Alchemies of the Mind: Rationality and the Emotions (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Are there lawlike generalizations in the social sciences?..." (more)
Key Phrases: counterwishful thinking, imperfection constraint, occurrent emotions, New York, Julien Sorel, Mathilde de la Mole (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The book should have a broad appeal within the humanties as well as the social sciences. Highly recommended for upper-division undergraduates and above." Choice

"In this polished work the author, a highly respected political philosopher from Columbia University...reaches for a broad theory of the role of the emotions in human behavior." Virginia Quarterly Review

"Jon Elster has written an important and useful book on human emotions and the social sciences...his book a useful source for anyone working in the area." Jrnl of Economic Behavior and Organization

"This is perhaps the richest book on emotions I have read." The Philosophical Review

Product Description

Jon Elster has written a comprehensive, wide-ranging book on the emotions in which he considers the full range of theoretical approaches. Drawing on history, literature, philosophy and psychology Elster presents a complete account of the role of the emotions in human behavior. Combining methodological and theoretical arguments with empirical case studies and written with Elster's customary verve and economy, this book will have a broad appeal to those in philosophy, psychology, economics, political science, as well as literary studies, history, and sociology.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (November 28, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521644879
• ISBN-13: 978-0521644877
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #579,523 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superlative work about emotions, October 21, 2005

By	Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract.com" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This superlative work belongs on the shelf of any serious student of art, literature, philosophy and psychology - not to mention those readers who seek self-knowledge. Author Jon Elster explores the complex cognitive antecedents and consequences of emotional experience. Noting that much of what society needs to know about emotions is inaccessible in the psychology laboratory, he makes original, insightful use of literary and philosophical sources. He uses the work of such authors as Francois de La Rochefoucauld, Michel de Montaigne, Jean de La Bruyère and Alexis de Tocqueville to examine how emotional mechanisms function. This approach sheds light on the emotions and on the way you might read literature or listen to music. We highly recommend this book and find it valuable not only for what it says, but for what it inspires. It is capable of changing how you think and feel in ways that are (just as emotions themselves) far from predictable.

10 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Endlessly helpful- making psychology for the social sciences, October 27, 1999

By A Customer

I cannot praise this book enough. The writing is clear, the thinking is meticulous and infinitely clever, and the usefullness of understanding the different theories of the emotive being in the social scinces cannot be over-emphasized.

This book is Elster's best since "Political Psychology".

If you are not an Elster partisan, what is wrong with you?