Too Quick to Anger? – On the Procedural Appropriateness of Reactive Emotions

Talk at GAP.11, Humboldt University Berlin, Germany.

Abstract: I argue that getting angry at somebody can be appropriate even if you are uncertain that they acted in an objectionable way. The intuitive answer might be that one should not get angry without sufficient evidence, but only once you are certain about the objectionable actions of the other person. Much of the work on fittingness of emotions supports this answer. However, there is a discrepancy between this answer and the role emotions play in our practices of holding each other accountable. I argue that an emotion like anger is perfectly appropriate under circumstances of uncertainty about the actions of the perpetrator, just as fear serves the function of keeping you save in the face of uncertain but plausible harm.