The Intentionality of Moods
Takuya Niikawa (Kobe University)
Abstract: There seem to be two kinds of mood experiences differing in their intentionality. Some moods do not seem to be directed at anything specific. For instance, when I wake up in the morning and realize that I am in an anxious mood, I usually have no idea what the anxious mood is about. In contrast, some moods seem to be directed at a specific situation. I sometimes feel anxious when attending a strained meeting. The anxious mood is felt to be directed at the very meeting in which I participate. Since dominant views on the intentionality of moods, such as the “no-object” view and the “everything” view, focus mainly on the former kind of mood experiences, they seem unable to explain the latter kind of mood experiences. Given this, this paper proposes a novel view on the intentionality of mood, according to which mood experiences are directed at atmospheres. We argue that this view can explain both kinds of mood experiences in a unified manner.