After an illustration of the relationship between reason and emotion defended by the philosophers, who do not claim the emotion to be rational, I elaborate the role of emotion as an aid to rationality. Therefore, I will introduce a concept of the emotion as an aid to bounded rationality. I will then go on pointing out the rational and irrational elements of the emotion jealousy in order to conclude with an argument, that is defending a more differentiated and relative view on the rationality of emotions.
At first sight, jealousy seems to be a very unreasonable feeling. Especially the actions in consequence of jealousy are in several situations hard to comprehend for an external observer.
This raises the question, if the emotion jealousy, which leads people to unreasonable activities, can be called unreasonable itself as well. How about the relationship between rationality and the emotion jealousy without considering the following actions?
Many philosophers called emotions in general irrational some claimed the relationship between reason and emotion to be interdependent. Is the emotion influencing the reason or is the reason affecting emotions? Or are emotions rather an aid to rationality? Is a feeling like jealousy due to its dependency on temper a proof for the irrationality of emotions? For Descartes , reason and emotion are two distinct entities, while for Hume an emotion is neither called rational nor irrational . Aristotle by contrast calls for the rationality of emotions .
Table of Contents
- At first sight, jealousy seems to be a very unreasonable feeling.
- Emotions could be defined as the contrary of rationality.
Objectives and Key Themes
This paper examines the relationship between reason and emotion, specifically focusing on the emotion of jealousy. It aims to explore whether jealousy can be considered irrational and to understand the interplay between reason and emotion in this context.
- The nature of jealousy as an emotion and its potential for irrationality.
- The philosophical perspectives on reason and emotion, particularly the views of Descartes, Hume, and Aristotle.
- The role of emotion as an aid to bounded rationality.
- The rational and irrational elements of jealousy.
- A differentiated and relative view on the rationality of emotions.
Chapter Summaries
- The first section introduces the topic of jealousy as a seemingly unreasonable emotion and raises questions about its relationship with rationality. It explores different philosophical perspectives on reason and emotion, including Descartes' dualistic view and Hume's concept of reason as the "slave of passions."
- The second section delves deeper into the philosophical debate about the relationship between reason and emotion, focusing on Descartes' view of emotions as separate from cognitive states and Hume's argument that emotions are neither rational nor irrational. The section uses the example of fear to illustrate how emotion can provoke a rational reaction.
Keywords
The primary keywords and focus topics of this text include jealousy, reason, emotion, rationality, irrationality, Descartes, Hume, Aristotle, bounded rationality, and the relationship between reason and emotion.
- Citar trabajo
- Nicole Hauser (Autor), 2011, The Relationship between Emotion and Reason based on Jealousy, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/299419
