Though Kant never used the word βemotionβ in his writings, it is of vital significance to understanding his philosophy. This book offers a captivating argument for reading Kant considering the importance of emotion, taking into account its many manifestations in his work including affect and passion.
Emotion, Reason, and Action in Kant explores how, in Kantβs world view, our actions are informed, contextualized and dependent on the tension between emotion and reason. On the one hand, there are positive moral emotions that can and should be cultivated. On the other hand, affects and passions are considered illnesses of the mind, in that they lead to the weakness of the will, in the case of affects, and evil, in the case of passions. Seeing the role of these emotions enriches our understanding of Kantβs moral theory.
Exploring the full range of negative and positive emotions in Kantβs work, including anger, compassion and sympathy, as well as moral feeling, Borges shows how Kantβs theory of emotion includes both physiological and cognitive aspects. This is an important new contribution to Kant Studies, suitable for students of Kant, ethics, and moral psychology.