Three-day conference focuses on the nature of emotions

The international interdisciplinary conference “Emotions: Rationality, Morality and Social Understanding”, held in Tartu from 7–9 September, concentrates on the nature of emotions.

Vivian Bohl, research fellow in theoretical philosophy at the University of Tartu, believes that it is namely emotions that add colour and give a meaning to life. “As humans we are emotional beings. In the case of pathologies – when emotions get lost – people can no longer act in a rational way,” Bohl explains the importance of emotions in human life.

Emotions is an area in which the interests and research problems of different fields of science intersect. For example, philosophers, psychologists as well as linguists deal with emotions. During the conference, emotions are viewed from different aspects and their connections with rationality, morality and social understanding are discussed.

The speakers at the conference include several renowned philosophers like Kristján Kristjánsson (University of Birmingham), Gregory Currie (University of York), Mikko Salmela (University of Helsinki), Carolyn Price (The Open University, UK) and others.

The conference is organised by the UT Centre for Ethics, UT Institute of Philosophy and Semiotics, and the Centre of Excellence in Estonian Studies (CEES). The event is supported by the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research (IUT20-5) and by the European Regional Development Fund (Centre of Excellence in Estonian Studies).

The conference programme and registration are available on the website.

The working language of the conference is English.

Additional information: Margit Sutrop, University of Tartu Professor of Practical Philosophy, margit.sutrop@ut.ee