Category: Emotions
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Morally Obtuse!
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Presentism and Regret
I have done things I regret having done. Regret is a past-directed emotion by its very nature. One cannot regret present or future actions or omissions. So if I regret action A, A is wholly past. What's more, I cannot regret a non-existent action. But on presentism, all items in time are such that they…
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Metaphysical Joy and Sadness
There is a rare form of joy that some of us have experienced, a joy that suggests that at the back of this life is something marvellous and that one day this life may open out onto it. It goes together with a kind of sadness, call it metaphysical nostalgia, a sort of longing for…
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Sunshine and Mood
When the sun shines bright one is less likely to be depressed by the thought that mood can be affected by something as mundane as the sun's shining bright.
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Six Types of Death Fear
1. There is the fear of nonbeing, of annihilation. The best expression of this fear that I am aware of is contained in Philip Larkin's great poem "Aubade" which I reproduce and comment upon in Philip Larkin on Death. Susan Sontag is another who was gripped by a terrible fear of annihilation. There is the…
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Righteous Anger
That one's anger is righteous is rather harder to discern than that it is anger.
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What, Me Worry?
The evil event will either occur or it will not. If it occurs, and one worries beforehand, then one suffers twice, from the event and from the worry. If the evil event does not occur, and one worries beforehand, one suffers once, but needlessly. If the event does not occur, and one does not worry…
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Love Untranslated
Love untranslated into action remains an emotion and in many cases a mere self-indulgence. One enjoys the warm feeling of benevolence and risks succumbing to the illusion that it suffices. Benevolent sentiments are no doubt better than malevolent ones, but an affectless helping of a neighbor who needs help, if that is possible, is better…
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Carl Schmitt on Compassion
Here at Maverick Philosopher: Strictly Philosophical
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Is Fear Born of Ignorance? Only Sometimes
William Kilpatrick is the best writer at Crisis Magazine. Because he invariably talks sense, I have linked to his work on numerous occasions. It is important that he remain a writer there given that squishy liberal shallow-pates are 'over-represented' among Catholics and have been for a good 60 years, with the current pope, Bergoglio the…
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On Taking Pleasure in the Death of Enemies
Is it Schadenfreude to take pleasure in the death of an enemy? Only if it is bad to be dead. But it is not clear that it is bad to be dead. On the other hand, if it is bad to be dead, it might still not be Schadenfreude to take pleasure in the death…
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Intimacy, Reserve, and Bukowski’s Bluebird
We desire intimacy with human others but we must combine it with reserve. And this for three reasons: out of respect for the Other and her inwardness; from a sober recognition of our fallen tendency to dominate; and out of a need to protect ourselves. The wise do not wear their hearts on their sleeves,…
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Intellect, Emotion, Projection
It takes intellect to discern that people are dominated by their emotions, but the intellectual who is capable of understanding this is often prevented from understanding it by his tendency to project his intellectuality into others. We often have a hard time appreciating that others are not like us and do not value what we…
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A Righteous Form of Schadenfreude?
I posed the question in the aftermath of the election and because of the pleasure many of us are feeling at the Left's comeuppance: Is there a righteous form of Schadenfreude or is it in every one of its forms as morally objectionable as I make it out to be here? Edward Feser supplies an affirmative…
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Human Predicament
It angers us that what angers us does not anger others.