Aaron Ben-Ze'ev

Professor of Philosophy

Personal details
Place and Date of Birth: Israel, July 30, 1949
Office Address: Department of Philosophy, University of Haifa, Haifa 3498837, Israel
Higher education
University of Haifa: B.A., 1975; Philosophy, Economics.
University of Haifa: M.A., 1977; Philosophy.
The University of Chicago: Ph.D., 1981; Philosophy. Advisor: Stephen Toulmin
Academic ranks
Lecturer, Department of Philosophy, University of Haifa, 1981-1984
Senior Lecturer, Department of Philosophy, University of Haifa, 1984-1988
Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of Haifa, 1988-1992
Professor of Philosophy, Department of Philosophy, University of Haifa, 1992-
Offices in academic administration
Chairperson, Department of Philosophy, University of Haifa, 1986-1988
Chairperson, Humanity Division, Oranim - School of Education, 1991-1994
Dean, Academic Division, Oranim - School of Education, 1993-1994
Dean of Research, University of Haifa, 1995-2000
Chairperson, University of Haifa Press, 1995-2000
Chairperson, Academic Channel, 1999-2006
Rector, University of Haifa, 2000-2004
Chairperson, Association of University Heads, Israel, 2009-2010
President, University of Haifa, 2004-2012
Founding President, European Philosophical Society for the Study of Emotions, 2014-2017

General

Aaron Ben-Ze'ev, Professor of Philosophy, Former President of the University of Haifa (2004-2012).

He received his B.A. in Philosophy and Economics (1975) and his M.A. in Philosophy (1977) from the University of Haifa, and received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago (1981).

At the University of Haifa, Professor Ben-Ze’ev held several additional positions in academic administration prior to his election as President, including Rector, Dean of Research, Chairperson of the Philosophy Department, Head of the University of Haifa Press and Head of the Academic Channel.
Professor Ben-Ze'ev is considered one of the world’s leading experts in the study of emotions, and he set up the Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Emotions at the University. His research focuses on the philosophy of psychology, and especially the study of emotions. Most recently, his research has centered on love. He has published numerous articles and books on these subjects.
Major books:
The Arc of Love: How our Romantic Lives Change over Time (University of Chicago Press, 2019)

Die Logik der Gefühle: Kritik der emotionalen Intelligenz (Suhrkamp, 2009)

In The Name of Love: Romantic ideology and its victims (Oxford University Press, 2008)

Love Online: Emotions on the Internet (Cambridge University Press, 2004)

The Subtlety of Emotions (MIT Press, 2000)

The Perceptual System (Peter Lang: 1993)

Blog in Psychology Today: In the Name of Love - A philosopher looks at our deepest emotions

Ph. D. Dissertation
Perception as a Cognitive System (1981). Doctorate Committee: Stephen Toulmin (Chair), Alan Gewirth, Robert Richards, William Wimsatt; University of Chicago.

Books:

The Arc of Love: How Our Romantic Lives Change Over Time. The University of Chicago Press, 2019. The book is being translated into Hebrew, Korean and Chinese.
Die Logik der Gefühle: Kritik der emotionalen Intelligenz. Suhrkamp, 2009. This is an abridged and updated German version of The Subtlety of Emotions.
In the Name of Love: Romantic Ideology and its Victims. Oxford University Press, 2008. (With R. Goussinsky). The book is being translated into Hebrew
Love Online: Emotions on the Internet. Cambridge University Press, 2004. The book is being translated into Hebrew, Polish, Bulgarian, Korean and Chinese.
The Subtlety of Emotions. MIT Press, 2000. The book is being translated into Hebrew.
The Perceptual System: A Philosophical and Psychological Perspective. Peter Lang, 1993. The book is being translated into Hebrew.
Aristotle's On the Soul. Hakibbutz Hammeuhad, 1989, (Hebrew).

Edited Books and Journal Special Issues:

Ben-Ze’ev, A. & Krebs, A. (eds.). Philosophy of Emotion, Four Volumes, Routledge, 2018.
Krebs, A. & Ben-Ze’ev, A. (eds.). Philosophia, Special Issue: The Meaning of Moods, 2017.
Ben-Ze’ev, A. (ed.), Philosophia, Special Issue: The Philosophy of Emotions, 2017.
Goodman, R. & Ben-Ze’ev, A. (eds.), Good Gossip. University Press of Kansas, 1994.

