Affective Self-Knowledge, Elements in Epistemology; Cambridge University Press. (w/ Matt Stichter)
Abstract Our topic of inquiry is self-knowledge, specifically, a kind of “substantial” self-knowledge that we call “affective self-knowledge”. We contend that affective self-knowledge is necessary for knowledge of our values, cares, and concerns. We clarify the nature and value of affective self-knowledge and highlight that self-knowledge of this kind is difficult but possible to acquire through deliberate practice, a fact that leads us to classify affective self-knowledge as a skill. On our view, affective self-knowledge requires a sensitivity to and respect for both higher-order beliefs and embodied emotional experiences. We also provide an account of emotion that makes clear why attending to the body is key for acquiring affective self-knowledge. This account holds that emotions are embodied appraisals and suggests that such appraisals are rooted in interoceptive predictions. We end by outlining an account of the skills of affective self-knowledge that are rooted in intentions, attention, affective and somatic states.