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<p>Contemporary philosophy of emotion tends to focus on specific, identifiable emotions such as anger, shame, or envy. While this work has illuminated the political and moral roles of discrete emotions, it often overlooks vague or ineffable emotions or feelings that resist easy classification. This paper revisits Allison Jaggar’s concept of <i>outlaw emotions</i>—unarticulated, uncomfortable feelings that signal estrangement from dominant norms while carrying a potential for critical reflection. Whereas feminist readings have emphasized the epistemic promise of outlaw emotions in contexts of oppression, we argue that the phenomenon is both more radical and more widely applicable. Outlaw emotions can arise whenever individuals feel out of tune with established social or institutional practices, producing discomfort that may prompt moral and political reconsideration. We illustrate this through case studies of soldiers experiencing persistent estrangement and unease during and after military missions, situating these cases within broader discussions of moral injury and moral distress. Importantly, however, we challenge the portrayal of outlaw emotions as inherently liberatory or epistemically authoritative. Outlaw emotions should instead be understood as affective disruptions that open space for reflection without a predetermined outcome. Drawing on constructionist theories of emotion, we further argue that outlaw emotions are not reducible to combinations of discrete basic emotions but are culturally mediated affective phenomena that precede labeling. In bringing together philosophical, empirical, and phenomenological perspectives, our paper expands the scope of Jaggar’s concept while challenging teleological accounts of emotion and highlighting the ambiguous, disruptive, and generative potential of outlaw feelings.</p>

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From Outlaw Emotions to Moral Injury: Rethinking the Affective Disruptions of Norms

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年8月1日

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  • Ditte Marie Munch-Jurisic,
  • Christa Davis Acampora

摘要

Contemporary philosophy of emotion tends to focus on specific, identifiable emotions such as anger, shame, or envy. While this work has illuminated the political and moral roles of discrete emotions, it often overlooks vague or ineffable emotions or feelings that resist easy classification. This paper revisits Allison Jaggar’s concept of outlaw emotions—unarticulated, uncomfortable feelings that signal estrangement from dominant norms while carrying a potential for critical reflection. Whereas feminist readings have emphasized the epistemic promise of outlaw emotions in contexts of oppression, we argue that the phenomenon is both more radical and more widely applicable. Outlaw emotions can arise whenever individuals feel out of tune with established social or institutional practices, producing discomfort that may prompt moral and political reconsideration. We illustrate this through case studies of soldiers experiencing persistent estrangement and unease during and after military missions, situating these cases within broader discussions of moral injury and moral distress. Importantly, however, we challenge the portrayal of outlaw emotions as inherently liberatory or epistemically authoritative. Outlaw emotions should instead be understood as affective disruptions that open space for reflection without a predetermined outcome. Drawing on constructionist theories of emotion, we further argue that outlaw emotions are not reducible to combinations of discrete basic emotions but are culturally mediated affective phenomena that precede labeling. In bringing together philosophical, empirical, and phenomenological perspectives, our paper expands the scope of Jaggar’s concept while challenging teleological accounts of emotion and highlighting the ambiguous, disruptive, and generative potential of outlaw feelings.