Judgment, Perception, and Attention in the Cultivation of Emotions

Abstract

Abstract The cultivation of emotions is a common theme in philosophical traditions across the world. One common method for cultivating emotions addresses the element of appraisal on which emotions depend. The first half of this chapter provides an orientation on these issues as they appear in early China, considering first some of the ideals for a cultivated affective life (section 1) and then how the appraisal element of emotions was understood (section 2). The second half of the paper takes up one specific case in detail, analyzing Mengzi’s approach to the cultivation of emotions in dialogue with that of Stoics. While argument and judgment play important roles for Mengzi, he believes that changing our appraisals depends most of all on cultivating perception and attention. The paper concludes with some reflections on the central issues at stake in the disagreements between Mengzi and the Stoics.