Emotion / Key Concepts (ePub)

Emotion is at the centre of our personal and social lives. To
love or to hate, to be frightened or grateful is not just a matter
of how we feel on the inside: our emotional responses direct our
thoughts and actions, unleash our imaginations, and structure our
relationships with others. Yet the role of emotion in human life
has long been disputed. Is emotion reason?s friend or its foe? From
where do the emotions really arise? Why do we need them at all?

In this accessible and carefully argued introduction, Carolyn
Price focuses on some central questions about the nature and
function of emotion. She explores the ways in which emotion
contrasts with belief and considers how our emotional responses
relate to our values, our likes and our needs. And she investigates
some of the different ways in which emotional responses can be
judged as fitting or misplaced, rational or irrational, authentic
or inauthentic, sentimental or profound. Throughout, she develops a
particular view of emotion as a complex and diverse phenomenon,
which reflects both our common evolutionary past and our different
cultural and personal histories.

Engagingly written with lots of examples to illuminate our
understanding, this book provides the ideal introduction to the
topic for students and scholars and anyone interested in delving
further into the intricate web of human emotion.