[Xmca-l] Re: Philosophie des Geistes?

Andy Blunden andyb@marxists.org
Thu Jul 23 21:48:41 PDT 2020


I just finished reading "Tale of Two Cities" in the early 
hours this morning and was wondering what I would be doing 
today. Now I know. :)

My first reactions are (1) I never use the term "affect", 
(2) I doubt there is a settled distinction between affect 
and emotion which stretches from Spinoza to the present day.

But I think your question is really about what was the 
distinction for *Spinoza*, since it is Spinoza's 
distinctions which fascinated Vygotsky.

The Latin word which is conventionally translated as 
"emotion" is /affectus/. Which in itself causes me to doubt 
whether there really is a distinction between emotion and 
affect at all.

The Latin word /affectione/ is a mode of a substance, that 
is, any predicate or attribute of something, presumably 
caused by the action of some other body.

Passion(s) are states of the body which has been affected by 
some cause, in which the person does not know the cause, and 
consequently does not move to appropriate action.

I think (/sic!/) that an emotion is an affect which has an 
object and is thus part of the formation of an action in 
response to the cause.

I think (again/sic!/) that for Spinoza (and Hegel) the 
relevant distinctions are made in terms of a development 
from a "feeling" (for Hegel at least) which does not have 
any object or source for the subject up to a conscious 
response directed at an object. An "emotion" for Spinoza, I 
think, is an embryonic action, but every affect does not 
necessary lead to an action, since some simply engender 
"passions." Spinoza's ethics is, I think, about awareness of 
the cause of our passions, and therefore of being able to 
develop them into appropriate actions to restore equanimity.

I'm not sure of any of this. But I find Hegel's use of 
"feeling" for those disturbances of the body for which we 
don't have an object, in distinction to "sensation" as 
feelings which we can ascribe to some particular object, be 
it internal or external, leading to the culturally 
determined perception of an object and action towards it. 
And I accept the general idea of "emotions" as 
action-readiness. A lot of people today make the distinction 
between "feeling" and "emotion" differently, in terms of 
cultural interpretations of states of the body  - which I 
think is an entirely plausible and useful way of seeing 
things, but deploys the word "feeling" differently.

