View article

Contemporary philosophy of emotion, and much of the psychology of emotion, has been dominated by discussion of the degree to which some emotions are “cognitive.” What it means to be cognitive has never been wholly clear, but the debate still has some importance to the philosophy of mind and to cognitive science: it would be extremely helpful to understand how emotions interact with, and perhaps depend upon, other mental capabilities. Until recently, it was possible to find many philosophers and some psychologists who expressed commitment to a view that emotions require complex cognitive states, such as propositional attitudes. As we gained greater scientific knowledge about emotions, these views became an easy target for a range of neuropsychological critiques. Most philosophers, like most psychologists, now agree on a notion of “cognition”, when speaking of emotion, which is so broad it cannot …