Emotions punctuate almost all significant events in our lives, but their nature, causes, and consequences are among the least well understood aspects of human experience. It is easier to express emotions than to describe them and even harder to analyse and explain them. Despite their apparent familiarity, emotions are an extremely subtle and complex topic. Unfortunately, the topic was neglected by philosophers and scientists in the past. In recent decades, however, interest in the emotions has grown considerably among scholars and students from many disciplines, as well as among the public at large. If there is to be any progress in this theoretically and practically important field, not only is a broad philosophical examination of basic concepts and issues essential (drawing both on analytical philosophy and phenomenology), but also an interdisciplinary approach that combines philosophical analysis with other types of scientific research (such as psychology, anthropology, history, sociology, and brain sciences). The clarification of basic emotional concepts as well as the unification of linguistic usages across disciplines and natural languages are necessary for integrating the growing body of interdisciplinary emotional research (e.g., does the traditional German "Gefuhl" correspond to "feeling" or to "emotion"? and what about "Stimmung"?). The contemporary philosophy of emotions is equipped for this integrative task. It can provide us with a better and more comprehensive picture of the nature of emotions.

Angewandte Ethik beschaftigt sich heute mit einer Fulle von Bereichen und Problemen. Mit der Orientierung am Verlauf des menschlichen Lebens und an den damit gegebenen elementaren Themen kann diese Komplexitat reduziert werden. Die Autorinnen und Autoren aus den Bereichen Philosophie, Theologie, Recht, Padagogik und Medizin machen mit ihren unterschiedlichen Betrachtungsweisen und wissenschaftlichen Positionen die ethische Dimension dieser Wissenschaften fur die Erhellung des gelebten bzw. stets individuell zu lebenden Lebens sichtbar. Der ursprungliche Ort der hier versammelten Beitrage. war eine Ringvorlesung der Basler Ethik. Kurt Seelmann, Dr. iur. Dr. h. c., Jahrgang 1947, ist Professor fur Strafrecht und Rechtsphilosophie an der Universitat Basel. Georg Pfleiderer, Dr. theol., Jahrgang 1960, ist Professor fur Systematische Theologie/Ethik an der Universitat Basel. Angelika Krebs, Dr. phil., Jahrgang 1961, ist Professorin fur Praktische Philosophie an der Universitat Basel.