Objective ‘Emotions First’: Neuroscientists have recently discovered the primacy of feelings and emotions over reasoning, in our mental life. On the basis of these results, cognitive scientists are developing a semantics of conceptual classification, grounded on feelings and emotions towards the world. My work for the Marie Curie aims to show that the ancient Greek philosophers developed theories of action, where the battle between our desires and feelings towards the world grounded the pattern of rationality that emerged from this battle. On my reading of ancient philosophy – primarily Plato, Aristotle and the Stoics – the process of reasoning arises from a calculus of feelings and emotions (culminating in love), which aim towards the organism’s good. Socrates held that every human has an innate desire for his or her own good; the human organism struggles to find the good, guided by the desires of the soul. Plato and Aristotle saw the human soul as a locus of desires and motivations, whose contest constitutes deliberation for the good. For both philosophers, the soul’s competing motivations and feelings towards the world result in pleasure, if the competition outcome is successful, and in pain, if not. The successful competition is reasoning, the unsuccessful, miscalculation. I aim to investigate the hypothesis that ‘the emotional quest for the good of the organism is constitutive of rationality’ in an international research-hotbed of ‘emotions in reasoning’, at the Philosophy Centre of Edinburgh University, where philosophy meets cognitive science on ‘emotive lateral thinking’ and on the ‘extended knowledge hypothesis’. The training I can receive at this Center will empower me to present in the best theoretical framework the ancients’ intuition that the calculus of feelings can shed light into the origins of rationality. This is my ambition for the Marie Curie Fellowship. Fields of science humanitiesphilosophy, ethics and religionphilosophyhistory of philosophyancient philosophyhumanitiesphilosophy, ethics and religionphilosophyhistory of philosophycontemporary philosophysocial sciencespsychologycognitive psychology Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Main Programme H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility Topic(s) MSCA-IF-2014-EF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF-EF) Call for proposal H2020-MSCA-IF-2014 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EF Coordinator THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH Net EU contribution € 183 454,80 Address Old college, south bridge EH8 9YL Edinburgh United Kingdom See on map Region Scotland Eastern Scotland Edinburgh Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00
