In his work, Eldridge presents a well-documented argument on what constitutes of real emotions and how different it is to quasi-emotions. He presents multiple philosophical opinions and suggestions held by various philosophers such as Walton, Feagin, Levinson, and Hume (Eldridge, 2014). These philosophers offer diverse perspectives on the different forms in which emotions exist and what classified them as either real or quasi as discussed in this paper.
Real Emotions
According to Eldridge (2014), real emotions are based on social roles that people have in their real life. They are derived from real encounters and interactions with objects and real people. Real emotions are genuinely painful, and one does not need to pretend when experiencing them. Thus they are attached to genuine responses. Similarly, pleasures in real emotions are based on actual events that have already taken place (Eldridge, 2014). This means that real emotions can only exist based on factual circumstances and not imaginations. Unlike the case with quasi-emotions, real emotions are not based on fictional characters but are based on real interactions with others. Thus, their responses are entirely based on sympathy that one may have for others. Real emotions are significantly important for regular emotional life.
Quasi-emotions
As portrayed in Eldridge's work, quasi-emotions are entirely based on fantasies, imaginations, and assumptions of experiences of imaginary people. These may include people in films or novels that do not exist in real-life situations. Primarily, these emotions are stimulated from the encounters of the characters. Moreover, quasi-emotions are not genuine and are mostly based on pretense as people make-believe that they are experiencing the same issues experienced by the characters in the imaginary world. Thus, quasi-emotions may not be accompanied by any responses (Eldridge, 2014). Additionally, these emotions are based more on pleasure than knowledge of the real events that might have taken place. People, in this case, are overwhelmed by imaginary events that might have taken place in an imaginary world which triggers their emotions. Quasi-emotions are essentially based on how the work of art has been presented. Therefore, the emotions, in this case, proceed from the eloquence with which the sad scene is represented. Though quasi-emotions are close enough to the arousal of real emotions, they are not attached to actual actions such as crying and can only offer fictional care that can only exist when one is connected to the imaginary world. Unlike real emotions, quasi-emotions do not have any impact on the emotional life of a person.
Based on Eldridge’s work, this distinction between the two types of emotions sounds very plausible to me. This is based on the evidence which is attached to every given argument as well as the emotional experiences that I have individual had so far.
Works Cited
Eldridge, Richard. An introduction to the philosophy of art. Cambridge University Press, 2014.
