Single Idea 20205

[catalogued under 18. Thought / A. Modes of Thought / 3. Emotions / d. Emotional feeling]

Full Idea

Most feelings are experienced as pleasant or painful, but it is not evident that they all are; curiosity may be one that is not. [note: 'curiosity' may not be the name of a feeling, but a feeling typically accompanies it]

Gist of Idea

The feeling accompanying curiosity is neither pleasant nor painful

Source

Linda Trinkaus Zagzebski (Virtues of the Mind [1996], II 3.1)

Book Reference

Zagzebski,Linda: 'Virtues of the Mind' [CUP 1996], p.144


A Reaction

If a machine generates a sliding scale from pain to pleasure, is there a neutral feeling at the midpoint, or does all feeling briefly vanish there? Not sure.