Emotional behaviour as the result of stochastic interactions. A process crucial for cognition

This paper is aimed at exhibiting two striking features of the usual approach of emotional expression in science and philosophy, suggesting a different perspective, One is the generally shared belief that emotions are a state of Litter disarray, which hampers objective knowledge: the other is the search for causal explanation. along a wide range of categorized approaches (psychology, neurosciences. developmental biology) each proposing its own theoretical framework. In both cases the result is to play down emotional expression. Alternatively we propose to emotions as something crucial in the choice of our conceptual tools. ideas and involvements, in the genesis of which various explanations interact in a complex stochastic way. Rather than being a harmful disruption of the mind calling for identification of a definite causality. emotional behaviour appears as a necessary process in cognition. which is irreducible to a unique origin. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.