Question

The above may be a simple question, but it confuses me nonetheless. I would be grateful for your guidance.

To give an example, suppose a dozen wolves rush toward helpless Fred in order to eat him. If Fred fears the dozen wolves, does he experience one emotion of fear directed at twelve particular objects, or twelve slightly different emotions of fear directed at one particular object each? If the former is true, what about Fred's love for his two children? Here, it seems clear to me (although I have no children) that Fred experiences two emotions of love. If so, what differentiates the wolves from the children?

The following are loose thoughts about the question that I wish to share in case they help or reveal more confusion.

If one holds that emotions have propositional objects, there seems to be nothing preventing an emotion having many particular objects.
Some take moods to have many objects (perhaps the world as a whole) but that doesn't mean ordinary emotions can have multiple particular objects.
Enactivism seems to affirm multiple objects; for instance, the people whom an angry person meets. But that seems to be a very niche view.

Again, I appreciate your help.

Answer 1

The question of experiencing a single emotion towards multiple objects or multiple emotions towards individual objects is complex and influenced by various theories of emotion.

Step-by-step explanation:

Understanding emotions, particularly whether we experience a single emotion towards multiple objects or multiple emotions towards individual objects, engages one in a complex interplay of cognitive, physiological, and subjective experiences. Theories like those proposed by James-Lange and Cannon-Bard focus on the sequence and relationship between physiological responses and our emotional experiences. For instance, the James-Lange theory of emotion suggests that we experience emotions as a result of physiological arousal, meaning that our body's reaction to a stimulus occurs prior to the emotion we feel towards the stimulus. On the other hand, Cannon-Bard's theory argues that physiological arousal and emotional experience occur simultaneously and independently.

In the scenarios you presented, Fred's fear of a dozen wolves could be understood as one complex emotion experienced as a response to multiple instances of the same threat, while Fred's love for each of his children might be considered as distinct emotions because of the unique relationships and interactions with each child.

Neuroscience research, such as that by Joseph LeDoux, underscores the role of the amygdala in processing fear and demonstrates that emotional responses such as fear can bypass cognitive interpretation and operate through simpler pathways in the brain. This could explain why an individual might experience a general state of fear towards multiple threats. Love, being more complex and often involving more nuanced cognitive appraisals and personal experiences, might not be as easily generalized across objects, which could account for the differentiated emotions felt towards individual children.