In this well-known study William Lyons presents a sustained and coherent theory of the emotions, and one which draws extensively on the work of physchologists and physiologists in the area. Professor Lyons starts by giving a thorough scholarly and critical survey of other principal theories, before setting out his own casual-evaluative account. In addition to giving an analysis of the nature of emotion - in which Lyons argues evaluative attitudes play a crucial part - his theory throws light on the motivating role of emotions in our lives, our attitudes towards our emotions and our responsibility for them. By now Emotion is established as a modern classic in theory of the emotions and one of the reasons why cognitive theories of the emotions are now in the ascendancy.