Articles:

“’I Am Glad that My Partner is Happy with Her Lover’: On Jealousy, and Compersion,” in A. Pismenny & B. Brogaard (eds.) (2022), The Moral Psychology of Love. Rowman & Littlefield, 127-150.
“Emotions: Theories and moral value.” Journal of Philosophy of Emotion, 3, 2021, 6-10.
“Cyberspace: The Alternative Romantic Culture.” In C.H. Mayer & E. Vanderheiden (eds.), Handbook of love in cultural and transcultural contexts. Springer, 2021, 83-99
Ben-Ze’ev, A. & Teitelbaum, M. The Value of Politeness in Romantic Love. In C. Xie (ed.), The Philosophy of (Im)politeness. Springer, 2021.
Book Symposium, Ben-Ze'ev, Aaron. 2020. The Arc of Love: How Our Romantic Lives Change over Time. Précis, and replies to commentators. Journal of Philosophy of Emotion, 2, 2020, 1-50.
“The Comparative Concern in Humility and Romantic Love”, In M. Alfano, M. P. Lynch, and A. Tanesini (eds.), Routledge Handbook on the Philosophy of Humility. Routledge, 2020, 97-105.
“Is Self-Fulfillment Essential for Romantic Love? The self-other tension in romantic love. Revista de Filosofia Aurora, 2019, 31, 864-885.
Shavit, O, Ben-Zeev, A. & Doron, I. “Love between Couples Living with Alzheimer’s disease: Narratives of Spouses Caregivers,” Ageing & Society, 2019, 39, 488-517.
“Is Hate Worst When It Is Fresh? The development of hate over time,” Emotion Review, 10, 2018, 322-324.
Ben-Ze’ev, A. & Brunning, L. How Complex Is Your Love? The Case of Romantic Compromises and Polyamory. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 48, 2018, 98-116.
Does Loving Longer Mean Loving More? On the Nature of Enduring Affective Attitudes, Philosophia, 45, 2017, 1541-1562.
Introduction: The Nature of Emotions. In A. Ben-Ze’ev & A. Krebs (eds.), Philosophy of Emotions, Vol. I. London: Routledge, 2017, 1-18.
Introduction: Specific Emotions. In A. Ben-Ze’ev & A. Krebs (eds.), Philosophy of Emotions, Vol. IV. Routledge, 2017, 1-26.
The Thing Called Emotion: A Subtle Perspective. In A. Ben-Ze’ev & A. Krebs (eds.), Philosophy of Emotion, Vol. I. London: Routledge, 2017, 112-137.
Ben-Ze’ev, A. & Krebs, A. “Love and Time: Is Love Best When it is Fresh?” In C. Grau & A. Smuts (eds.), Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Love. Oxford University Press, 2018.
“Do Only Fools Rush In? The Conflicts Underlying Romantic Compromises.” Philosophical Inquires, 5, 2017, 107-122.
“Envy and Inequality in Romantic Relationships” In R. Smith, U. Merlone, and M. Duffy (eds.), Envy at work and in organizations. Oxford University Press, 2016, 429-454.
“Virtual Relationships: Sex and Love in Cyberspace.” In J. Patrick & A. Zucker (eds.), Philosophy of Sex and Love. Macmillan Interdisciplinary Handbooks: Philosophy, 2016.
Ben-Ze'ev, A. & Krebs, A. "The Unique Role of the Agent within the Romantic Group." Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 39, 2016
“Satisfaction and Commitment in Long-Term Heterosexual Relationships.” In: James D. Wright (ed.), International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, 2nd edition, Vol 20, Elsevier, 2015, 912–917.
“Sexuality and the Internet.” In: James D. Wright (ed.), International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, 2nd edition, Vol 21, Elsevier, 2015, 813–818.
Ben-Ze’ev, A. & Krebs, A. “Do Only Dead Fish Swim with the Stream? The Role of Intuition, Emotion and Deliberation in Love and Work.” In Fröse, M. W., Kaudela-Baum, S., and Dievernich, E. P. F. (eds.), Emotionen und Intuitionen in Führung und Management – Eine Aufsatzsammlung. Springer Gabler Verlag, 2015, 43-64.
"Ain't Love Nothing But Sex Misspelled?” In C. Maurer, T. Milligan, and K. Pacovská (Eds.), Love and its Objects. Palgrave Macmillan, 2014, 25-40.
Navot, N., Ben-Ze’ev, A., & Okon-Singer, H., "The modern search for the Holy Grail: Is neuroscience a solution?" Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 8, 2014, 388, 1-6.
“The Comparative Personal Concern in Schadenfreude.” in W. W. van Dijk & J. W. Ouwerkerk (eds.), Schadenfreude: Understanding pleasure at the misfortune of others. Cambridge University Press, 2014, 77-90.
