The debate over whether emotions are universal or culturally constructed remains one of the central controversies in the sciences of emotion. While universalist theories hold that emotions have a biological basis common to all humans, relativist theories argue that they depend on specific cultural frameworks. Resolving this tension requires a science capable of studying emotions across cultural contexts while at the same time establishing criteria of objectivity to interpret evidence rigorously. However, no philosophical framework currently provides such criteria, which has led to a stagnation of the discussion.
This project aims to determine the conceptual and epistemological conditions for an intercultural and objective science of emotion. To this end, it proposes two main phases. First, it will assess whether empirical evidence supports universalist or relativist theories. Although current literature seems to lean toward relativism, the project suggests that universalism remains a progressive scientific research program, despite the substantial cultural variability observed in emotional practices and categories.
Second, the project will apply tools from contemporary social epistemology, particularly Standpoint Theory, to explore how to formulate an intercultural science of emotion. The central hypothesis is that scientific objectivity requires both acknowledging cultural variability and critically revising background cultural assumptions from a situated epistemology. This entails attending to the social and political dynamics of knowledge production and assessing the virtues and limitations of different standpoints in research on the universality of emotion.
Methodologically, the project combines philosophical and conceptual analysis with an interdisciplinary and metatheoretical approach that engages philosophy in dialogue with psychology, neuroscience, linguistics, and the social sciences. In this way, it situates itself within applied philosophy of science and contemporary epistemology, while also laying the groundwork for future investigations into the epistemological, political, and ethical dimensions of science in intercultural research on emotion and other psychological phenomena.
El proyecto contempla incorporar a asistentes de investigación y a tesistas de posgrado que cursen sus estudios en la UAH y trabajen sobre temas vinculados con el proyecto. Revisa esta página y nuestras redes sociales para enterarte de las convocatorias futuras.