more from this thinker     |     more from this text


Single Idea 23973

[filed under theme 18. Thought / A. Modes of Thought / 3. Emotions / a. Nature of emotions ]

Full Idea

Emotions have more specific objects than moods. The difference is a matter of degree, so emotions don't necessarily have a specific object, and moods are not necessarily undirected towards an object, or lacking in intentionality.

Gist of Idea

Unlike moods, emotions have specific objects, though the difference is a matter of degree

Source

Peter Goldie (The Emotions [2000], 2 'Intentionality')

Book Ref

Goldie,Peter: 'The Emotions' [OUP 2002], p.17


A Reaction

Could you simultaneously have an emotion and a mood which were in conflict, such as joy and misery (singing the blues), or love and hate ('odi et amo')? Could one transition into the other, as the object became clear, or faded away?


The 17 ideas with the same theme [essential nature of an emotion]:

Emotion is a modification of bodily energy, controlling our actions [Spinoza]
Freud said passions are pressures of some flowing hydraulic quantity [Freud, by Solomon]
Rage is inconceivable without bodily responses; so there are no disembodied emotions [James]
An emotion and its object form a unity, so emotion is a mode of apprehension [Sartre]
Emotion is one of our modes of understanding our Being-in-the-World [Sartre]
Feelings are not unchanging, but have a history (especially if they are noble) [Foucault]
I say bodily chemistry and its sensations have nothing to do with emotions [Solomon]
Emotions are judgements about ourselves, and our place in the world [Solomon]
Emotions are defined by their objects [Solomon]
The heart of an emotion is its judgement of values and morality [Solomon]
Emotions can be analysed under fifteen headings [Solomon]
Emotions have both intentionality and qualia [Kim]
Babies show highly emotional brain events, but may well be unaware of them [Carter,R]
'Having an emotion' differs from 'being emotional' [Goldie]
Unlike moods, emotions have specific objects, though the difference is a matter of degree [Goldie]
Emotional intentionality as belief and desire misses out the necessity of feelings [Goldie]
A long lasting and evolving emotion is still seen as a single emotion, such as love [Goldie]