The Emotion of Gratitude and Communal Relationships

Bibliographic Data

ID7157847
AuthorsColeen Macnamara (0000-0003-1776-7112, University of California, Riverside Riverside CA USA, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume42
Issue1
Pages96-114
Publication date2025-02-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Applied Philosophy (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0264-3758 • E-ISSN: 1468-5930
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/japp.12726
OpenAlexW4393118613
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited40

Emotions are typically dual‐faced: they involve both an evaluative and a practical aspect. What is more, an emotion's evaluative and practical aspects tend to exhibit a kind of fit. For example, Sakshi's fear of the bear involves apprehending the bear as a threat to something she cares about, i.e., her wellbeing. And it motivates her to act on behalf of this care: it motivates her to act in ways that protect her wellbeing. Both dimensions of Sakshi's fear are about her wellbeing. Typically, characterizations of gratitude speak to both its evaluative and practical dimensions. Gratitude is described as a way of apprehending the significance of one's benefactor's kindness, and it is said to involve a disposition to thank one's benefactor and to return the kindness. In this article I show that this characterization is incomplete insofar as it leaves us without the resources needed to discern the link between gratitude's two dimensions. I argue that discerning the fit requires an account of gratitude's focus and goal. I urge that the beneficiary's communal relationship with her benefactor is gratitude's focus and that promoting this relationship is gratitude's goal. Both dimensions of a beneficiary's gratitude are about her communal relationship with her benefactor

Epistemology · Gratitude · Sociology · Cultural Differences and Values · Emotions and Moral Behavior · Philosophy · Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction · Psychology · Social Psychology