Emotions

Abstract

Two basic ancient approaches to emotions were the compositional theory of Plato and Aristotle and the Stoic judgment theory. Ancient philosophical theories were employed in early Christian discussions of sin and spiritual experiences. The most influential theological themes were the monastic idea of supernaturally caused feelings and Augustine’s analysis of the relations between the emotions and the will. Early medieval Latin discussions were formed by the reception of ancient themes through monastic, theological, medical, and philosophical literature. Avicennian faculty psychology strongly influenced early thirteenth-century theories of the nature and taxonomy of emotions. Albert the Great and Thomas Aquinas combined Avicennian and Aristotelian themes. Aquinas’ account of emotions in his Summa theologiae was the most extensive medieval contribution to the subject. The increasing interest in psychological voluntarism led many Franciscan authors to abandon the traditional view that emotions belonged only to the lower psychosomatic level. John Duns Scotus, William Ockham, and their followers argued that there were also emotions of the will, such as the unpremeditated acts of complacence and dislike and the moods of pleasure or distress – ideas which Adam Wodeham developed into the direction of Stoic cognitive theory. Aquinas’ taxonomy of emotions and Scotus’ analysis of the emotions of the will were the medieval theories which continued to influence early modern discussions.