Philosophy Question

Answer ONE question

1. “Bodily changes follow directly the perception of an exciting fact, and our feeling of these bodily changes as they occur is the emotion.” (William James, 1884, “What is an emotion?”). Discuss.

2. “Emotions are forms of evaluative judgment that ascribe great importance to things outside one’s control.” (Martha Nussbaum, 2004, “Emotions as judgements of value and importance”). Discuss.

3. Are Mallon and Stich right in saying that “evolutionary psychologists and social constructionists [should] stop seeing each other as adversaries and start seeing each other as natural allies”? (Ron Mallonand Steve Stich, 2000, “The odd couple”).

4. “Guilt … presents … an evolutionary puzzle. Although it is hard to imagine someone who never experiences fear flourishing in life, it is not difficult to imagine an individual thriving despite—or perhaps even because of—a lack of guilt. … Might not such individuals have had an evolutionary advantage over those who experience guilt? If so, how do we account for guilt’s evolution?” (Grant Ramsey and Michael Deem, 2022, “Empathy and the evolutionary emergence of guilt”). Discuss.

5. Present and evaluate Joshua Greene’s dual process model of moral judgment.