questions, capitalising on the progress that has been made in the philosophy of emotion in recent years, as well as drawing on studies in the history of philosophy and on a range of philosophical traditions. In particular, the conference will address the following questions:
•How do emotions, the personality and the self relate to each other? Is there an ‘emotional self’?
•What do our emotional responses say about us, about our ‘character’?
•What is it for an emotion to be authentic? Is emotional authenticity valuable in itself?
•To what extent, and for what reasons, can people be held responsible for actions done out of emotion?
•Are some actions better for having been done out of emotion?
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#Emotions conference London 2016