(in Polish) Phenomenology of Emotions

elective monographs
general courses

(in Polish) Basic knowledge of the history of philosophy. Good ability in English.

Classroom

The course is to be a general introduction to a phenomenology of emotions. Our starting point is a strong conviction (opposed to the dominant in the philosophical tradition view) that human emotions and affects have profound cognitive, disclosing, constituting and normative powers of their own. They not only enrich our mental life, but also are means of self-cognition. They determine the ways in which we relate to ourselves and constitute our identities. They disclose the world around us and present it as having such and such objective characteristics. Eventually and above all, they seem to play the fundamental role in our being among other people and as such they imply particular modes of normativity.

The philosophical tradition seems to be divided into two opposed perspectives with regard to the role and importance of emotional phenomena. However both of them can be united under the general distinction between reason and sensibility. The distinction obviously assumed the irrationality of the latter. In accordance with the first perspective emotional and affective phenomena were seen as standing on the way to the ethical perfection or moral autonomy. The best and the most radical expression of this perspective can be found in the Kantian dismissal of all empirical emotions (as being pathological) in order to create the space for the only valid and genuine one, which is the respect before the moral law. The second perspective determined emotional and affective phenomena as having their own rights, but these rights remain non-transparent, resisting any attempts of being rationally mastered and rightly so. Although this picture is based on the serious oversimplification – one can find in the history of philosophy, or more broadly in the history of culture the examples which would undermine this view – one can still claim that there is a kind of general and commonsensical distrust in emotional phenomena as being the obstacles for creating the stable, self-reliable and autonomous personality. This distrust finds its expressions in many common sayings like: “Don’t let your emotions get the better of you!”

It was phenomenology which consistently created a new perspective on emotions; a perspective which undermines the mentioned above false dichotomy. It allows to see emotions neither as irrational, dark, animal energies remaining beyond our control, nor as phenomena which could and should be subordinated to reason. It presents them as complex intentional, cognitive, and normative structures. They not only enrich our mental life, but also are means of self-cognition. They determine the ways in which we relate to ourselves and constitute our identities. They disclose the world around us and present it as having such and such objective determinations. Eventually and above all, they seem to play the fundamental role in our being among other people and as such they imply particular modes of normativity.

We will also reflect on the cultural determinations of the phenomena in which we are interested. The objects of our analysis will be emotional phenomena such as: anxiety, shame, disgust, guilt, repentance, hope, despair and love.

T. Szanto, H. Landweer, “The Routledge Handbook of Phenomenology of Emotions”

M. Nussbaum, “Upheavals of Thought: The Intelligence of Emotions”

J.-P. Sartre, “Sketch for a Theory of Emotions”

M. Heidegger, “Being and Time” (fr.)

P. Tillich, “The Courage to Be” (fr.)

E. Levinas, “On Escape” (fr.)

J.-P. Sartre, “Being and Nothingness” (fr.)

M. Scheler, “Shame and Feelings of Modesty” (fr.)

G. Agamben, “Shame, or on the Subject”, in; G. Agamben, “Remnants of Auschwitz”

A. Kolnai, “On Disgust” (fr.)

K. Jaspers, “The Question of German Guilt” (fr.)

M. Scheler, “Repentance and Rebirth” (fr.)

G. Marcel, “Homo Viator: Introduction to a Metaphysics of Hope” (fr.)

D. von Hildebrand, “The Nature of Love” (fr.)

After the course student:

- review and enrich vocabulary and linguistic skills in English (on level C1);

- have orderly and detailed knowledge about different roles emotions plays in human life and in culture;

- knows and understands different methods and argumentative strategies used in phenomenology;

- have basic knowledge about the main directions of development and new achievements in the field of philosophy.

After the course student can:

- read and interpret philosophical text;

- correctly used acquired philosophical vocabulary;

- analyze philosophical arguments, identify their crucial theses and premises and reveal the interrelations between them.

After the course student:

- is open to new ideas and ready to change his/her opinion in the light of available data and arguments;

- shows motivation to active participation in social life

The final grade will be based on: active participation in discussions during the course and a final test.

In both cases assessed will be: the ability to understand and solve a given philosophical problem by using defensible arguments; using correctly the acquired terminology; using the most appropriate argumentative strategy for a given philosophical problem; argumentative and conceptual clarity; convincing and adequate responding to a critique.

Acceptable number of missed classes without formal explanation: 2 in a semester