The Rationality of Emotion by Ronald De Sousa

The Rationality of Emotion by Ronald De Sousa

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The Rationality of Emotion by Ronald De Sousa

In this urbane and witty book, Ronald de Sousa disputes the widespread notion that reason and emotion are natural antagonists. He argues that emotions are a kind of perception, that their roots in the paradigm scenarios in which they are learned give them an essentially dramatic structure, and that they have a crucial role to-play in rational beliefs, desires, and decisions by breaking the deadlocks of pure reason.The book's twelve chapters take up the following topics: alternative models of mind and emotion; the relation between evolutionary, physiological, and social factors in emotions; a taxonomy of objects of emotions; assessments of emotions for correctness and rationality; the regulation by emotions of logical and practical reasoning; emotion and time; the mechanism of emotional self-deception; the ethics of laughter; and the roles of emotions in the conduct of life. There is also an illustrative interlude, in the form of a lively dialogue about the ideology of love, jealousy, and sexual exclusiveness.

A Bradford Book.


Ronald de Sousa grew up in Switzerland and the United Kingdom. After completing school in France, he obtained a B.A. from Oxford, and a Ph.D. from Princeton. Based at the University of Toronto, he has lectured in over twenty countries on the emotions, philosophy of biology, ethics, and aesthetics.
He lives in Toronto with his wife and daughter.
SKU Unavailable
ISBN 13 9780262540575
ISBN 10 0262540576
Title The Rationality of Emotion
Author Ronald De Sousa
Condition Unavailable
Binding Type Paperback
Publisher MIT Press Ltd
Year published 1990-03-14
Number of pages 400
Cover note Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note Unavailable