When Is an Affective State Hostile?
Íngrid Vendrell Ferran
Routledge eBooks July 7, 2026 DOI: 10.4324/9781032683904-13 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that analytical accounts of hostile affective states, which focus on their relation to negative values, are incomplete without attention to the lived body, and proposes that a phenomenological approach reveals the felt, embodied dimension of aggression as central to what makes an affective state hostile. |
Abstract
When is an affective state hostile? This chapter aims to show how a phenomenological approach focused on the first-person perspective and the concept of experience can shed light on the main features of hostile affective states (HAS). In particular, the chapter explores the role of the lived body in the definition of HAS, an issue which is not usually addressed in analytical accounts. The chapter starts with a conceptual clarification of the concept of HAS, considering them in relation to similar categories. Next, it argues that current accounts that focus only on the relation of HAS to negative values, which tend to come from the analytical perspective, remain incomplete as long as they do not explore how the bodily dimension is involved. It is argued that phenomenology enables a shift of attention from the evaluative to the bodily dimension of affectivity. Drawing on the view that affective states are an embodied form of consciousness, the chapter explores the felt dimension of aggression, which is considered to be central to the characterization of a particular affective state as hostile.