Behavioral and Brain Sciences

Table of Contents - 2008 - Volume 31, Issue 05  

Open Peer Commentary

Do all musical emotions have the music itself as their intentional object?

Jenefer Robinsona1

a1 Philosophy Department, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0374 Jenefer.Robinson@uc.edu http://www.artsci.uc.edu/philosophy/faculty/robinson.html

Abstract

Juslin & Västfjäll (J&V) think that all emotions aroused by music have the music itself as their “intentional object.” Some of the mechanisms they discuss almost certainly involve both cognitive appraisals and intentional objects. But some of the mechanisms are non-cognitive: they involve neither cognitive appraisals nor intentional objects. Partly for this reason they may produce moods rather than emotions proper.

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    Emotional responses to music: The need to consider underlying mechanisms Patrik N. Juslin and Daniel Västfjäll Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, SE-75142 Uppsala, Sweden patrik.juslin@psyk.uu.se http://www.psyk.uu.se/hemsidor/musicpsy2/; Department of Psychology, Göteborg University, SE-40530 Göteborg, Sweden daniel.vastfjall@psy.gu.se http://www.psy.gu.se/Personal/DaneilV.htm