Philosophy

Philosophy Study Guide

sense that they occur at a given moment in time, whereas emotions are dispositional in the sense that they extend over time. An important component in emotions is the intentional judgment that is associated with the physiological feeling. In addition to immediate feelings and intentional judgments, emotions are also constituted by the social context in which they occur. Each culture has its own unique emotional vocabulary that members of the culture learn at an early age and this vocabulary is expressed in the concepts and language of the culture, as well as in the actions and attitudes of the members. The net result is that these social influences are integral elements in the construction of human emotions; hence the notion of “emotions as social constructs.” According to Jaggar, we perceive the world and our judgments about these perceptions that influence our emotional reactions and conversely our emotions have a dramatic influence on what we perceive and how we interpret it. Because our knowledge of the world begins with perceptions and values, emotions are a natural and inseparable part of knowing process. Emotions have an intrinsic and instrumental value. Although not all emotions are enjoyable or even justifiable, as we shall see, life without emotion would be life without any meaning. Emotions are as important as the senses and reason in shaping our perception and understanding of the world. 7.11 Making Connections: Developing Informed Beliefs The view of relativism holds all beliefs are considered to be relative to the person or context in which they arise. For the relativist, all opinions are equal in truth to all others; we are never in a position to say with confidence that one view is right and the other is wrong. Knowledge is the form of well- supported beliefs which is often difficult to achieve, but it does exist in some form. Some beliefs are better than others, not because an authority has proclaimed them so, but because they can be analyzed ad evaluated in terms of criteria. Beliefs are easy to come by but informed beliefs are much more difficult to find. With an informed belief, you have to express that you have some form of idea about which you are talking. With informed beliefs, you have explored the subject, examined different points of view, evaluated supporting reasons and evidence, and synthesized your analysis into a convincing conclusion. To develop a well-informed set of beliefs that you can use to knowledgeably guide you through life’s treacherous currents, you need to combine critical thinking abilities with the content of philosophy.

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