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Emotions have increasingly attracted the attention of the sciences and academia. The topic is all the more timely since we have witnessed a global trend towards highly emotionalized discourses across societies and religions. Discourses are less guided by rational arguments and “facts”. Instead, narratives, sometimes manipulative, influence the thoughts and activi-ties of our societies. In this context, the authoritative texts of the monotheistic religions are experiencing a renaissance. Tanach, Bible and Qur’an do not only “emotionalize”, they also offer ancient concepts of emotions which affect the present. This book brings the interdependencies of antiquity and (post)modernity into an interdisci-plinary discussion. How should we understand feelings at all? This book explores the ap-proaches to emotions as portrayed and understood in various sources and disciplines. The contributors share their perspectives on methodological questions concerning research on the emotions. Scholars in religious studies and theology from different traditions—Jewish, Christian, Islamic—enter into dialogue with other disciplines, such as psychology, literary studies, sociology, cultural studies, philosophy, and historiography.
Jesse Prinz argues that recent work in philosophy, neuroscience, and anthropology supports two radical hypotheses about the nature of morality: moral values are based on emotional responses, and these emotional responses are inculcated by culture, not hard-wired through natural selection. In the first half of the book, Jesse Prinz defends the hypothesis that morality has an emotional foundation. Evidence from brain imaging, social psychology, and psychopathology suggest that, when we judge something to be right or wrong, we are merely expressing our emotions. Prinz argues that these emotions do not track objective features of reality; rather, the rightness and wrongness of an act consists in the fact that people are disposed to have certain emotions towards it. In the second half of the book, he turns to a defence of moral relativism. Moral facts depend on emotional responses, and emotional responses vary from culture to culture. Prinz surveys the anthropological record to establish moral variation, and he draws on cultural history to show how attitudes toward practices such as cannibalism and marriage change over time. He also criticizes evidence from animal behaviour and child development that has been taken to support the claim that moral attitudes are hard-wired by natural selection. Prinz concludes that there is no single true morality, but he also argues that some moral values are better than others; moral progress is possible. Throughout the book, Prinz relates his views to contemporary and historical work in philosophical ethics. His views echo themes in the writings of David Hume and Friedrich Nietzsche, but Prinz supports, extends, and revises these classic theories using the resources of cutting-edge cognitive science. The Emotional Construction of Morals will stimulate and challenge anyone who is curious about the nature and origin of moral values.
In recent years, the idea of a concept has become increasingly central to different areas of philosophy. This collection of original essays presents philosophical perspectives on the link between concepts and language, concepts and experience, concepts and know-how, and concepts and emotion. The essays span a variety of interrelated philosophical domains ranging from epistemology, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, philosophy of action, and the philosophy of emotions. Among the central questions addressed by the contributors are: What are concepts? What is nonconceptual content? Does perceptual experience have conceptual content? Is conceptual thought language dependent? How do we form new concepts? Does practical knowledge have propositional content? Is practical understanding conceptual (without being propositional)? Do emotions have a representational content and if so, is the representational content conceptual? Concepts in Thought, Action, and Emotion advances current debates about concepts and will interest scholars across a broad range of philosophical disciplines.
The realm of emotion is one of those areas where Buddhism and Western psychology are often thought to be at odds: Are emotions to be valued, examined, worked with as signs leading us to deeper self-knowledge? Or are they something to be ignored and avoided as soon as we recognize them? Rob Preece feels that neither of those extremes is correct. He charts a path through the emotions as they relate to Buddhist practice, showing that though emotions are indeed "skandhas" (elements that make up the illusory self) according to the Buddhist teaching, there is a good deal to be learned from these skandhas, and paying attention to their content contributes not only to psychological health but to deep insight into the nature of reality. He draws on his own experiences with emotions and meditation, through his training in both Tibetan Buddhism and psychotherapy, to show how working with emotions can be a complement to meditation practice.
*Why do seemingly rational, intelligent people commit acts of cruelty and violence? *What are the root causes of destructive behavior? *How can we control the emotions that drive these impulses? *Can we learn to live at peace with ourselves and others? Imagine sitting with the Dalai Lama in his private meeting room with a small group of world-class scientists and philosophers. The talk is lively and fascinating as these leading minds grapple with age-old questions of compelling contemporary urgency. Daniel Goleman, the internationally bestselling author of Emotional Intelligence, provides the illuminating commentary—and reports on the breakthrough research this historic gathering inspired. Destructive Emotions Buddhist philosophy tells us that all personal unhappiness and interpersonal conflict lie in the “three poisons”: craving, anger, and delusion. It also provides antidotes of astonishing psychological sophistication--which are now being confirmed by modern neuroscience. With new high-tech devices, scientists can peer inside the brain centers that calm the inner storms of rage and fear. They also can demonstrate that awareness-training strategies such as meditation strengthen emotional stability—and greatly enhance our positive moods. The distinguished panel members report these recent findings and debate an exhilarating range of other topics: What role do destructive emotions play in human evolution? Are they “hardwired” in our bodies? Are they universal, or does culture determine how we feel? How can we nurture the compassion that is also our birthright? We learn how practices that reduce negativity have also been shown to bolster the immune system. Here, too, is an enlightened proposal for a school-based program of social and emotional learning that can help our children increase self-awareness, manage their anger, and become more empathetic. Throughout, these provocative ideas are brought to life by the play of personalities, by the Dalai Lama’s probing questions, and by his surprising sense of humor. Although there are no easy answers, the dialogues, which are part of a series sponsored by the Mind and Life Institute, chart an ultimately hopeful course. They are sure to spark discussion among educators, religious and political leaders, parents—and all people who seek peace for themselves and the world. The Mind and Life Institute sponsors cross-cultural dialogues that bring together the Dalai Lama and other Buddhist scholars with Western scientists and philosophers. Mind and Life VIII, on which this book is based, took place in Dharamsala, India, in March 2000.
