Book of the week: “How to do things with emotions: the morality of anger and shame across cultures” by Owen Flanagan

October 24, 2022
Book of the week: “How to do things with emotions: the morality of anger and shame across cultures” by Owen Flanagan

The world today is full of anger. Everywhere we look, we see values clashing and tempers rising, in ways that seem frenzied, aimless, and cruel. At the same time, we witness political leaders and others who lack any sense of shame, even as they display carelessness with the truth and the common good. In How to Do Things with Emotions, Owen Flanagan explains that emotions are things we do, and he reminds us that those like anger and shame involve cultural norms and scripts. The book offers an expansive look at how culture shapes our emotions―and how we can benefit, as individuals and a society, from less anger and more shame.