Traditional views of human cognition suggested an antagonism between emotion and rationality. These views have influenced philosophical models of science, which have often assumed that scientists must suppress their emotions in order to reach objective findings.

In this talk, I will argue to the contrary that scientists would not be able to carry out research if they did not appeal to their emotional responses to hypotheses and data. For example, scientists are able to resolve methodological dilemmas only with the help of their emotion system. I will argue furthermore that, under certain conditions, scientists’ reliance on emotional responses is rationally warranted. These conclusions open the way to a richer account of scientific reasoning that encompasses emotion as well as higher cognitive faculties.

James W. McAllister is Professor of History and Philosophy of Science, Academic Director of the Institute of Philosophy, and Senior Researcher at the Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, University of Leiden. He is the author of Beauty and Revolution in Science (Cornell University Press, 1996). His most recent publication is “Does Artistic Value Pose a Special Problem for Time Travel Theories?”, British Journal of Aesthetics 60 (2020), pp. 61–69