Reason, Emotion and Will (The International Research Library of Philosophy)

The moral strands of psychology are explored in this collection of essays, split into five parts: motivation and desire; reasons and desires; desire and the good; weakness and the strength of will; and shame, guilt and remorse. The characteristics of what constitutes moral thought, perception and feeling are investigated, as are the moral emotions and how they contribute to the ethical life. Many of the essays touch upon the role of cognitive and non-cognitive states in relation to agency and the will, and the question of how to measure negative and positive psychological phenomena is also addressed. For instance, the question of whether the understanding of these moral discourses must be restricted by preceding theories is looked into.