Anger and its Interaction with Love and Hate
11/19/2020 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM in (Germany)
Why has anger become such a dominant theme in today's world that people have even spoken of an "age of anger"? Is it conceivable that this emotionalization could also have a positive effect, under what conditions? In terms of the history of philosophy and religion, two approaches to this topic can be identified. On the one hand, a complete rejection, in Buddhism, for example, and in Stoicism; on the other hand, the approving qualification of anger as a virtue, under special circumstances, for example, in Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas. Absolute negation has a detrimental effect when certain sensations are so excluded, including positively experienced sensations. Essentially, two causes can be identified for the increasing affliction by anger in our society. On the one hand, the evaporation of traditional as well as new values; on the other hand, the all too arbitrary expression of anger in the social media. In addition, it has the effect that more and more anger-filled protest actions, of youth, of women, show a challenge to traditional specifications. Meanwhile, anger as a popular and triumphant affect misses the mark. A binding, moral force can only emerge when anger gains coherence, in its sustainability, intensity, and reach. Otherwise, anger becomes destructive rage.
Aaron Ben-Ze'ev is professor of philosophy at the University of Haifa (Israel), of which he was president for many years; research in social philosophy, perception theory, and everyday psychology; numerous publications on the historical and contemporary politics of emotions, including "Love Online: Emotions on the Internet" (2004), "The Logic of Emotions. A Critique of Emotional Intelligence" (2009), "The Arc of Love. How Our Romantic Lives Change over Time" (2019).