Upheavals of Thought: The Intelligence of Emotions Book

Upheavals of Thought is a big book in every sense of the word. It is a 700-page, deep-thinking, and far-ranging argument that emotions should be central to ethical thinking. From infancy on, we must find our way in the world, but, writes Martha C. Nussbaum, "without the intelligence of emotions, we have little hope." Nussbaum is Ernst Freund Distinguished Professor of Law and Ethics at the University of Chicago and an academic of tremendous scope. Here she immerses the reader in moral philosophy, anthropology, child psychology, music, classical thought, religion, and literature with a likable intelligence that makes her one of the most important thinkers alive today. Upheavals of Thought reminds us that the tangle of human emotions is an aid, not an impediment, and that cold objectivity, without the barometer of emotion, deprives us of our moral compass. --Eric de Place

What is it to grieve for the death of a parent? More literary and experiential than other philosopical works on emotion, Upheavals of Thought will engage the reader who has ever stopped to ask that question. Emotions such as grief, fear, anger and love seem to be alien forces that disturb our thoughts and plans. Yet they also embody some of our deepest thoughts--about the importance of the people we love, about the vulnerability of our bodies and our plans to events beyond our control. In this wide-ranging book, based on her Gifford Lectures, philosopher Martha Nussbaum draws on philosophy, psychology, anthropology, music and literature to illuminate the role emotions play in our thoughts about important goals. Starting with an account of her own mother's death, she argues that emotions are intelligent appraisals of a world that we do not control, in the light of our own most significant goals and plans. She then investigates the implications of this idea for normative issues, analyzing the role of compassion in private and public reasoning and the attempts of authors both philosophical and literary to purify or reform the emotion of erotic love. Ultimately, she illuminates the structure of emotions and argues that once we understand the complex intelligence of emotions we will also have new reasons to value works of literature as sources of ethical education. Martha C. Nussbaum is Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics, University of Chicago, appointed in Law School, Philosophy department, and Divinity School, and an Associate in Classics. A leading scholar in ancient Greek ethics, aesthetics and literature, her previous books include The Fragility of Goodness (Cambridge, 1986), Loves's Knowledge (Oxford, 1992), Poetic Justice (Beacon Press, 1997), The Therapy of Desire (Princeton, 1996), Cultivating Humanity (Harvard, 1997), and Sex and Social Justice (Oxford, 1999). Her reviews have appeared in the New York Times, Boston Globe, New York Review of Books, and New Republic.