“Philosophy of Love,” and “Emotions,” entries in Encyclopedia of Philosophy and the Social Sciences. Sage: 2013.
“The Nature and Morality of Romantic Compromises,” in C. Bagnoli (ed.), Morality and the Emotions. Oxford University Press, 2011, 95-114.
Dvash, J, G. Gilam, A. Ben-Ze’ev, T. Hendler, & S. G. Shamay-Tsoory “The envious brain: the neural basis of social comparison,” Human Brain Mapping, 31, 2010, 1741-1750.
Cowie, R., Sussman, N. & Ben-Ze’ev, A., "Emotion: Concepts and Definitions." In Emotion-Oriented systems: The Human Handbook on Emotions. Springer, 2010, 9-30.
"Love in Times of Increased Longevity". In R. Brinzanik & T. Hülswitt (eds.), Will We Live Forever? Conversations about the Future of Humans and Technology. Suhrkamp, 2010, 226-242.
"The Thing Called Emotion: On the Nature of Emotional Experiences," in P. Goldie (ed.), Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Emotion. Oxford University Press, 2010, 41-62.
"Jealousy and Romantic Love," in S. Hart and M. Legerstee (eds.), Handbook of Jealousy: Theories, Principles, and Multidisciplinary Approaches. Wiley-Blackwell, 2010, 40-54.
"Online Relationships and the Realm of Romantic Possibilities." In T. Dumova (ed.), Handbook of Research on Social Interaction Technologies and Collaboration Software: Concepts and Trends. IGI Global, 2009, 327-335.
"Schadenfreude," in Oxford Companion to the Affective Sciences. Oxford University Press, 2009.
"Intellectual Autobiography," Philosophia, 36, 2008, 255-276.
"Hating the One You Love," Philosophia, 36, 2008, 277-283.
“Detattachment: The Unique Nature of Online Romantic Relationships,” in Y. Amichai-Hamburger (ed.), The Social Net: The Social Psychology of the Internet. Oxford University Press, 2005, 15-138.
Ben-Ze'ev, A. & Revhon, N., "Emotional Complexity in Everyday Life," Social Science Information, 43, 2004, 581-589.
“Emotions Are Not Mere Judgments,” Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 68 2004, 452-459.
“Flirting On and Offline,” Convergence, 10, 2004, 4-42.
“Emotions as a Subtle Mental Mode,” in R. Solomon (ed.) Thinking about Feeling: Contemporary Philosophers on Emotion. Oxford University Press, 2004, 250-268.
“‘Emotionally, You’re an Idiot’: Review of The Science and Myth of Emotional Intelligence,” Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 7, 2003, 282-283.
“Privacy, Emotional Closeness, and Openness in Cyberspace,” Computers in Human Behavior, 19, 2003, 451-467.
“Perceptual Objects may have Nonphysical Properties,” Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 26 2003, 22-23.
“Appraising Appraisal Theories,” American Journal of Psychology, 116, 2003, 318-325.
“The Logic of Emotions,” Philosophy, Supplement: 52, 147-162; A. Hatzimoysis (ed.), Philosophy and the Emotions (Cambridge University Press, 2003).
“Aristotle on Emotions toward the Fortune of Others,” in D. Konstan and N. K. Rutter (eds.), Envy, Spite, and Jealousy: The Rivalrous Emotions in Ancient Greece. Edinburgh University Press, 2003, 99-121.
Austerlitz, N., Aravot, I., and Ben-Ze'ev A.: “Emotional Phenomena and the Student-Instructor Relationships,” Landscape and Urban Planning, 60, 2002, 105-115.
“Intentionality and Feelings in Theories of Emotion,” Consciousness & Emotion, 3, 2002, 263-271.
“Emotions Are Not Feelings,” Consciousness & Emotion, 3, 2002, 81-89.
“Are Envy, Anger, and Resentment Moral Emotions? Philosophical Explorations, 5, 2002, 148-153.
“Emotional Intelligence: The Conceptual Issue,” in N. Ashkanasy, Zerbe & Harteland (eds.), Emotions in the Workplace. Sharpe, 2002, 164-183.
“Précis of The Subtlety of Emotions,” Pyscoloquy, 12, 2001.
“The explanation of the Emotions,” in G. Hon and S. S. Rakover (eds.), Explanation: Theoretical Approaches and Applications. Kluwer, 2001, 167-184.
“Is the Virtuous Person a Thinking Person or a Sensitive Person?,” in Y. Iram, et al. (eds.), Crossroads: Values and Education in Israeli Society (Ministry of Education, 2001, 156-189 (Hebrew).
