Emotions, Persons, and the Body: William James and Jan Patočka

In this essay, I argue that there are striking parallels between the later work of the American pragmatist William James and the philosophy of Jan Patočka. Taking the naturalistic approach of existential moods in James as my point of departure, I show how both James and Patočka consider the dynamics...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Heleen J. Pott
Format: Article
Language:ces
Published: Karolinum Press 2015-01-01
Series:Acta Universitatis Carolinae: Philosophica et Historica
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.karolinum.cz/doi/10.14712/24647055.2015.2
Description
Summary:In this essay, I argue that there are striking parallels between the later work of the American pragmatist William James and the philosophy of Jan Patočka. Taking the naturalistic approach of existential moods in James as my point of departure, I show how both James and Patočka consider the dynamics of the feeling body to be the key to human selfunderstanding. They both see emotion as a paradigmatic form of embodied consciousness. What has remained an implicit and intuitive view in James gains a pronounced philosophical articulation in Patočka.
ISSN:0567-8293
2464-7055