Plato
Gao examines the development from soul–body distinctions to the tripartite soul and the constructive possibilities of emotion in later dialogues.
Home/Finnish traditions & emotions
Research Cluster · Philosophy & Moral Psychology
Finnish traditions.
European emotions.
A dialogue across cultures.
Gao Yuan’s research on emotion, virtue, love and spiritual transformation—from classical philosophy to Finnish scholarship and Chinese thought.
01 / Research Perspective
Emotion as a philosophical question.
This research examines emotions as a point of entry into the relations between soul, reason, virtue, will, love and human fulfilment. Rather than treating emotion as the simple opposite of reason, it asks how emotional life participates in ethical cultivation and spiritual transformation.
The studies move from Plato and Aristotle through Augustine and medieval thought to modern Finnish interpretations of Lutheran theology. Gao’s comparative work then brings love, participation and transformation into dialogue with Confucian, Daoist and Buddhist traditions.
How can passions become resources for virtue, love and a transformed life?
“Finnish traditions” here includes distinct strands of scholarship: historical philosophy and moral psychology associated with Simo Knuuttila, and Finnish Lutheran interpretation associated with Tuomo Mannermaa and subsequent scholars. This page presents Gao Yuan’s research framework, not a claim that these strands constitute a single institutional school.
02 / Intellectual Traditions
From classical moral psychology
to Sino-Nordic dialogue.
A connected field of inquiry, with attention to historical differences rather than a single linear history of progress.
Aristotle
The relations between emotion, judgement, virtue and happiness bring moral psychology into practical ethical and political life.
Stoicism & Neoplatonism
Passions, the ordering of the soul and philosophical practices of transformation provide important contexts for late-antique thought.
Augustine
Will, love, passions and the two cities form a bridge between classical philosophical resources and Christian accounts of spiritual life.
Finnish Lutheran interpretation
Union, participation, gift, favour and the presence of Christ frame questions of love, deification and human transformation.
Dialogue with Chinese thought
“Deification of emotions” and “relational love” provide comparative approaches to Confucian, Daoist and Buddhist resources.
03 / Selected Publications
Research in print.
Five studies connect historical investigation with contemporary philosophical and theological dialogue. Follow each link for publication details and source records.
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Plato’s Philosophy of Emotions
A developmental reading of emotional psychology: the tripartite soul, dynamic interaction and the changing role of emotion in philosophical life.
Aristotle’s Philosophy of Emotions
Platonic inheritance and practical innovation in the relationships between emotions, virtue, political community and the good life.
Deification and Sanctification in the Dialogue between the Finnish Lutheran School and the Chinese Neo-Confucian School
Finnish Lutheran interpretations of union and participation meet Neo-Confucian accounts of fulfilment, with “deification of emotions” as a proposed path of comparison.
The Relational Love in the Dialogue between Lutheran Theology and Chinese Traditional Religions
Relational love connects questions of gift, favour, union and participation with selected relational structures in Chinese traditions.
Luther and Taoism: The Early Lutheran Interpretation of the Taoist Conception of Love in the Sino-Nordic Religious Encounter
Early Nordic encounters with Daoist thought reveal how love can become a site of religious disagreement, interpretation and renewed dialogue.
04 / Scholarly Contributions
Historical depth.
Comparative possibilities.
Reconstructing histories of emotion
Connecting ancient, medieval and modern debates without reducing historical concepts to a single modern category of “emotion”.
From structure to practice
Reading psychological structures alongside the cultivation of virtue, political life and concrete ethical action.
Augustine as a historical bridge
Examining how will, love and spiritual transformation reshape the reception of classical philosophical traditions.
The transformation of emotions
Developing “deification of emotions” within Gao’s dialogue between Finnish Lutheran interpretation and Chinese thought.
Relational love
Exploring how giving, receiving, participation and union illuminate different accounts of human fulfilment.
Comparison with attention to difference
Seeking productive conceptual connections while preserving differences between theological and philosophical traditions.
05 / Conceptual Architecture
A shared field
of questions.
These concepts organise the research across distinct historical settings. Their meanings are examined in context; they are not assumed to be interchangeable across authors, languages or traditions.
PassionEmotionSoulReasonVirtueWillLoveParticipationUnionGiftFavourDeificationRelational love
From the ordering of passions to the cultivation of virtue, and from love to participation, Gao’s studies ask how emotional life relates to the whole person.
06 / Methodological Perspectives
Texts, histories
and relations.
Historical genealogy
Following concepts through primary texts, their historical formation and subsequent reinterpretation.
Moral psychology
Studying emotions, desires, reason and will within their psychological and ethical relationships.
Participation & union
Examining accounts of lived relations, divine presence and transformation in their specific theological contexts.
Comparative philosophy
Testing conceptual connections across traditions while acknowledging different ontological assumptions.
07 / Research & Teaching
From original texts
to the classroom.
The course European Philosophy of Emotions brings this research into teaching. It moves from Plato and Aristotle through Stoicism, Neoplatonism, Augustine and medieval thought to Freud and modern psychoanalysis.
Explore the course ↗Emotion, mind, virtue and love—read through the history of European thought.