Taken from a conference held by the International School of Biocybernetics, these papers explore the role of emotion in scientific or philosophical accounts of consciousness. They should be of interest to researchers in biocybernetics, neurosciences, cognitive sciences and psychology.
The experience of emotion is a ubiquitous component of the stream of consciousness; emotional qualia interact with other contents and processes of consciousness in complex ways. Recent research has supported the hypothesis that important functional aspects of emotion can operate outside the conscious awareness. Primary types of emotions are found in animals, while secondary, more complex types are involved in interpersonal relationships. Emotions both influence genetic repair mechanisms of individuals and are responsible for group behavior. Many scholars and scientists believe that no scientific or philosophic account of consciousness can be complete without an understanding of the role of emotion.
Kaszniak is Professor of Psychology, Neurology, and Psychiatry.
Emotion and consciousness - current research and controversies, A.W. Kaszniak; the nature of typical emotions, A. Ben-Ze'ev; emotions associated to cognitive revision as a basis for values, P. Livet; neuro-affective processes and the brain substrates of emotion - emerging perspective and dilemmas, J. Pankseep; imagery and emotion - information networks in the brain, P.J. Lang; hemispheric asymmetries in representation and control of emotions - evidence from unilateral brain damage, G. Gainotti; hierarchical organization of emotional experience and its neural substrates, R. Lane; metal representations, the reticular activating system and emotions, B. Cabott; antecedents and functions of emotion episodes, N.H. Frijda; the communication of emotion, U. Hess; the mental representation of romantic jealousy - a blended emotion (and more), D.J. Sharpsteen; other papers.