Emotional Intelligence: Does Philosophy Have a Part to Play?

Abstract

Introduction:  Philosophy and feeling have probably enjoyed as much popular separation as head and heart, body and mind or body and soul. It is not unusual for thoughts and feelings or emotions to be considered very different kinds of things, and hence autonomous processes. Moreover, it is also not unusual to find this perception mirrored in psychological literature when, for example, people are characterized as either «thinking types» or «feeling types». This paper represents an attempt to close this gap. Recent neurophysiological research has made it clear, at least on the physiological level, that indeed emotional behavior, most particularly desirable emotionality, is a product of both the «thinking brain» and the «emotional brain». Looking inside the intricacies of this neural connection, one finds an important, if not necessary, role for philosophy in the development of emotional intelligence. This paper explores what is meant by «philosophy», what is meant by «emotional intelligence», and then sets about to explain the connection between them. Early childhood education is the context used to show how this might be done. The interplay between philosophical thinking and emotional well being is not restricted to any age level or category of people. Early childhood, however, has been selected as the case in point because it clearly sets the stage for the quality of emotional experience to follow.