<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>The paper argues that all emotions possess a spatial and objective, social character. We can gain access to them only insofar as we are affected by them in a felt-bodily way. Therefore, we need a conception of felt embodiment if we are to achieve a philosophical understanding of the spatial character of emotions. Different phenomena, ranging from the atmospheres of landscapes to shared and individual emotions, illustrate the theses concerning the spatiality of emotions and atmospheres, exemplified by the social contrast of emotions, among other things. The next step clarifies why we should distinguish between the emotion itself and the felt-bodily affection by the emotion. By means of distinctions between two types of felt-bodily or corporeal interaction, a unipolar and a bipolar form, we can gain a better understanding of the spatial character of emotions but also how resonances of emotions work. One result of our examination is that we can explain why positive collective emotions become more intense through shared bodily experience.</p>
</abstract>

The paper argues that all emotions possess a spatial and objective, social character. We can gain access to them only insofar as we are affected by them in a felt-bodily way. Therefore, we need a conception of felt embodiment if we are to achieve a philosophical understanding of the spatial character of emotions. Different phenomena, ranging from the atmospheres of landscapes to shared and individual emotions, illustrate the theses concerning the spatiality of emotions and atmospheres, exemplified by the social contrast of emotions, among other things. The next step clarifies why we should distinguish between the emotion itself and the felt-bodily affection by the emotion. By means of distinctions between two types of felt-bodily or corporeal interaction, a unipolar and a bipolar form, we can gain a better understanding of the spatial character of emotions but also how resonances of emotions work. One result of our examination is that we can explain why positive collective emotions become more intense through shared bodily experience.

On Spatiality of Emotions

Freie Universität Berlin, Institut für Philosophie

Gestalt Theory

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

{"article-title":"On Spatiality of Emotions"}

The paper argues that all emotions possess a spatial and objective, social character. We can gain access to them only insofar as we are affected by them in a...

On Spatiality of Emotions

Published Online: Aug 17, 2020

Page range: 165 - 180

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/gth-2020-0014

Keywords
Spatiality of emotions, collective/shared emotions, corporeal interactions, bodily resonance

© 2020 Hilge Landweer, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

On Spatiality of Emotions

Published Online: Aug 17, 2020

Page range: 165 - 180

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/gth-2020-0014

KeywordsSpatiality of emotions, collective/shared emotions, corporeal interactions, bodily resonance

© 2020 Hilge Landweer, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
Spatiality of emotions, collective/shared emotions, corporeal interactions, bodily resonance