ABSTRACT
This chapter illustrates some complexities in the relation between emotions and agency discussed by various theories of emotions. Unlike passive and un-reflexive experiences, emotions can be reflexively engaged, reoriented, and retracted. Because of these features, emotions can perform a crucial role in self-governance as well as in coordinating agency across individuals and over time. First, they intervene at various stages in the processes of action generation. Hence, they can be plausibly counted among the springs of action (Section 2). Second, emotions are self-reflexive, and emotional engagement with one’s own emotions is a way to gain awareness and self-knowledge, key to self-governance (Section 3). Emotional engagement with one’s surroundings helps agents understand what the situation requires and, consequently, situate their action in its circumstances, which is a crucial step in deliberation. Reflective agency, thus, is not emotionally disengaged or dispassionate, but appropriately engaged with one’s emotions. Third, there are emotions that target agents as such (Section 4). Some of these, such as agent-regret and self-respect mark the stance of agency, and they can be experienced solely in the first-person perspective. Others, such as recognition-respect, blame, and resentment, are constitutive of the normative status of other agents and depend on social practices of recognition and validation. Empathic emotions and various mechanisms of emotional resonance enable us to expand the sphere of agency, by joining others as partners in schemes of instrumental and cooperative interaction, and shared actions (Section 5). Finally, emotions exhibit a temporal dimension, which puts (rational and moral) agency in perspective (Section 6). In sum, emotions are to be listed among the key agentive powers, that is, among the capacities that enable agents to (successfully) engage in their activities. Our capacity to feel—the susceptibility and vulnerability to emotions—contributes to defining the stance of (rational and moral) agency.
