In this timely book Cherry (Univ. of California, Riverside) and Flanagan (Duke Univ.) offer an array of valuable insights about the moral importance of certain kinds of anger. Most of the essays address philosopher Martha Nussbaum’s view that anger is at heart an irrational desire for revenge that offers no benefit. One also finds more nuanced approaches to understanding anger, such as Aristotle’s view that anger at the right time for the right reasons is virtuous. Others hold that anger is a necessary reaction to the violation of valued norms. Anger is also seen to be a demand for respect and recognition denied to oppressed people—a demand that perpetrators acknowledge that their acts are not acceptable. Contributor Emily McRae points out the extra moral and psychological effort oppressed people must make when trying to control anger against countless daily transgressions of their dignity. Anger is in part communicative: when uptake is refused by those in power the burden increases. Negative judgments about anger only add to the self-depreciation of the oppressed. Yet ideals of racial and economic equality are notoriously threatening to the privileged, who construct so-called empathy walls so as to avoid taking seriously the moral demands in question.

Summing Up: Recommended.Lower-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals; general readers.

Choice Reviews

This book is a valuable addition to the literature on moral psychology, especially with its focus on anger related to oppression. . . it includes a fresh group of scholars who write clearly and provide reasonable justifications of their ideas.

Metapsychology Online

This is a rich and timely volume, offering several new contributions to the longstanding debate about the morality of anger: whether it is, as Seneca claimed, ‘the most hideous and frenzied of all the emotions’ or, as Audre Lorde said, ‘a powerful source of energy serving progress and change’.

Amia Srinivasan, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at UCL and Fellow of All Souls College, University of Oxford

Anger is an emotion that has historically been the subject of sharply conflicting philosophical assessments, from condemnation as prohibited to prescription as morally demanded of us. This valuable anthology of new work provides a stimulating range of perspectives both Western (analytic, phenomenological) and Eastern (Buddhist) on this important issue and the implications for a healthy moral psychology.

Charles Mills, Professor of Philosophy at the City University of New York

This is the most encompassing and edifying philosophical exploration of anger available today. Topics range from ancient thought to social media, from Buddhist sutras to modern battlefields, from phenomenology to cognitive neuroscience, from personal relationships to liberation politics, and from cautionary critiques to empowering endorsements. Each contribution provides both helpful background and illuminating perspective on our most volatile and potent passion.

Jesse Prinz, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Committee for Interdisciplinary Science Studies at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York