The Passions: Philosophy and the Intelligence of Emotions

By: Robert C. Solomon, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Robert C. Solomon

Conventional wisdom suggests there is a sharp distinction between emotion and reason. Emotions are seen as inferior, disruptive, primitive, and even bestial forces. These 24 remarkable lectures suggest otherwise-that emotions have intelligence and provide personal strategies that are vitally important to our everyday lives of perceiving, evaluating, appraising, understanding, and acting in the world.

Take a tour of Professor Solomon's more than three-decade-long intellectual struggle to reach an understanding of emotions, which he argues are, "the key to the meaning of life." A distinguished philosopher himself, Professor Solomon's lectures unfold as a rich dialogue with other philosophers, including Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Adam Smith, Nietzsche, William James, Freud, Heidegger, and Sartre.

In your exploration, you'll address such questions as: how do we distinguish emotions from feelings, such as heartache? What is the meaning of our emotions, and how do they serve to enrich and guide our lives? Are there a determinable number of basic emotions that serve as building blocks for the range of emotions we experience? Is an emotion such as jealousy a genetic trait shared by all humans - or is it something learned? As you listen to these lectures, prepare to think: Think about your own emotions; think about what you observe in others; think about the enormous body of research and conjecture on this fascinating topic as Professor Solomon takes you on a challenging and stimulating journey. The more we puzzle over the nature of emotions, the deeper the mystery becomes. It is a mystery that is by no means solved, but one that repays in careful, philosophical analysis.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2006 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2006 The Great Courses

Very insightful

This lecture series helped me come to a better understanding of the human emotional experience.

Meditation on emotions - Slow to start but worth the experience

This course is broken into three main section. The first seems to be long and somewhat tedious- however it is a good setup for the other two sections. Overall a good meditation on the topic of emotions.

6-stars lecture

After listening to two other Great Courses by Robert C. Solomon, I had to get this, and I was not disappointed.

Unique

Was exactly what i was hoping for. I think his theory on emotions hits the nail on the head, and lets you see the world in a much better way.

Can be slow at parts, but ... Its a philosophy recording...

Useful but sometimes disorganized information

PROS: A lot of interesting information about why emotions exist, what function they serve, and how they can give us insights as well as lead us horribly astray. It also touches on emotions outside of 21st century Western culture (some cultures have "palettes" of emotions that are completely different from ours).

CONS: It's a bit disjointed and disorganized at times. Some parts of the course almost seem like a "free association" on a certain topic. Also, the main ideas of some chapters are unclear - I found myself sometimes asking, "Great, but what am I supposed to do with this information? How does this help me understand the emotions of myself and others?"

I'd still recommend it if you're pondering what emotions are, how they can go wrong, and how we can learn to refine, restrain, or release our emotions for a better life.