Logoi enuloi. Aristotle’s contribution to the contemporary debate on emotions and decision-making

It seems natural to refer to Aristotle when reflecting on the role of emotion in decision-making in the legal field. Yet today study of the relationship between emotion and decision-making is carried out not only from a psychological, sociological, or rhetorical-argumentative perspective, but also via research on neural processes. Cognitive neuroscience has shown that emotions are components of the neural processes that underlie cognition and decision-making. This paper is an analysis of whether it is possible to trace a relationship between this new approach and Aristotle’s approach to the emotions. In this perspective Damasio’s theses are of main interest. By moving from Damasio’s antidualistic programme to Aristotle’s De anima—the work which lies closest to the domain of contemporary neuroscience—the paper also aims to show whether the latter can still provide useful tools for dealing with issues arising from the neuroscientific approach.