Moral Psychology

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

This course will explore: How do emotions figure in a flourishing life? What is the nature of emotional agency and vulnerability? Philosophers have argued that certain emotional attitudes, such as moral anger and forms of guilt and shame, are themselves constitutive of how we hold self and others to account. Some of those emotions figure in psychological trauma and moral injury. Others, more positive emotions, such as forgiveness, hope, trust, and forms of empathy, figure in moral healing and repair. How is moral repair a transactional process with interpersonal (and intrapersonal) reciprocations? We don’t show all emotions we feel, nor do we feel all emotions we show. We are pretenders, at times, modulating emotional expression even in our tears and smiles and leaps for joy. In short, emotional expression is not always a readout of the heart. In this course, we will explore nonverbal communication, voluntary and involuntary. In light of the fact that we are sometimes actors, what kinds of questions can we raise regarding demands to be sincere or authentic? How can thinking about emotional expression on stage or in fiction, and our reactions to stage and fiction through the engagement of imagination, give us insight into emotional expression in everyday interactions? How do we perceive how others express their emotions and what biases do we bring to bear? How do we undo biases that are a part of unjust practices?