
Published online:
01 November 2003
Published in print:
27 February 2003
Online ISBN:
9780199833726
Print ISBN:
9780195145496
Contents
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The Discovery of the Face in Philosophy The Discovery of the Face in Philosophy
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Dialectic and Debate in Psychology Dialectic and Debate in Psychology
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In a Different Voice: “Basic Emotions” As a Moral Category In a Different Voice: “Basic Emotions” As a Moral Category
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The Problem of Reductionism The Problem of Reductionism
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Against Reductionism: Life Without Basic Emotions Against Reductionism: Life Without Basic Emotions
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Basic Emotions as Simplicity Versus Complexity Basic Emotions as Simplicity Versus Complexity
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Basic Emotions as Basic to a Society Basic Emotions as Basic to a Society
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Conclusion: Back to Basics Conclusion: Back to Basics
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Chapter
8 Back to Basics: On the Very Idea of “Basic Emotions” (1993, Rev. 2001)
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Pages
115–142
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Published:February 2003
Cite
Solomon, Robert C., 'Back to Basics: On the Very Idea of “Basic Emotions” (1993, Rev. 2001)', Not Passion's Slave: Emotions and Choice (New York , 2003; online edn, Oxford Academic, 1 Nov. 2003), https://doi.org/10.1093/0195145496.003.0008, accessed 12 May 2025.
Abstract
Many psychologists and philosophers now accept the idea that there are “basic emotions,” emotions whose essence is an “affect program”. I argue that in fact this idea is quite old, and that it relies on metaphors and analogies that are quite problematic. Much of the current discussion follows Paul Ekman's influential work on the facial expressions of emotion (which has been sadly neglected in philosophy), but I challenge the very idea of basic emotions as reductionist and unfaithful to the complexity and richness of emotions, even the supposed basic ones.
Keywords:
atomism, basic emotions, chemistry, Descartes, display rules, Ekman, facial expressions, folk psychology, Hobbes, ontology, periodic chart, reductivism, Spinoza
Collection:
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