“Are Emotions So Simple?” Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 23, 2000, 194.
“I Only Have Eyes for You: The Partiality of Positive Emotions,” Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 30, 2000, 341-351.
“Review of Griffiths’ Book ‘What Emotions Really Are’” The European Legacy, 5, 2000, 267-269.
“Reid on the Emotions,” Reid’s Studies, 3, 2000, 29-41.
“The Rationality and Functionality of Emotions,” The European Legacy, 5, 2000, 49-63.
“Emotions, Responsibility, and Morality” in T. van den Beld (ed.), Moral Responsibility and Ontology. Kluwer, 2000, 219-231.
“Tolerance and Emotions,” in R. Cohen-Almagor (ed.), Challenges to Democracy (Ashgate, 2000, 79-88.
“Regret: The Past Is Not Dead,” Dvarim, 2, 1999), 72-81 Hebrew.
"Emotions and Change: A Spinozistic Account," In Y. Yuval (ed.), Desire and Affect: Spinoza as Psychologist. Little Room Press, 1999, 139-154.
“The Meaning of Life: The Emotional Aspect,” in A. Kasher (ed.), The Meaning of Life Hakibbutz Hammeuhad, 1999, 278-289 (Hebrew).
“The Emotional Aspects of the Path to Peace,” in J. Ginat & O. Winckler (ed.), The Jordanian-Palestinian-Israeli Triangle: Smoothing the Path to Peace. Sussex Academic Press, 1998, 99-106.
“The Nature of Hatred,” in Av. Ben-Ze’ev (ed.). Hatred. Zemora-Bitan, 1997, 15-29, (Hebrew).
“The Affective Realm,” New Ideas in Psychology, 15, 1997, 247-259.
“Emotions and Morality,” Journal for Value Inquiry, 31, 1997, 195-212.
"Romantic Love and Sexual Desire," Philosophia, 25, 1997, 3-32.
"Appraisal Theories of Emotions," Journal of Philosophical Research, 22, 1997, 129-143.
Ben-Ze'ev, A. & Oatley, K. "The Intentional and Social Nature of Human Emotions: Reconsideration of the Distinctions between Basic and Non-Basic Emotions," Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 26, 1996, 81-94.
"Emotional Intensity," Theory & Psychology, 6, 1996, 509-532. A somewhat revised version, “Determinants of Emotional Intensity” is published in A. Kaszniak (ed.), Emotions, Qualia, and Consciousness, World Scientific, 2001, 59-74.
Ben-Ze'ev, A. & Oatley, K. "The Development of Social Emotions and a Constructor Agent," Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 19, 1996, 124-125.
"The Alternative to the Storehouse Metaphor," Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 19, 1996, 192-193.
"Emotions and Argumentation," Informal Logic, 17, 1995, 1-11.
"Typical Emotions," in W. O'Donohue & R. Kitchener (eds.), Philosophy of Psychology, Sage, 1996, 228-243; A revised version, “The Nature of Typical Emotions,” is published in A. Kaszniak (ed.), Emotions, Qualia, and Consciousness. World Scientific, 2001, 42-58.
"Envy and Jealousy," Dictionnaire de Philosophie Morale. Presses Universitaires de France, 1996.
"Is There a Problem in Explaining Cognitive Progress?" In R. F. Goodman & W. R. Fisher (eds.), Rethinking Knowledge: Reflections across the Disciplines. SUNY, 1995, 41-56.
"Emotions and Philosophy of Psychology," in Encyclopedia Hebraica. Sifriat Poalim, 1995 (Hebrew).
"Pity and Compassion," In A. Kasher & A. Nemder (eds.), Virtues and Emotions. Hoshen Lamishpat, 1995, 31-47, (Hebrew).
"Gossip, Emotions, and Morality," Iyyun, 43, 1994, 417-426, (Hebrew).
"Understanding Emotions: A review of Lazarus' Emotion and Adaptation, and Oatley's Best Laid Schemes," History of European Ideas, 18, 1994, 97-100.
"The Vindication of Gossip," in R. Goodman and A. Ben-Ze'ev (eds.), Good Gossip. University Press of Kansas, 1994, 11-24. A somewhat revised version appears in J. Portmann (ed.), In Defense of Sin. St. Martin’s, 2001, 199-220.
"Emotions, Morality, and Religion," in D. Statman and A. Sagi (eds.), Studies in Ethics and Religion. Bar-Ilan University Press, 1993, 11-22, (Hebrew).
"The Virtue of Modesty," American Philosophical Quarterly, 30, 1993, 235-246.
"Envy and Pity," International Philosophical Quarterly, 33, 1993, 3-19.
"You Always Hurt the One You Love," Journal of Value Inquiry, 27, 1993, 487-495.
"Another Look at Pleasure-in-Others'-Misfortune," Iyyun, 42, 1993, 431-440.
