True Emotions

202 Pages·2014·0.868 MB·English

by  Mikko Salmela

True Emotions
Consciousness & Emotion Book Series
Consciousness & Emotion Book Series publishes original works on this topic, in philosophy,
psychology and the neurosciences. The series emphasizes thoughtful analysis of the implications
of both empirical and experiential (e.g., clinical psychological) approaches to emotion. It will
include topical works by scientists who are interested in the implications of their empirical
findings for an understanding of emotion and consciousness and their interrelations.
For an overview of all books published in this series, please see
http://benjamins.com/catalog/ceb
Editors
Ralph D. Ellis Peter Zachar
Clark Atlanta University Auburn University Montgomery
Editorial Board
Carl M. Anderson Eugene T. Gendlin Maxim I. Stamenov
McLean Hospital, Harvard University University of Chicago Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
School of Medicine, Cambridge, MA
Jaak Panksepp Douglas F. Watt
Bill Faw Bowling Green State University, OH Quincy Hospital, Boston, MA
Brewton Parker College,
Mt. Vernon, GA
Advisory Editors
Bernard J. Baars Valerie Gray Hardcastle Martin Peper
Wright Institute, Berkeley, CA Virginia Polytechnic Institute, University of Marburg, Germany
Blacksburg, VA
Thomas C. Dalton Edward Ragsdale
California Polytechnic Institute, Alfred W. Kaszniak New York, NY
San Luis Obispo, CA University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Howard Shevrin
Nicholas Georgalis Alfred R. Mele University of Michigan,
East Carolina University, Greenville, Florida State University, Ann Arbor, MI
NC Talahassee, FL
Lynn Stephens
George Graham Natika Newton University of Alabama,
Georgia State University Nassau County Community College, Birmingham, AL
New York
Kathleen Wider
University of Michigan, Dearborn, MI
Volume 9
True Emotions
by Mikko Salmela
True Emotions
Mikko Salmela
University of Helsinki
John Benjamins Publishing Company
Amsterdam / Philadelphia
TM The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
8
the American National Standard for Information Sciences – Permanence
of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ansi z39.48-1984.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Salmela, Mikko, 1967-
True Emotions / Mikko Salmela.
p. cm. (Consciousness & Emotion Book Series, issn 2352-099X ; v. 9)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Emotions. I. Title.
BF531.S25 2014
152.4--dc23 2014016853
isbn 978 90 272 4159 7 (Hb ; alk. paper)
isbn 978 90 272 6981 2 (Eb)
© 2014 – John Benjamins B.V.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, photoprint, microfilm, or any
other means, without written permission from the publisher.
John Benjamins Publishing Co. · P.O. Box 36224 · 1020 me Amsterdam · The Netherlands
John Benjamins North America · P.O. Box 27519 · Philadelphia pa 19118-0519 · usa
Table of contents
Acknowledgements i x
chapter 1
Introduction 1
What emotions truly are? 3
What is emotional authenticity? 8
What is emotional truth? 11
chapter 2
Cognition in the structure of emotion 1 5
Cognition in emotion at the functional level of analysis 16
Cognition in emotion at the algorithmic level of analysis 20
Conceptual content 25
Nonconceptual content 28
A. Subpersonal and subdoxastic nonconceptual content 29
B. Noninferential nonconceptual content 33
C. Fine-grained nonconceptual content 37
Nonconceptual content: Cognitive or noncognitive? 40
Conclusion 42
chapter 3
Cognition in the dynamics of emotion 4 5
Mental causes in the constitution of emotion 47
Nonconceptual appraisals as constitutive causes of emotion 50
Cognitive process models of emotion 53
Process-oriented appraisal theories 56
Psychological constructionism 59
Evaluation of the two process models 61
The argument for cognitivism from emotion regulation 65
The efficiency of intrinsic emotion regulation 66
Implicit, effortless, and nonconscious regulation 69
Causally efficacious cognitive monitoring 71
Conclusion 74
 True Emotions
chapter 4
Emotional authenticity 7 5
The antinomy of emotional authenticity 75
Emotional authenticity as sincerity 77
Recalcitrant and managed emotions 79
Recalcitrant emotions 79
Managed emotions 81
Authenticity and sincerity 82
De Sousa on emotional authenticity 86
Emotional authenticity as integrity 89
The problem of rationality 92
The problem of autonomy 94
The problem of flexibility 97
Authenticity in cultural context 99
An Aristotelian objection to authentic emotional ambivalence 101
Conclusion 103
chapter 5
Emotional truth 105
De Sousa on emotional truth 106
Emotional truth 107
Emotions and truth-aptness 111
Emotional truth and appropriateness 120
Emotional truth and accuracy 121
Conclusion 122
chapter 6
Authenticity and occupational emotions 125
The problem of emotional authenticity at work 125
Emotional authenticity for Hochschild and beyond 127
Bolton’s typology of emotion management at work 130
Authenticity as regulative ideal of coherence 133
Professional values, virtues, and emotions 135
A case study: Authentic emotional labour in nursing 138
Conclusion 141
Table of contents 
chapter 7
From true emotions to sentimental values 143
The challenges of neosentimentalism 143
The conflation problem 147
Reasons of fit 150
Appropriateness as correctness 157
Appropriateness as truth 159
Conclusion 165
chapter 8
Concluding remarks 167
References 173
Index names 187
Index terms 189

Acknowledgements
This book has been in the making for a long time. Its first ideas about emotional
authenticity began to take shape during my post-doc year 2001–2002 at the Uni-
versity of Texas at Austin where I had the privilege of developing my thoughts in
discussions with Robert C. Solomon (1942–2007), a pioneer of the “emotional
turn”. Another stimulating philosophical companion was Verena Mayer who host-
ed my Alexander von Humboldt fellowship at the University of Munich 2006–2007
and again for a shorter period in the fall 2009.
Various other individuals have also given valuable feedback on my texts at
various points of writing this volume and the articles that are included in it. These
people include, in alphabetical order, Åsa Carlson, Louis C. Charland, Julien A.
Deonna, Kristin Klamm-Doneen, Rick Anthony Furtak, Felicitas Kraemer, Robert
Roberts, and Fabrice Teroni. Moreover, an anonymous reviewer for the Conscious-
ness & Emotion Book Series suggested for my penultimate manuscript several
helpful amendments on the neurophysiological implementation of human emo-
tions. The remaining shortcomings are of course solely my own. I am also grateful
to Ralph Ellis, the Co-Editor of the Consciousness & Emotion Book Series, whose
kind support I have been able to rely on. Finally, my deepest gratitude goes to my
wife Liisa Lampi for her ceaseless support on my personal journey towards emo-
tional authenticity.
Three chapters of the volume are revised versions of my previously published
articles. These articles are “What is emotional authenticity?” (Journal for the Theo-
ry of Social Behaviour 35, 2005, 209–230); “True emotions,” (The Philosophical
Quarterly 56, 2006, 382–405); and “Authenticity and Occupational Emotions” (in
M. Salmela and V. Mayer (Eds): Emotions, Ethics, and Authenticity. Consciousness
and Emotion Book Series, Vol. 5, pp. 133–151, Amsterdam: John Benjamins). Also
sections from my article “Can emotion be modelled on perception?” Dialectica 65
(2011), 1–29, are used in Chapter 2. I am grateful to Wiley and John Benjamins for
permission to reprint this material in the present volume.