Horror, Fear, and the Sartrean Account of Emotions

Abstract

University ofAbstract Phenomenological approaches to affectivity have long recognized the vital role that emotions occupy in our lives. In this paper, I engage with Jean-Paul Sartre's well-known and highly influential theory of the emotions as it is advanced in his Sketch for a Theory of the Emotions. I examine whether Sartre's account offers two inconsistent explications of the nature of emotions. I argue that despite appearances there is a reading of Sartre's theory that is free of inconsistencies. Ultimately, I highlight a novel reading of Sartre's account of the emotions: one that is phenomenologically accurate, free of inconsistencies, and that enjoys the support of textual evidence.

Anotaciones fenomenológicas sobre problema del yo (Ego) y la conciencia en la filosofía sartreana

“…47-48). Acentuando que las sumatoria de dichas emociones pertenecen al mundo, y sí la reflexión ha sido inadecuada, se debe a que no se tomó a detalle la descripción de la vivencia, que por naturaleza esta por fuera de la conciencia (Cormann, 2012;Epildorou, 2016;Hatzimoysis, 2014).…”

Emotions in Early Sartre: The Primacy of Frustration

“…That is the reason why Sartre insists on speaking of the “world” of emotions (STE, 54) and likens them both to the world of madness and to dreams . Not only are we “spell‐bound” by the horrifying (STE, 49), but also horror only occurs in “a world which is such that all the things existing in it are magical by nature” (STE, 59; see also Elpidorou ).…”

“…Last, the issue of whether the Sketch offers an inconsistent account of the emotions has been discussed elsewhere (Hatzimoysis ; Richmond ). Indeed, I myself have offered a reading of the Sketch according to which there is a single account of emotions that can accommodate all examples of emotions that Sartre considers, including the sudden ones of horror and awe (Elpidorou ). I shall spare the reader from exposure to unnecessary repetition.…”

“… As I argue elsewhere (Elpidorou ), it is best to understand emotions as attempted solutions to difficulties that are made present to us most often within a deterministic world but also sometimes within a magical world (as in the case of horror and wonder). In some cases, emotional consciousness will succeed in solving the experienced difficulties; in other cases, it will not.…”

Death, Deprivation, and a Sartrean Account of Horror

“…31 31 Robert Solomon (1981) and Sarah Richmond (2010) argue that Sartre's two accounts of magic are inconsistent; Andreas Elpidorou (2016) seeks to show that Sartre's two versions of magic are compatible.…”