Loaiza, Juan R. (2020) Emotions and the problem of variability. Review of Philosophy and Psychology.

Preview

Text LoaizaVariability2020.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (456kB) | Preview

Abstract

In the last decades there has been a great controversy about the scientific status of emotion categories. This controversy stems from the idea that emotions are heterogeneous phenomena, which precludes classifying them under a common kind. In this article, I analyze this claim—which I call the Variability Thesis—and argue that as it stands, it is problematically underdefined. To show this, I examine a recent formulation of the thesis as offered by Scarantino (2015). On one hand, I raise some issues regarding the logical structure of the claim. On the other hand, and most importantly, I show that the Variability Thesis requires a consensus about what counts as a relevant pattern of response in different domains, a consensus that is lacking in the current literature. This makes it difficult to assess what counts as evidence for or against this thesis. As a result, arguments based on the Variability Thesis are unwarranted. This raises serious concerns about some current empirical theories of emotions, but also sheds light on the issue of the scientific status of emotion categories.

---

Export/Citation:

EndNote | BibTeX | Dublin Core | ASCII/Text Citation (Chicago) | HTML Citation | OpenURL

Social Networking:

Share |

---

Item Type:	Published Article or Volume
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Loaiza, Juan R. loaiza.juan@hu-berlin.de 0000-0003-0570-3832
Keywords:	emotions, variability, natural kinds, neuroscience, expression
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Neuroscience Specific Sciences > Psychology Specific Sciences > Psychology > Social Psychology
Depositing User:	Juan R. Loaiza
Date Deposited:	12 Jun 2020 02:12
Last Modified:	12 Jun 2020 02:12
Item ID:	17313
Journal or Publication Title:	Review of Philosophy and Psychology
Official URL:	https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs13164...
DOI or Unique Handle:	10.1007/s13164-020-00492-8
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Neuroscience Specific Sciences > Psychology Specific Sciences > Psychology > Social Psychology
Date:	2020
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/17313

Available Versions of this Item

• Emotions and the problem of variability. (deposited 12 Jun 2020 02:12) [Currently Displayed]

Monthly Views for the past 3 years

Monthly Downloads for the past 3 years

Plum Analytics

Altmetric.com

Actions (login required)

View Item