Collective Emotions and Joint Action

Beyond Received and Minimalist Approaches

Authors

  • Mikko Salmela University of Helsinki, Academy of Finland Centre of Excellence in the Philosophy of Social Sciences (TINT)
  • Michiru Nagatsu University of Helsinki, Academy of Finland Centre of Excellence in the Philosophy of Social Sciences (TINT)

Keywords:

collective emotinos, joint action, received theories, minimalist theories, motivating reasons, justifying reasons

Abstract

In contemporary philosophy of collective intentionality, emotions, feelings, moods, and sentiments do not figure prominently in debates on the explanation and justification of joint action. Received philosophical theories analyze joint action in terms of common knowledge of cognitively complex, interconnected structures of intentions and action plans of the participants. These theories admit that collective emotions sometimes give rise to joint action or more typically, unplanned and uncoordinated collective behavior that falls short of full-fledged jointly intentional action. In contrast, minimalist theorists pay some attention to affective elements in joint action without much concern about their collective intentionality. They refer to an association between low-level synchrony in perceptual, motor, and behavioral processes, and increased interpersonal liking, feelings of solidarity, and cooperativeness. In this paper, we outline an account of collective emotions that can bridge this theoretical divide, linking the intentional structure of joint actions and the underlying cognitive and affective mechanisms. Collective emotions can function as both motivating and justifying reasons for jointly intentional actions, in some cases even without prior joint intentions of the participants. Moreover, they facilitate coordination in joint action.

Author Biographies

Mikko Salmela, University of Helsinki, Academy of Finland Centre of Excellence in the Philosophy of Social Sciences (TINT)

<span class="contributor" data-toggle="tooltip" data-placement="bottom" data-original-title=", Department of Political and Economic Studies, , Finland; "> </span>

Michiru Nagatsu, University of Helsinki, Academy of Finland Centre of Excellence in the Philosophy of Social Sciences (TINT)

<span class="contributor" data-toggle="tooltip" data-placement="bottom" data-original-title="Academy of Finland Centre of Excellence in the Philosophy of Social Sciences (TINT), Department of Political and Economic Studies, University of Helsinki, Finland">Michiru Nagatsu</span>

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2016-03-04

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Salmela, Mikko, and Michiru Nagatsu. 2016. “Collective Emotions and Joint Action: Beyond Received and Minimalist Approaches”. Journal of Social Ontology 2 (1). Vienna, Austria:33-57. https://journalofsocialontology.org/index.php/jso/article/view/6840.

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