Emotions, Persons, and the Body: William James and Jan Patočka
Heleen J. Pott
Acta Universitatis Carolinae Philosophica et Historica December 21, 2018 DOI: 10.14712/24647055.2015.2 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Jan patočka William james Emotion Body Individuality |
| Key points | Argues that James and Patočka both see the feeling body and emotion as key to human self-understanding, with Patočka providing a more explicit philosophical articulation of James's implicit views. |
Abstract
In this essay, I argue that there are striking parallels between the later work of the American pragmatist William James and the philosophy of Jan Patočka. Taking the naturalistic approach of existential moods in James as my point of departure, I show how both James and Patočka consider the dynamics of the feeling body to be the key to human selfunderstanding. They both see emotion as a paradigmatic form of embodied consciousness. What has remained an implicit and intuitive view in James gains a pronounced philosophical articulation in Patočka.