The late Robert Solomon, following Nietzsche, says emotions are engagements with the world. Emotions are intentional and – despite the myths of pop psychology – more often than not, rational.
A synonym sometimes used for the emotions are the passions. The passions have been the whipping boy of philosophy for centuries, but they are key to the meaning of life. Personally, I have nothing but contempt for philosophers who unthinkingly follow the herd in maligning the passions and instead use abstract principles far removed from human existential reality in order to pretentiously tell us what the good life ought to consist of.
The passions are about creativity and being genuinely devoted to causes and other people. To be passionate is to care.
