Undergraduate Module Descriptor

PHL3110: Philosophy of Emotion

This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.

Module Aims

You will learn about somatic and cognitive theories of emotions, about accounts of emotions as unconscious mental states, and different views of the relation between emotions and moods. You will also learn about naturalistic and social constructionist accounts of the emotions, about different views on the “valence” of emotions, and about philosophical accounts of the relation between emotions, facial and bodily expressions, and language. Whereas the module will cover mainly philosophical theories of emotion, you will also learn about psychological and sociological accounts of the emotions. You will become familiar primarily with recent and contemporary works on these topics (form mid-nineteenth Century to current works).

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills	1. systematically illustrate a variety of philosophical accounts of the emotions; 2. identify specific philosophical problems in the study of emotion; 3. critically evaluate a variety of accounts of the nature of emotions whilst developing your own perspective.
Discipline-Specific Skills	4. systematically illustrate a variety of philosophical positions on a specific topic; 5. evaluate, orally and in writing, different philosophical positions; 6. distinguish between sound and unsound arguments, and develop philosophically informed considerations about them.
Personal and Key Skills	7. engage in complex arguments verbally as an individual and in small groups; 8. critically engage with and report accurately on existing written material.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover different philosophical theories of emotion, and focus on most of the following themes:

- Emotion and the Body
- Emotion and Cognition
- Emotion and Feeling
- Emotion and Expression
- Emotion and Reason
- Emotion and Mood
- Unconscious Emotions
- Positive and Negative Emotions
- Universal and Socially Constructed Emotions
- Emotion, Language and Narratives

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
44	256	0

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning and Teaching activity	44	22 x 2-hour lecture/discussion
Guided Independent Study	65	Assigned readings associated with each lecture
Guided Independent Study	7	Preparation for class discussion
Guided Independent Study	57	Preparation for first assigned essay
Guided Independent Study	57	Preparation for second assigned essay
Guided Independent Study	70	Preparation for exam

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).