Kieran, ML (2016) Sentiment and Sentimentality: Affective Attachment in Life and Art. In: Dodd, J, (ed.) Art, Mind, and Narrative: Themes from the Work of Peter Goldie. Oxford University Press , Oxford ISBN 9780198769736
Abstract
The received view holds that to judge something or someone as sentimental is to condemn. This account holds that an emotion is sentimental where it is excessive, misjudges its object and involves savouring a positive self-image. This paper presents two different challenges to the received view. First, the positive idealizations of sentimentality are no worse than other cognitive biases pervasive in our ordinary mental life. Moreover, where, as is often the case, sentimentality is good for our well-being, sentimentality looks broadly rational. Second, and more radically, sentimentality is not always to be evaluated in epistemic terms. Rather, sentimentality, often at least, is a matter of reminding us of or re-orientating our non-cognitive affective attachments. Sentimental works can renew or revolutionize our affective attachments for the good, whether that be towards love, family, causes, or the oppressed. Hence, in both art and life, sentimentality is sometimes a very good thing.
Metadata
Item Type: | Book Section |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | (c) 2016, OUP. This is an author produced version of a book chapter published in Art, Mind, and Narrative: Themes from the Work of Peter Goldie . Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | sentimentality; emotion; idealisation; attachment; affect; artistic value |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures (Leeds) > School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science (Leeds) > School of Philosophy (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number Arts & Humanities Research Council AHRC AH/G012644/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 22 Feb 2017 14:05 |
Last Modified: | 24 Nov 2018 01:38 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Oxford University Press |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:111551 |