It has been argued that some emotions are socially constructed and other are evolved. In this paper I shall argue that neither approach is satisfying. This is because, I shall argue, that social constructionists are wrong about the nature of emotions ...
It has been argued that some emotions are socially constructed and other are evolved. In this paper I shall argue that neither approach is satisfying. This is because, I shall argue, that social constructionists are wrong about the nature of emotions in that they emphasize cognitively mediated cultural scripts, rather than bodily responses. On the other hand, evolutionary psychology is inadequate because it does not do justice to the contributions of learning and culture. Given this, I shall argue that we must find another route to unify. I shall propose a theory of emotions that can steer between the extremes of evolutionary psychology and social constructionism I shall argue that Hume’s naturalism reconciles these problems, since according to Hume, emotions can be both embodied and socially constructed. On this approach, every emotion that we have a word for bears the mark of both nature and nurture.