This book is dedicated to Edith Stein (1891–1942), who is known widely for her contributions to metaphysics. Though she never produced a dedicated work on questions of ethics, her corpus is replete with pertinent reflections. This book is the first major scholarly volume dedicated to exploring Stein’s ethical thought, not only for its wide-ranging content, from her earlier to later works, but also for its applications to such fields as psychology, theology, education, politics, law, and culture. Leading international scholars come together to provide a systematic account of Stein’s ethics, highlighting its relation to Stein’s highly developed and complex metaphysics. Questions about the good, evil, the rights and ethical comportment of the person, the state, and feminism are addressed. The book appeals to scholars interested in the history of philosophical and ethical thought
Changing your mind to change the world is the general principle proposed to educate for responsibility. Using an interdisciplinary scientific approach, this book dissects the functioning of the ego, that is to say the belief in a self, an illusion that causes disharmony. After an original modeling of the notion of responsibility, the author deduces that it is incumbent on all of us to become aware of the relationship between our own minds and the world. Thus, gaining consistency and awareness, everyone would have the potential to free themselves from the illusion of the ego and contribute to a more harmonious world. This book therefore proposes psychospiritual skills, favored in particular by different forms of reflexivity and by meditation (and mindfulness), which can serve as a basis for a curriculum to educate for responsibility. This academic connection between meditation and ethics is a major innovative contribution.
This book synthesizes the literature on emotional development and cognition across the lifespan. The book proposes a core language by which to describe positive and problematic developmental changes by recourse to a parsimonious set of core principles, such as elevations or declines in tension thresholds and their relation to the waxing and waning of the cognitive system over the life course. It integrates, similarly, the lifelong consequences of the positive or damaging aspects of the social milieu in fostering increases in tension thresholds with their advanced capacity for maintaining equilibrium and warding off stress versus a lowering of tension thresholds with disturbances of equilibrium maintenance and heightened susceptibility to stress and deregulation.
The author of The Healing Power of Mind draws on Buddhist scripture, firsthand accounts, and other sources to present an overview of Tibetan Buddhist teachings on facing death with openness and insight Buddhism teaches that death can be a springboard to enlightenment—yet for all but the most advanced meditators, it will be the gateway to countless future lives of suffering in samsara. Tulku Thondup wrote this guide to help us heal our fear and confusion about death and strengthen our practice in anticipation of this transition, and to help us realize the enlightened goal of ultimate peace and joy—not only for death and rebirth, but for this very lifetime. In simple language, he distills a vast range of sources, including scriptures, classic commentaries, oral teachings, and firsthand accounts. The book includes: • An overview of the dying process, the after-death bardo states, and teachings on why, where, and how we take rebirth • Accounts by Tibetan "near-death experiencers" (delogs), who returned from death with amazing reports of their visions • Ways to train our minds during life, so that at death, all the phenomena before us will arise as a world of peace, joy, and enlightenment • Simple meditations, prayers, and rituals to benefit the dead and dying • Advice for caregivers, helpers, and survivors of the dying By becoming intimate with this practice while we're alive, we can alleviate our fear of death, improve our appreciation of this life, and prepare for death in a very practical way, while planting the seeds for rebirth in the Pure Land.
Every day we face some kind of frustration: flat tires, flooded basements, wounding words, a broken body, a troubled marriage—trouble comes in all shapes and sizes and can happen when we least expect it. While everyone struggles, few people have learned to struggle well. But it’s not impossible! Frustrations arise when we look to people and things of this world to fill our desires, rather than to the only One who can really satisfy us. True North offers a unique, biblical paradigm that gives understanding and help to turn to God in the frustrations of life. Frustration often causes us to “go south” and react in the flesh. We grumble and grasp. God calls us to “go north” and respond to hardship with wisdom and redemptive love. Combining biblical insight with personal stories, practical help, and compelling examples, authors Gary and Lisa Heim encourage readers to turn from self-centered grumbling and grasping to Christ-centered gratitude and giving. As they read stories of hardships and trials, successes and profits, readers will see how frustrations can actually help them grow in their personal lives, in their marriages, in their parenting, and in their ministries. Believing that learning to live for God through all of life’s frustration is an intentional activity for every day, the Heims also provide discussion questions at the end of each chapter to help readers apply biblical truths to situations where frustrations loom. Perfect for use in ministry settings or as a handbook for personal growth, Truth North shows readers how to embark on the life-giving adventure of walking with God.