Andy

------------------------------------------------------------
*Andy Blunden*
Hegel for Social Movements <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://brill.com/view/title/54574__;!!Mih3wA!VwS2vd2Oo_qkWnYt4C8jB5T-uVOv98Qp-tQKjcY-MY3Oxa3mqPYshe6bWozVQlPLnIznOg$ >
Home Page <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.ethicalpolitics.org/ablunden/index.htm__;!!Mih3wA!VwS2vd2Oo_qkWnYt4C8jB5T-uVOv98Qp-tQKjcY-MY3Oxa3mqPYshe6bWozVQlOiy60qrg$ >
On 24/07/2020 2:58 am, mike cole wrote:
> how does the term, emotion, differ from the term, affect, 
> in your interpretation, Andy?
> I am trying to get a stable understanding  that links 
> Spinoza's ideas to Vygotsky's regarding
> "the unity of concept and affect/emotion".
> mike
>
> On Thu, Jul 23, 2020 at 4:19 AM Andy Blunden 
> <andyb@marxists.org <mailto:andyb@marxists.org>> wrote:
>
>     No, don't turn it around. The point is that organs are
>     subordinate parts of the whole organism. The emotion
>     /is/ the state of a whole organism, in particular, a
>     mental state. Like a hand expresses a feeling when we
>     wave to someone.
>
>     andy
>
>     ------------------------------------------------------------
>     *Andy Blunden*
>     Hegel for Social Movements
>     <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://brill.com/view/title/54574__;!!Mih3wA!W1x0zBm8fkXksY2M64OKgpNL_TPx1e8eTQyWJEtxUBueZNW1leqHSuR9yBEWIW_pdhtxwg$>
>     Home Page
>     <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.ethicalpolitics.org/ablunden/index.htm__;!!Mih3wA!W1x0zBm8fkXksY2M64OKgpNL_TPx1e8eTQyWJEtxUBueZNW1leqHSuR9yBEWIW9bL-5LGQ$>
>
>     On 23/07/2020 8:55 pm, David Kellogg wrote:
>>     Thanks, Andy--this is it!
>>
>>     "In physiology the viscera and the organs are treated
>>     merely as parts subservient to the animal organism;
>>     but they form at the same time a physical system for
>>     the expression of mental states, and in this way they
>>     get quite another interpretation."
>>
>>     The only problem is the word "expression". In the
>>     James-Lange theory, the mental states are the
>>     expression of the viscera and the organs. But perhaps
>>     that's what Hegel really means here: the viscera and
>>     organs are a system that expresses a state which we
>>     interpret as an emotion.
>>
>>     (I remember a dear friend of mine getting a messy
>>     divorce and remarking, when I worried that he was
>>     losing a lot of weight, that it wasn't his heart that
>>     was broken but his stomach....)
>>
>>
>>     David Kellogg
>>     Sangmyung University
>>
>>     New Article: Ruqaiya Hasan, in memoriam: A manual and
>>     a manifesto.
>>     Outlines, Spring 2020
>>     https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://tidsskrift.dk/outlines/article/view/116238__;!!Mih3wA!VwS2vd2Oo_qkWnYt4C8jB5T-uVOv98Qp-tQKjcY-MY3Oxa3mqPYshe6bWozVQlP9Rdyfwg$ 
>>     <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://tidsskrift.dk/outlines/article/view/116238__;!!Mih3wA!TttD-npmriYNiq_GkGHggjRPJwdnhAwRmpOFFclfTRlXC2fTkBviD-tAkaQPh-R8158beQ$>
>>     New Translation with Nikolai Veresov: /L.S.
>>     Vygotsky's Pedological Works/ /Volume One:
>>     Foundations of Pedology/"
>>     https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9789811505270__;!!Mih3wA!VwS2vd2Oo_qkWnYt4C8jB5T-uVOv98Qp-tQKjcY-MY3Oxa3mqPYshe6bWozVQlMxtdyzCQ$ 
>>     <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9789811505270__;!!Mih3wA!TttD-npmriYNiq_GkGHggjRPJwdnhAwRmpOFFclfTRlXC2fTkBviD-tAkaQPh-Q7yWc-iw$>
>>
>>
>>     On Thu, Jul 23, 2020 at 5:19 PM Andy Blunden
>>     <andyb@marxists.org <mailto:andyb@marxists.org>> wrote:
>>
>>         If you're interested in s. 401, then you'll
>>         probably be interested in 402 as well.
>>
>>         One other possibility: The "official" way of
