PHIL 5450

We will concentrate on the resurgence of philosophical interest in the emotions over the last twenty years. Although it is obvious that much human action is emotionally driven, traditionally many philosophers have expressed skepticism about the value of emotions to rational and ethical conduct. Recently, philosophers such as Martha Nussbaum, Amelie Rorty and Ronald De Sousa have argued that rationality requires emotions. Other philosophers have argued that we need a renewed assessment of the epistemic importance of emotion in revealing power and value. Topics will include emotional rationality; emotion and value; first person authority; cognitive, social constructivist and psycho-evolutionary approaches; emotion and feminist epistemology; emotion, power and racial construction.