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How to Design An Emotion

Emotional Constructivism: Agentic Redesign of the Architecture of Emotional Meaning

Emotional Constructivism: Agentic Redesign of the Architecture of Emotional Meaning

Author: @Cézjah

Cite this working paper · DOI 10.5281/zenodo.23631059 →
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Emotional Constructivism: Agentic Redesign of the Architecture of Emotional Meaning

If agents construct their emotions, can they construct different ones on purpose? I present Emotional Constructivism (EC): rational agents construct emotional meaning rather than discover it in bodily states, and they can intentionally challenge their automatic emotional constructions by redesigning the evaluative and interpretive architecture under which they construct emotions. EC builds on the Constructivist Semiotic Model of Emotions, which separates physiological affect, feeling, and emotion and locates emotional meaning in an agent’s interpretive commitment under a goal.

I set out two architectures. The Emotional Constructivism Prototype models the intrapersonal case: an Observer State in which the agent suspends commitment and calibrates her evaluative architecture, interventions that modify the conditions of construction without producing emotion, and a first-person binding resolution through which the agent alone commits to an emotion concept and marks it with an identifier. The Emotional Constructivism Stereotype models the interpersonal case: a consented cooperation under a shared goal and reciprocal value, in which another agent can assist but never commit for the individual.

A worked case of bereavement runs through both. I place Emotional Granularity, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy inside the architecture as constraints on interpretation, and I answer the objections the book anticipates. Working paper 6 of 8 in the series on the frameworks of How to Design an Emotion: The Deconstruction and Computation of Emotional Meaning from First Principles (Universal Moral Concepts III, New Intellectual LLC, 2026; ISBN 979-8-9898135-9-9 paperback, 979-8-9898135-3-7 Kindle).

The book is the full treatment. Book page: https://newintellectual.com/how-to-design-an-emotion ; related: Part IV . Buy on Amazon .

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Working Paper 6: Emotional Constructivism (Deep Dive)

If you construct your emotions, can you construct different ones on purpose? This Analyze This deep dive walks through Emotional Constructivism with Malik Johnson — how rational agents make emotional meaning, and how they can redesign the architecture that produces their emotions.

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49:17
Emotional Constructivism (Deep Dive)

Emotional Constructivism (Deep Dive)

Can you redesign the architecture of your own emotions? In this episode of Analyze This, two AI pundits dig into Malik Johnson's Working Paper 6: Emotional Constructivism — agentic redesign of the architecture of emotional meaning.

Emotional Constructivism (Value Proposition)

Emotional Constructivism (Value Proposition)

The value-proposition edition of Analyze This, companion to the how-it-works episode. Malik Johnson directs two AI pundits through why Working Paper 6: Emotional Constructivism matters — what it uniquely contributes, which long-standing problems in emotion theory it resolves, and why it reshapes how we understand meaning and emotion.

Working Paper 06: Emotional Constructivism

Working Paper 06: Emotional Constructivism

Detailed deck for Working Paper 06: Emotional Constructivism from How to Design an Emotion (Universal Moral Concepts II) by Cézjah (New Intellectual LLC). If agents construct their emotions, can they construct different ones on purpose? Emotional Constructivism (EC) holds that rational agents construct emotional meaning rather than discover it in bodily states, and that they can intentionally challenge their automatic emotional constructions by redesigning the evaluative and interpretive architecture under which they construct emotions. EC builds on the Constructivist Semiotic Model of Emotions and sets out two architectures. The Emotional Constructivism Prototype models the intrapersonal case, from an Observer State to a first-person binding resolution. The Emotional Constructivism Stereotype models the interpersonal case, in which another agent can assist but never commit for the individual.

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