Book contents
- Darwin’s Philosophy of Emotion
- Darwin’s Philosophy of Emotion
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 Darwin’s Expression
- Chapter 2 Darwin’s Predecessors
- Chapter 3 Darwin’s Associationism
- Chapter 4 Darwin’s Emotions
- Chapter 5 Darwin’s Expressions
- Chapter 6 Darwin’s Lost Legacy
- References
- Index
Chapter 2 - Darwin’s Predecessors
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 December 2025
Book contents
- Darwin’s Philosophy of Emotion
- Darwin’s Philosophy of Emotion
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 Darwin’s Expression
- Chapter 2 Darwin’s Predecessors
- Chapter 3 Darwin’s Associationism
- Chapter 4 Darwin’s Emotions
- Chapter 5 Darwin’s Expressions
- Chapter 6 Darwin’s Lost Legacy
- References
- Index
Summary
This chapter surveys associationist theories of emotion leading up to Darwin’s Expression. These theories analyze emotions as sequences of thoughts, feelings, and actions, linked together by principles of association. Thomas Hobbes contributes to this tradition the idea that emotions can be analyzed as “trains of thoughts.” John Locke contributes the idea that these trains are connected by the “association of ideas.” David Hume contributes the idea that association can occur via contiguity, resemblance, or cause and effect. David Hartley puts these ideas together to present the first full-fledged associationist theory of mind and emotion. Harley’s ideas are developed further by Joseph Priestley, Erasmus Darwin (Charles’s grandfather), Thomas Brown, James Mill, Alexander Bain, and Herbert Spencer, among others. This tradition in the philosophy of emotion has never before been described or analyzed.
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- Darwin's Philosophy of Emotion , pp. 34 - 60Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2026
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