Atmospheres and the Intentionality of Moods
Takuya Niikawa, Pablo Fernandez Velasco
European Journal of Philosophy May 29, 2026 DOI: 10.1111/ejop.70104 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that moods are directed at atmospheres, and that this account explains the intentional, phenomenological, and normative elusiveness of mood experiences. |
Abstract
One of the central questions in philosophy of mind concerns the intentionality of moods. While it is standard to take the intentional object of moods as either ‘everything’ or ‘nothing’, neither view seems to be explanatorily inadequate. Given this, this paper develops and motivates a positive account of the intentionality of moods, according to which moods are directed at atmospheres. We first analyze the elusiveness of mood experiences in terms of three aspects, intentional, phenomenological and normative, and also specify some core characteristics of atmospheres. We then motivate the atmosphere view of moods by arguing that the elusiveness of mood experiences can be well‐explained in terms of the atmospheres at which they are directed.