Surprise: An Emotion?

Description

This volume offers perspectives on the theme of surprise crossing philosophical, phenomenological, scientific, psycho-physiology, psychiatric, and linguistic boundaries. The main question it examines is whether surprise is an emotion. It uses two main theoretical frameworks to do so: psychology, in which surprise is commonly considered a primary emotion, and philosophy, in which surprise is related to passions as opposed to reason. The book explores whether these views on surprise are satisfying or sufficient. It looks at the extent to which surprise is also a cognitive phenomenon and primitively embedded in language, and the way in which surprise is connected to personhood, the interpersonal, and moral emotions. Many philosophers of different traditions, a number of experimental studies conducted over the last decades, recent works in linguistics, and ancestral wisdom testimonies refer to surprise as a crucial experience of both rupture and openness in bodily and inner life. However, surprise is a theme that has not been dealt with directly and systematically in philosophy, in the sciences, in linguistics, or in spiritual traditions. This volume accomplishes just that. Front Matter ....Pages i-x Front Matter ....Pages 1-1 Surprise as Emotion: Between Startle and Humility (Anthony J. Steinbock)....Pages 3-21 Surprise, Valence, Emotion: The Multivectorial Integrative Cardio-Phenomenology of Surprise (Natalie Depraz)....Pages 23-52 Front Matter ....Pages 53-53 The Temporal Dynamic of Emotional Emergence, Surprise and Depression (Thomas Desmidt)....Pages 55-71 Animal and Human Models of Startle, Emotion, and Depression (Bruno Brizard)....Pages 73-80 Front Matter ....Pages 81-81 If the Body Is Part of Our Discourse, Why Not Let It Speak? Five Critical Perspectives (Maxine Sheets-Johnstone)....Pages 83-95 Glancing at the Surface of Surprise (Edward S. Casey)....Pages 97-103 Emotions, Volitions and Motivational Dynamics (Pierre Livet)....Pages 105-114 Front Matter ....Pages 115-115 Call and Conversion on the Road to Damascus. Contributions to a Hermeneutics of Surprise (Jeffrey Bloechl)....Pages 117-128 Surprise, Meaning and Emotion (Claudia Serban)....Pages 129-139 Front Matter ....Pages 141-141 Surprised? Why? The Expression of Surprise in French and in English: An Experimental Approach (Pascale Goutéraux)....Pages 143-161 Describing and Expressing Surprise (Agnès Celle, Anne Jugnet, Laure Lansari, Emilie L’Hôte)....Pages 163-189