ABSTRACT
The aim of this chapter is to argue that we need to understand emotion and reason as entwined and inseparable. Based on the perspective that emotions are fundamental to all human action – rational or irrational – the chapter’s contribution consists in emphasising that emotions and emotion work are learnt and habituated, and thus backgrounded, through continuous interactions with specific social contexts or frames. A model is presented combining ideal-typical ways that emotion, emotion work and goal-oriented rational action intersect, depending on if these processes are enacted in the background (habituated) or foreground (consciously). The model is exemplified by the author’s previous research on the Swedish courts. An older case study on the Swedish Migration Board is revisited to further illustrate some points regarding foreground and background emotions and emotion work.
