The passions : philosophy and the intelligence of emotions

Conventional wisdom suggests there is a sharp distinction between emotion and reason. Emotions are seen as inferior, disruptive, primitive, and even bestial forces. These 24 remarkable lectures suggest otherwise-that emotions have intelligence and provide personal strategies that are vitally important to our everyday lives of perceiving, evaluating, appraising, understanding, and acting in the world. Take a tour of Professor Solomon's more than three-decade-long intellectual struggle to reach an understanding of emotions, which he argues are, "the key to the meaning of life." A distinguished philosopher himself, Professor Solomon's lectures unfold as a rich dialogue with other philosophers, including Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Adam Smith, Nietzsche, William James, Freud, Heidegger, and Sartre. In your exploration, you'll address such questions as: how do we distinguish emotions from feelings, such as heartache' What is the meaning of our emotions, and how do they serve to enrich and guide our lives' Are there a determinable number of basic emotions that serve as building blocks for the range of emotions we experience' Is an emotion such as jealousy a genetic trait shared by all humans - or is it something learned' As you listen to these lectures, prepare to think: Think about your own emotions; think about what you observe in others; think about the enormous body of research and conjecture on this fascinating topic as Professor Solomon takes you on a challenging and stimulating journey. The more we puzzle over the nature of emotions, the deeper the mystery becomes. It is a mystery that is by no means solved, but one that repays in careful, philosophical analysis. Read more... Abstract: Conventional wisdom suggests there is a sharp distinction between emotion and reason. Emotions are seen as inferior, disruptive, primitive, and even bestial forces. These 24 remarkable lectures suggest otherwise-that emotions have intelligence and provide personal strategies that are vitally important to our everyday lives of perceiving, evaluating, appraising, understanding, and acting in the world. Take a tour of Professor Solomon's more than three-decade-long intellectual struggle to reach an understanding of emotions, which he argues are, "the key to the meaning of life." A distinguished philosopher himself, Professor Solomon's lectures unfold as a rich dialogue with other philosophers, including Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Adam Smith, Nietzsche, William James, Freud, Heidegger, and Sartre. In your exploration, you'll address such questions as: how do we distinguish emotions from feelings, such as heartache' What is the meaning of our emotions, and how do they serve to enrich and guide our lives' Are there a determinable number of basic emotions that serve as building blocks for the range of emotions we experience' Is an emotion such as jealousy a genetic trait shared by all humans - or is it something learned' As you listen to these lectures, prepare to think: Think about your own emotions; think about what you observe in others; think about the enormous body of research and conjecture on this fascinating topic as Professor Solomon takes you on a challenging and stimulating journey. The more we puzzle over the nature of emotions, the deeper the mystery becomes. It is a mystery that is by no means solved, but one that repays in careful, philosophical analysis The Passions: 1 Philosophy and the 1 Intelligence of Emotions 1 Part I 1 Professor Robert C. Solomon 1 Robert C. Solomon, Ph.D. 2 Table of Contents 3 The Passions: Philosophy and the 3 Intelligence of Emotions 3 Part I 3 The Passions: Philosophy and the 4 Intelligence of Emotions 4 Lecture One 6 Emotions as Engagements with the World 6 Outline 6 Lecture Two 9 The Wrath of Achilles 9 Outline 9 Lecture Three 13 It’s Good to Be Afraid 13 Outline 13 Lecture Four 17 Lessons of Love—Plato’s Symposium 17 Outline 17 Lecture Five 20 We Are Not Alone—Compassion and Empathy 20 Outline 20 Lecture Six 23 Noble? Or Deadly Sin? Pride and Shame 23 Outline 23 Lecture Seven 26 Nasty—Iago’s Envy, Othello’s Jealousy 26 Outline 26 Lecture Eight 29 Nastier—Resentment and Vengeance 29 Outline 29 Lecture Nine 32 A Death in the Family—The Logic of Grief 32 Outline 32 Lecture Ten 35 James and the Bear—Emotions and Feelings 35 Outline 35 Lecture Eleven 38 Freud’s Catharsis—The Hydraulic Model 38 Outline 38 Lecture Twelve 41 Are Emotions “in” the Mind? 41 Outline 41 Timeline 44 Glossary 47 Biographical Notes 50 The Passions: 53 Philosophy and the 53 Intelligence of Emotions 53 Part II 53 Professor Robert C. Solomon 53 The Teaching Company ® 53 Robert C. Solomon, Ph.D. 54 Table of Contents 55 The Passions: Philosophy and the 55 Intelligence of Emotions 55 Part II 55 The Passions: Philosophy and the 56 Intelligence of Emotions 56 Lecture Thirteen 58 How Emotions Are Intelligent 58 Outline 58 Lecture Fourteen 61 Emotions as Judgments 61 Outline 61 Lecture Fifteen 64 Beyond Boohoo and Hooray 64 Outline 64 Lecture Sixteen 68 Emotions Are Rational 68 Outline 68 Lecture Seventeen 71 Emotions and Responsibility 71 Outline 71 Lecture Eighteen 74 Emotions in Ethics 74 Outline 74 Lecture Nineteen 77 Emotions and the Self 77 Outline 77 Lecture Twenty 80 What Is Emotional Experience? 80 Outline 80 Lecture Twenty-One 83 Emotions across Cultures—Universals 83 Outline 83 Lecture Twenty-Two 86 Emotions across Cultures—Differences 86 Outline 86 Lecture Twenty-Three 89 Laughter and Music 89 Outline 89 Lecture Twenty-Four 92 Happiness and Spirituality 92 Outline 92 Bibliography 95