A survey of astonishing breadth and penetration. No cognitive
neuroscientist should ever conduct an experiment in the domain of
the emotions without reading this book, twice. Parashkev Nachev,
Institute of Neurology, UCL There is not a slack moment in the
whole of this impressive work. With his remarkable facility for
making fine distinctions, and his commitment to lucidity, Peter
Hacker has subtly characterized those emotions such as pride,
shame, envy, jealousy, love or sympathy which make up our all too
human nature. This is an important book for philosophers but since
most of its illustrative material comes from an astonishing range
of British and European literature, it is required reading also for
literary scholars, or indeed for anyone with an interest in
understanding who and what we are. David Ellis, University of Kent
Human beings are all subject to boundless flights of joy and
delight, to flashes of anger and fear, to pangs of sadness and
grief. We express our emotions in what we do, how we act, and what
we say, and we can share our emotions with others and respond
sympathetically to their feelings. Emotions are an intrinsic part
of the human condition, and any study of human nature must
investigate them. In this third volume of a major study in
philosophical anthropology which has spanned nearly a decade, one
of the most preeminent living philosophers examines and reflects
upon the nature of the emotions, advancing the view that novelists,
playwrights, and poets - rather than psychologists and cognitive
neuroscientists - elaborate the most refined descriptions of their
role in human life. In the book's early chapters, the author
analyses the emotions by situating them in relation to other human
passions such as affections, appetites, attitudes, and agitations.
While presenting a detailed connective analysis of the emotions,
Hacker challenges traditional ideas about them and criticizes
misconceptions held by philosophers, psychologists, and cognitive
neuroscientists. With the help of abundant examples and
illustrative quotations from the Western literary canon, later
sections investigate, describe, and disentangle the individual
emotions - pride, arrogance, and humility; shame, embarrassment,
and guilt; envy and jealousy; and anger. The book concludes with an
analysis of love, sympathy, and empathy as sources of absolute
value and the roots of morality. A masterful contribution, this
study of the passions is essential reading for philosophers of
mind, psychologists, cognitive neuroscientists, students of Western
literature, and general readers interested in understanding the
nature of the emotions and their place in our lives.
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