Date of Award
Summer 8-1-2012
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Philosophy
First Advisor
Andrea Scarantino
Second Advisor
Eddy Nahmias
Third Advisor
Michael Owren
Abstract
In his 1757 essay “Of Tragedy”, Hume reflected on a curious puzzle about emotions. Sometimes people seek out emotions or experiences that are typically negative and associated with displeasure or pain. People often desire to watch horror films that will make them scared or listen to music that will make them sad. Some people even engage in the pursuit of negative emotions on a regular basis such as in the case of thrill-seeking. In this paper my goal is to update Hume’s puzzle with empirical evidence from the affective sciences and argue for two conclusions. First I will argue that Hume’s puzzle still runs deep. Though some recent scientific and philosophical accounts of emotions have tried to solve it, they have thus far failed. Second I attempt to construct a psychological account that solves the puzzle. Instead of focusing on how emotions are generated as previous theories have done, I argue that what is important is how emotions are regulated.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.57709/2931247
Recommended Citation
Brady, William J., "Why Do People Seek Negative Emotions' A Solution to Hume's Puzzle." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2012.
doi: https://doi.org/10.57709/2931247