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| Semester | Frühjahrsemester 2015 |
| Angebotsmuster | einmalig |
| Dozierende | Angelika Krebs (angelika.krebs@unibas.ch, BeurteilerIn) |
| Inhalt | Das Seminar erarbeitet sich einen Überblick über den Stand der philosophischen Emotionstheorie, insbesondere im angelsächsischen und deutschen Sprachraum. Eine gute Beherrschung der englischen Sprache ist daher Voraussetzung für die Teilnahme. Das Seminar begleitet als Forschungsseminar ein vierbändiges Buchprojekt der Veranstalterin (hg. zusammen mit Prof. Aaron Ben-Ze'ev, Universität Haifa) zur "Philosophy of Emotions" bei Routledge. Hier ist die Beschreibung des Buchprojektes: 1. Marketing Description 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 "Gefühl" 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. 2. Outline of Contents As René Descartes once remarked, emotions do not seem to be an extremely difficult topic to investigate since everyone feels emotions and so the scholar has little need to search far in order to establish their nature. Nevertheless, Descartes found existing writings so confused that he chose not to rely on them and to write as if he were examining a topic that no one had dealt with before. The first volume will discuss the nature of emotions. It will address issues such as the major characteristics and components of emotions; emotional intensity versus profundity; the role of change and comparison; and the relationship between emotions and other affective phenomena, such as bodily feelings, sentiments, moods, affective traits, and affective disorders. The second volume will be devoted to the rationality and functionality of emotions. There is a long tradition that doubts that emotions can be rational and functional. In this tradition, which pervades much of current culture, emotions are regarded as impediments to rational reasoning and hence as obstacles to normal functioning. We believe that this position is wrong. Emotions are not irrational in the sense of preventing optimal functioning; on the contrary, they serve important purposes in everyday life. Although emotions are not functional in every circumstance, they are highly functional in many, particularly when we need to cope with urgent situations involving significant change. The second volume will also discuss the connection between emotions and other mental capacities, especially intellectual thinking, intuition, and imagination. The practically important issue of how to regulate emotions will figure prominently as well. The third volume will study the role emotions play in the normative realm, and in particular in morality and the arts. The role of emotions in the moral domain has frequently been disputed. The partial nature of emotions seems to contradict the more basic and egalitarian nature of many moral evaluations. Although the difference between emotional attitudes and many moral rules is indeed evident, emotions are nevertheless morally valuable. They are especially important in our relationships with those near and dear to us. In this personal context, which constitutes the bulk of everyday life, partial emotional attitudes may even be morally commendable. Emotional attitudes are also a moral barrier against many crimes. Emotional evaluations have emerged through a long process of evolutionary, personal and political moral development. Accordingly, they express some of our deepest values and commitments and provide basic guidelines for moral behaviour. It is the arts that express emotions in a particularly vivid manner. The best descriptions of emotions available seem to stem from artists like Robert Musil or Henry James. The arts are also singular in their power to cultivate and corrupt our emotions (think of ‘Kitsch’). Examining the role of emotions in the arts, for instance, in literature and music, is of seminal importance for understanding emotions. After addressing such general issues in the three first volumes, the fourth volume will be devoted to the analysis of individual emotions. This volume will explore the following groups of major emotions: (a) love, sexual desire, hate, and anger; (b) envy, jealousy, pity, and compassion; (c) happiness, sadness, hope, and fear; and (d) shame, pride, regret, and guilt. The discussion of these specific emotions will not merely serve to better understand their nature, but will also contribute to clarifying some of the general issues discussed in the previous volumes. |
| Literatur | Aaron Ben-Ze’ev: "The Subtlety of Emotions", Cambridge, Mass.: MIT, 2001. |
| Bemerkungen | Für Doktorierende und JuristInnen geeignet |
| Unterrichtssprache | Deutsch |
| Einsatz digitaler Medien | kein spezifischer Einsatz |
| HörerInnen willkommen |
| Intervall | Wochentag | Zeit | Raum |
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Keine Einzeltermine verfügbar, bitte informieren Sie sich direkt bei den Dozierenden.
| Module |
Modul Praktische Philosophie (Master Studienfach: Philosophie) Modul Praktische Philosophie (Master Studienfach: Philosophie (Studienbeginn vor 01.08.2013)) Modul Probleme der Praktischen Philosophie (Bachelor Studienfach: Philosophie) Modul Probleme der Praktischen Philosophie (Bachelor Studienfach: Philosophie (Studienbeginn vor 01.08.2013)) |
| Leistungsüberprüfung | Lehrveranst.-begleitend |
| Hinweise zur Leistungsüberprüfung | Als Forschungsseminar ist das Seminar auf die intensive Mitarbeit aller TeilnehmerInnen angewiesen. Der Leistungsnachweis erfolgt über wöchentliche Lektüreeindrücke (5 KP) sowie (als Hausarbeitsäquivalent) zwei lange Essays, einer zur Vorbereitung und einer zur Nachbereitung der Blockphase Anfang Mai (3-5 KP zusätzlich). |
| An-/Abmeldung zur Leistungsüberprüfung | Anmelden: Belegen; Abmelden: nicht erforderlich |
| Wiederholungsprüfung | keine Wiederholungsprüfung |
| Skala | Pass / Fail |
| Wiederholtes Belegen | nicht wiederholbar |
| Zuständige Fakultät | Philosophisch-Historische Fakultät, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Anbietende Organisationseinheit | Fachbereich Philosophie |