Upheavals of thought : the intelligence of emotions / Martha C. Nussbaum.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Nussbaum, Martha C. (Martha Craven), 1947- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Emotions and cognition.

Emotivism.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiii, 751 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2001.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Emotions shape the landscape of our mental and social lives. Like geological upheavals in a landscape, they mark our lives as uneven, uncertain and prone to reversal. Are they simply, as some have claimed, animal energies or impulses with no connection to our thoughts? Or are they rather suffused with intelligence and discernment, and thus a source of deep awareness and understanding? In this compelling book, Martha C. Nussbaum presents a powerful argument for treating emotions not as alien forces but as highly discriminating responses to what is of value and importance. She explores and illuminates the structure of a wide range of emotions, in particular compassion and love, showing that there can be no adequate ethical theory without an adequate theory of the emotions. This involves understanding their cultural sources, their history in infancy and childhood, and their sometimes unpredictable and disorderly operations in our daily lives.

Contents:

1 Emotions as judgments of value

2 Humans and other animals: the neo-stoic view revised

3 Emotions and human societies

4 Emotions and infancy

5 Music and emotion

6 Compassion: tragic predicaments

7 Compassion: the philosophical debate

8 Compassion and public life

9 Ladders of love: an introduction

10 Contemplative creativity: Plato, Spinoza, Proust

11 The Christian ascent: Augustine

12 The Christian ascent: Dante

13 The romantic ascent: Emily Brontë

14 The romantic ascent: Mahler

15 Democratic desire: Walt Whitman

16The transfiguration of everyday life: Joyce.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

ISBN:

1-316-08474-4

1-107-08461-X

1-107-10059-3

1-107-08874-7

1-107-09494-1

0-511-84071-3

9780511840715 (electronic book)