Islamic Psychology and Philosophy on Emotion

The subject matter dealt with by the author is to explain emotion in the views of Islamic psychology and Philosophy; the method adopted is the qualitative analysis of the contents through rational method and Critical method. The literal meaning of emotion, in Persian Language, is jush and khurush denoting rather strong and negative feelings which come from the faculties of wrath and lust against wisdom. In the terminology of psychology, however, emotion may carry both negative and positive meanings.     According to the findings of this research, emotions exhibit characteristics such as: that they concern sentimental aspect of man, that they are different from motivation, and that they express themselves in bodily behavioral and cognitive aspects of all negative or positive and primary or secondary feelings, the cognitive assessment of which reflects high influence on them.      In the course of explanation of emotions, there are philosophical theories such as “social constructivism”, “biological phenomena”, “issues as cognitions”, “bodily assessments”, and “natural species”. The examination of those theories proves that the exclusive look in each of those views is not acceptable. In the Islamic philosophy -considering the views of Farabi, Ibn Sina, Ibn Miskawah and Allamah Tabatabaii- we can say: emotions come into being in the impulsive faculty which is one of the animal faculties of the soul. As the psychic quality, they inhere in tempers and fall under the two faculties of lust and wrath. Emotions such as wonder shyness fear and hope are peculiar to mankind.