"Envy and Inequality," Journal of Philosophy, 89, 1992, 551-581.
"Problems with Explaining the Perceptual Environment," The Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 15, 1992, 30-31.
"Anger and Hate," Journal of Social Philosophy, 23, 1992, 85-110.
"Emotional and Moral Evaluations," Metaphilosophy, 23, 1992, 214-229.
"Pleasure-in-Others'-Misfortune," Iyyun, 41, 1992, 41-61.
"Cognitive Development: Two Paradigms," in H. G. Geissler, S. W. Link, & J. T. Townsend (eds.) Cognition, Information Processing and Psychophysics: Basic Issues. Erlbaum, 1992, 67-90.
"Seeing our Seeing and Knowing our Knowing," Man and World, 24, 1991, 89-92.
"The Nature of Prejudices," in Av. Ben-Ze'ev et al (eds.) Prejudices. Hakibbutz Hammeuhad, 1991, 16-32 (Hebrew).
"Envy and Jealousy," Canadian Journal of Philosophy, 20, 1990, 487-516.
"Describing the Emotions," Philosophical Psychology, 3, 1990, 305-317.
"Conscious and Unconscious States," Philosophical Studies, 32 (Ireland), 1990, 44-62.
"Why Did Psammenitus not Pity his Son?" Analysis, 50, 1990, 118-126.
"Reid and the Cartesian Framework," Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, 26, 1990, 38-47.
"Explaining the Subject-Object Relation in Perception," Social Research, 56, 1989, 511-543.
"Reexamining Berkeley's Notion of Suggestion," Conceptus, 23, 1989, 21-30.
"The Relational Nature of Cognition," International Studies in Philosophy, 21, 1989, 1-12.
"Reid's Opposition to the Theory of Ideas," in M. Dalgarno & E. Matthews (eds.), The Philosophy of Thomas Reid. Kluwer, 1989, 91-101.
"The Schema Paradigm in Perception," Journal of Mind and Behavior, 9, 1988, 487-513.
"Can Nonpure Perception be Direct?" Philosophical Quarterly, 38, 1988, 315-325.
"Values and Reality in the Kibbutz," in D. Zait (ed.), Together: The Kibbutz Today. Ma`alot, 1988, 23-47, (Hebrew).
"The Nature of Emotions," Philosophical Studies, 52, 1987, 393-409.
"A Critique of the Inferential Paradigm in Perception," Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 17, 1987, 243-263.
"Making Mental Properties More Natural," The Monist, 69, 1986, 434-446.
"Two Approaches to Memory," Philosophical Investigations, 9, 1986, 288-301.
"Lewis Predicament Regarding the Given," The New Scholasticism, 60, 1986, 366-374.
"Reid's Direct Approach to Perception," Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, 17 1986, 99-114.
"Aristotle, Final Cause, and the Intentional Stance," Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 8, 1985, 758-759.
"From 'Camp' to 'Home': The Development of the Kibbutz," The Kibbutz, 11, 1985, 101-115, (Hebrew).
"The Description of Mental States," in R.M. Chisholm et al. (eds.), Philosophy of Mind: Proceedings of the 9th International Wittgenstein-Symposium. HPT, 1985, 281-284.
"The Passivity Assumption of the Sensation-Perception Distinction," British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 35, 1984, 327-343.
"What is a Perceptual Mistake?" Journal of Mind and Behavior, 5, 1984, 261-278.
"Two Concepts of the Given," Dialogos, 19, 1984, 159-164.
"Aristotle on Perceptual Truth and Falsity," Apeiron, 18, 1984, 118-125.
"The Moral Subject and Object," Iyyun, 33, 1984, 480-497, (Hebrew).
Ben-Ze'ev, A. & Strauss, M. "The Dualistic Approach to Perception," Man and World, 17, 1984, 3-18.
"The Kantian Revolution in Perception," Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 14, 1984, 69-84.
"Psychological Categorization," Methodology and Science, 16, 1983, 243-256.
"Toward a Different Approach to Perception," International Philosophical Quarterly, 23, 1983, 45-64.
"Perceptual Mistakes," Philosophical Inquiry, 5, 1983, 145-153.
"Who is a Rational Agent?" Canadian Journal of Philosophy, 12, 1982, 647-661.
"J.J. Gibson and the Ecological Approach to Perception," Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, 12, 1981, 107-139.
“G.E. Moore and the Relation between Intrinsic Value and Human Activity," Journal of Value Inquiry, 15, 1981, 69-78.
"The Analytic, Synthetic and A Priori," Scientia, 144, 1979, 481-493.