>>         citing Hegel nowadays is to cite the page no. in
>>         the authoritative version of /Hegel Werke/. The
>>         German word for "page" is /Seite/, so you would
>>         say "S. 401" of the /Enc/, This turns out also to
>>         be an interesting passage of the Subjective
>>         Spirit, on Self-consciousness, concerned with the
>>         infamous Master-Slave dialectic, though in a much
>>         reduced form, not like in the /Phenomenology of
>>         Spirit/.
>>
>>         See p. 401 in the other attachment, ENZYKl3.PDF,
>>         in German. English translation is here:
>>         https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/hegel/works/sp/suconsci.htm*SU428__;Iw!!Mih3wA!VwS2vd2Oo_qkWnYt4C8jB5T-uVOv98Qp-tQKjcY-MY3Oxa3mqPYshe6bWozVQlM_a3yuKQ$ 
>>         <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/hegel/works/sp/suconsci.htm*SU428__;Iw!!Mih3wA!V5yS3WiqsE4SSOtcY1SJElXpnzzhFH035NnO1lZ49z3QJYH4kQO68Wccu2Y86C642xXiTQ$>
>>
>>         Andy
>>
>>         ------------------------------------------------------------
>>         *Andy Blunden*
>>         Hegel for Social Movements
>>         <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://brill.com/view/title/54574__;!!Mih3wA!V5yS3WiqsE4SSOtcY1SJElXpnzzhFH035NnO1lZ49z3QJYH4kQO68Wccu2Y86C4MltIy3g$>
>>         Home Page
>>         <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.ethicalpolitics.org/ablunden/index.htm__;!!Mih3wA!V5yS3WiqsE4SSOtcY1SJElXpnzzhFH035NnO1lZ49z3QJYH4kQO68Wccu2Y86C7AtYM8hA$>
>>
>>         On 23/07/2020 5:47 pm, Andy Blunden wrote:
>>>
>>>         The Philosophy of Spirit is the Third Part of
>>>         the Encyclopaedia, itself composed of three parts:
>>>
>>>           * Subjective Spirit, which is commonly taken
>>>             as Psychology
>>>           * Objective Spirit, which is commonly taken as
>>>             Social Theory, and
>>>           * Absolute Spirit, which covers Art, religion,
>>>             Science and Philosophy.
>>>
>>>         The Encyclopaedia has numbered paragraphs. These
>>>         do vary between 2 or  editions, but these will
>>>         be limited probably by those translated into
>>>         English,
>>>
>>>         I would start with the 1930 version"
>>>         https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/hegel/works/sp/susoul.htm*SU401__;Iw!!Mih3wA!VwS2vd2Oo_qkWnYt4C8jB5T-uVOv98Qp-tQKjcY-MY3Oxa3mqPYshe6bWozVQlPgYoYjqA$ 
>>>         <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/hegel/works/sp/susoul.htm*SU401__;Iw!!Mih3wA!UcUFXSCRfRh-5aW0-7m25WJ_9mWTvjd1a6nOCEuF7RAbpt35sEPbx38XfvY3Rj0va8zujw$>
>>>         - a very early stage in the development of
>>>         mental life, or.
>>>
>>>         The 1817 version has
>>>         https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/hegel/works/sp/sspirit.htm*SS399__;Iw!!Mih3wA!VwS2vd2Oo_qkWnYt4C8jB5T-uVOv98Qp-tQKjcY-MY3Oxa3mqPYshe6bWozVQlMZqO0JuQ$ 
>>>         <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/hegel/works/sp/sspirit.htm*SS399__;Iw!!Mih3wA!UcUFXSCRfRh-5aW0-7m25WJ_9mWTvjd1a6nOCEuF7RAbpt35sEPbx38XfvY3Rj24gIDBAA$>
>>>         - this version puts s. 401 at the beginning of a
>>>         version of Objective Spirit.
>>>
>>>         The 1830 one, above, has a long Note to it
>>>         written by his students on the basis of Hegel's
>>>         lectures which is a long discourse on the
>>>         development of thinking from sensation. I am
>>>         thinking this is what you mean. I will photocopy
>>>         it and send it on.
>>>
>>>         Andy
>>>
>>>         ------------------------------------------------------------
>>>         *Andy Blunden*
>>>         Hegel for Social Movements
>>>         <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://brill.com/view/title/54574__;!!Mih3wA!UcUFXSCRfRh-5aW0-7m25WJ_9mWTvjd1a6nOCEuF7RAbpt35sEPbx38XfvY3Rj2Rs_DLCQ$>
