Varela F. J. & Depraz N. (2005) At the source of time: Valence and the constitutional dynamics of affect. Journal of Consciousness Studies 12(8–10): 61–81. https://cepa.info/4378
Excerpt: This paper represents a step in the analysis of the key, but much-neglected role of affect and emotions as the originary source of the living present, as a foundational dimension of the moment-to-moment emergence of consciousness. In a more general sense, we may express the question in the following terms: there seems to be a growing consensus from various sources – philosophical, empirical and clinical – that emotions cannot be seen as a mere ‘coloration’ of the cognitive agent, understood as a formal or un-affected self, but are immanent and inextricable from every mental act. How can this be borne out, beyond just announcing it? Specifically, what is the role of affect-emotion in the self-movement of the flow, of the temporal stream of consciousness?
Originally published in 2000 in Arobase – Journal de lettre et de sciences humain 4(1–2). Also published in Gallagher S. & Watson S. (2002) Ipseity and Alterity. Presses Universitaires de Rouen, Rouen: 153–174