Emotion and Cognitive Life in Medieval and Early Modern Philosophy

This volume offers a much needed shift of focus in the study of emotion in the history of philosophy. Discussion has tended to focus on the moral relevance of emotions, and (except in ancient philosophy) the role of emotions in cognitive life has received little attention. Thirteen new essays investigate the continuities between medieval and early modern thinking about the emotions, and open up a contemporary debate on the relationship between emotions, cognition, and reason, and the way emotions figure in our own cognitive lives. A team of leading philosophers of the medieval, renaissance, and early modern periods explore these ideas from the point of view of four key themes: the situation of emotions within the human mind; the intentionality of emotions and their role in cognition; emotions and action; the role of emotion in self-understanding and the social situation of individuals. This volume has three aims. First, historians of philosophy have typically focused on the discussions of the moral relevance of emotions, and with the exception of scholars of ancient philosophy, neglected the place of emotions in cognitive life. This collection of articles refocuses the discussion of emotion in the medieval and early modern periods to their role in cognition. Second, though many have aimed to clarify relationship between the later thinkers and their predecessors with regard to issues in metaphysics and epistemology, there has been very little effort at tracing similar lines of thought about emotion. As a whole, the contributions to this volume serve to begin a discussion about the continuities between medieval and early modern thinking about the emotions. In this regard, there is also a discussion of the emotions of cognitive life of the Renaissance. Though we get only a snapshot of a period of philosophical work often passed over, even this snapshot invites questions about how to weave an intellectual history about accounts of our emotions in our cognitive lives. Finally, attention to the concerns that engage philosophers of the medieval, renaissance and early modern periods can inform the contemporary debate regarding the relationship between emotions, cognition, and reason. The thirteen contributions explore this from the point of view of four key themes: the situation of emotions within the human mind; the intentionality of emotions and their role in cognition; emotions and action; the role of emotion in self-understanding and the social situation of individuals This Volume Explores Emotion In Medieval And Early Modern Thought, And Opens A Debate On The Way Emotions Figure In Our Cognitive Lives. 13 Essays Explore The Key Themes Of Emotion Within The Mind; The Intentionality Of Emotions; Emotions And Action; And The Role Of Emotion In Self-understanding And Social Situations. Introduction / Martin Pickavé And Lisa Shapiro -- Dispassionate Passions / Peter King -- Why Is The Sheep Afraid Of The Wolf? Medieval Debates On Animals Passions / Dominik Perler -- John Duns Scotus On The Passions Of The Will / Ian Drummond -- Intellections And Volitions In Ockham's Nominalism / Claude Panaccio -- Emotion And Cognition In Later Medieval Philosophy: The Case Of Adam Wodeham / Martin Pickavé -- Sixteenth-century Discussions Of The Passions Of The Will / Simo Knuuttila -- The Philosopher As A Lover: Renaissance Debates On Platonic Eros / Sabrina Ebbersmeyer -- Reasons, Causes, And Inclinations / Paul Hoffman -- Using The Passions / Dennis Des Chene -- How We Experience The World: Passionate Perception In Descartes And Spinoza / Lisa Shapiro -- Agency And Attention In Malebranche's Theory Of Cognition / Deborah Brown -- Spinoza On Passions And Self-knowledge: The Case Of Pride / Lilli Alanen -- Family Trees: Sympathy, Comparison, And The Proliferation Of The Passions In Hume And His Predecessors / Amy L. Schmitter. Edited By Martin Pickavé And Lisa Shapiro. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. This volume explores emotion in medieval and early modern thought, and opens a contemporary debate on the way emotions figure in our cognitive lives. Thirteen original essays explore the key themes of emotion within the mind; the intentionality of emotions; emotions and action; and the role of emotion in self-understanding and social situations.