We express our emotions in a remarkable range of ways. These expressions include, at one extreme, involuntary changes of heart rate and skin temperature, and at the other extreme highly calculated and reasoned actions, such as the deliberate torture of a captive by hateful keepers. Between these extremes lie complex, coordinated behavioral expressions of emotion which are actions rather than mere bodily movements, because they are done under voluntary control and in full awareness, but which are unlike prototypical rational actions in that they resist satisfactory explanation in terms of the means-ends beliefs and desires of an agent. Such expressions include caressing the object of one's affection, and performing a little dance out of joy. Given this diversity, it is hard to see what unites the class of expressions of emotion. Nonetheless, expressions of emotion do form commonsense kinds, and this leads one to expect that there are some features which unite these kinds.We would like to take up two questions of prime interest for understanding how we express our emotions.
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