Self and Affect

The self, self-awareness and emotions are central subjects within contemporary philosophy of mind but comparatively little attention has been paid to the relationships between them.

This volume brings together philosophers from different specialisms to explore these relationships from three different angles. First, whether a theory of self-awareness can contribute to a theory of emotion, including how different aspects and kinds of self-awareness are related to different emotions. Second, from the opposite direction, whether research into emotions can help achieve a better understanding of self-consciousness. Finally, the book considers how emotions are involved in the nature and development of selves.

Self and Affect is essential reading for all scholars and researchers of the philosophy of mind, especially those focussing on emotions and self-awareness.

Introduction. - Part 1: The Metaphysics of the Affective Self. - (1) Emotions, Memories and Narratives. - (2) Personality and the Centrality of Emotions. - (3) The Self and its Unity: A Perspective from Ancient Philosophy. - (4) Self, Self-Consciousness and Affect. - Part 2: How Emotions Contribute to Self-Consciousness. - (5) Becoming Who We Are Through Affective Engagement with Others: Mindshaping, Agency, and the Epistemic Role of the Emotions. - (6) Self-Existence Consciousness and Self-Value Consciousness. A Phenomenological Description. - (7) The Internal Panopticon: On the Perspectival Character of Consciousness, the Emergence of Intersubjectivity, and Conscience as a Mechanism of Self-Control. - (8) First-Person Concern. - Part 3: How Self-Consciousness Contributes to Emotions. - (9) Self-Esteem Feelings. - (10) Moods and the Salience of Subjectivity.