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The Weight of Passion: A Revisionist History of Political Emotion

The Weight of Passion: A Revisionist History of Political Emotion

Author: Michael A. Neblo

Project Description: This paper argues that the common interpretation of the history of political thought as a campaign to suppress passions in favor of reason is a distortion. It contends that canonical figures like Plato, Aristotle, Spinoza, Rousseau, the Federalists, and Tocqueville viewed passion as a necessary engine for human action rather than an enemy. The author suggests these thinkers sought to distinguish between emotions that support democratic deliberation and those that undermine it, rather than expunging emotion entirely. Recovering this history can help understand the role of emotion in contemporary democracy.

Publication Details: Department of Political Science, Ohio State University; Paper prepared for the 2008 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association.

Keywords: Political Emotion, Passion, History of Political Thought, Democratic Deliberation, Reason, Plato, Aristotle, Spinoza, Rousseau, Federalists, Tocqueville.

Filters: Conference Paper, Political Theory

Investigators

Michael Neblo, Director of the Institute for Democratic Engagement and Accountability (IDEA); Professor of Political Science and (by courtesy) Philosophy, Communication, and Public Policy