>>>         Home Page
>>>         <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.ethicalpolitics.org/ablunden/index.htm__;!!Mih3wA!UcUFXSCRfRh-5aW0-7m25WJ_9mWTvjd1a6nOCEuF7RAbpt35sEPbx38XfvY3Rj0L0JHIrA$>
>>>
>>>         On 23/07/2020 5:09 pm, David Kellogg wrote:
>>>>         We are trying to turn Vygotsky's "Teaching on
>>>>         Emotion" into one of those cartoon books that
>>>>         are so popular here in Korea (e.g. the "Why?"
>>>>         series). It's not Vygotsky for dummies, but it
>>>>         will have a lot of pictures with questions and
>>>>         answers alongside Vygotsky's rather difficult text.
>>>>
>>>>         We've got to figure out the text first. For
>>>>         example, what does John Dewey mean when he says:
>>>>
>>>>         "On the historical side, it may be worth noting
>>>>         that a crude anticipation of James' theory is
>>>>         found in Hegel's Philosophie des Geistes, 401."?
>>>>
>>>>         Did Hegel ever write a Philosophie des Geistes?
>>>>         If so, does the number refer to a page number
>>>>         or a section or what?
>>>>
>>>>         https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://brocku.ca/MeadProject/Dewey/Dewey_1895.html__;!!Mih3wA!VwS2vd2Oo_qkWnYt4C8jB5T-uVOv98Qp-tQKjcY-MY3Oxa3mqPYshe6bWozVQlPYdbZqpQ$ 
>>>>         <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://brocku.ca/MeadProject/Dewey/Dewey_1895.html__;!!Mih3wA!RLGVUv48gomTR2KJ99jcR-ruYcur4TKLR3u-7WeR_HhShIfYJpHP0U7EwICkluTj4uvZOA$>
>>>>
>>>>         David Kellogg
>>>>         Sangmyung University
>>>>
>>>>         New Article: Ruqaiya Hasan, in memoriam: A
>>>>         manual and a manifesto.
>>>>         Outlines, Spring 2020
>>>>         https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://tidsskrift.dk/outlines/article/view/116238__;!!Mih3wA!VwS2vd2Oo_qkWnYt4C8jB5T-uVOv98Qp-tQKjcY-MY3Oxa3mqPYshe6bWozVQlP9Rdyfwg$ 
>>>>         <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://tidsskrift.dk/outlines/article/view/116238__;!!Mih3wA!RLGVUv48gomTR2KJ99jcR-ruYcur4TKLR3u-7WeR_HhShIfYJpHP0U7EwICkluSzhBnr9w$>
>>>>         New Translation with Nikolai Veresov: /L.S.
>>>>         Vygotsky's Pedological Works/ /Volume One:
>>>>         Foundations of Pedology/"
>>>>         https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9789811505270__;!!Mih3wA!VwS2vd2Oo_qkWnYt4C8jB5T-uVOv98Qp-tQKjcY-MY3Oxa3mqPYshe6bWozVQlMxtdyzCQ$ 
>>>>         <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9789811505270__;!!Mih3wA!RLGVUv48gomTR2KJ99jcR-ruYcur4TKLR3u-7WeR_HhShIfYJpHP0U7EwICkluRBlvE9VA$>
>>
>
>
> -- 
>
>
>   IAngelus Novus
>   <https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angelus_Novus__;!!Mih3wA!WX-QNmo1DHzN3B0UFmPt3aPiAkgP3xKV23HPfmkuTzbcypgKpClYCNruiE5ZEkZGM_Mzrw$>
>
>   The Angel's View of History is looking as plausible in
>   2020 as it did to Walter Benjamin & Klee in 1940
>
>   ---------------------------------------------
>
> Cultural Praxis Website: https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://culturalpraxis.net__;!!Mih3wA!VwS2vd2Oo_qkWnYt4C8jB5T-uVOv98Qp-tQKjcY-MY3Oxa3mqPYshe6bWozVQlOHb5zBnA$  
> <https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://culturalpraxis.net__;!!Mih3wA!WX-QNmo1DHzN3B0UFmPt3aPiAkgP3xKV23HPfmkuTzbcypgKpClYCNruiE5ZEkYMKjy2Ug$>
> Re-generating CHAT Website: re-generatingchat.com 
> <https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://re-generatingchat.com__;!!Mih3wA!WX-QNmo1DHzN3B0UFmPt3aPiAkgP3xKV23HPfmkuTzbcypgKpClYCNruiE5ZEkZVclQr0Q$>
> Archival resources website: lchc.ucsd.edu 
> <http://lchc.ucsd.edu>.
> Narrative history of LCHC: lchcautobio.ucsd.edu 
> <http://lchcautobio.ucsd.edu>.
>
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.ucsd.edu/pipermail/xmca-l/attachments/20200724/3ebaa427/attachment.html 


More information about the xmca-l mailing list