Bio
Myisha Cherry is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Riverside. She is also the Director of the Emotion and Society Lab. Her research is primarily concerned with the role of emotions and attitudes in public life.
Cherry’s books include UnMuted: Conversations on Prejudice, Oppression, and Social Justice (Oxford University Press) and, co-edited with Owen Flanagan, The Moral Psychology of Anger (Rowman & Littlefield). She is the author of The Case for Rage: Why Anger is Essential to Anti-racist Struggle published by Oxford University Press and Failures of Forgiveness,” published by Princeton University Press. Her forthcoming book includes “How to Love” currently under contract at Riverhead Press (US) and Basic Books (UK). Her work on emotions and race has appeared in The Atlantic, Boston Review, Los Angeles Times, Salon, Huffington Post, WomanKind, and New Philosopher Magazine. Cherry is also the host of the UnMute Podcast, where she interviews philosophers about the social and political issues of our day.
Cherry travels around the world to help people rethink emotions, learn how to unleash the power of emotions, and improve emotional intelligence in their interpersonal and social lives. She has given invited lectures and talks at over 100 colleges and universities, including Harvard Business School, Stanford University, Princeton University, and the University of Oxford, as well as organizations dedicated to improving work culture like House of Beautiful Business.
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Emotions are what make us human AND better humans. My work focuses on helping us understand our emotions so that we can unleash their power.
Myisha Cherry
F.A.Q.
Well, I am interested in lots of things that psychologists, neuroscientists, and activists find interesting but the questions I ask are quite different. Instead of asking how the brain works, I ask given that the brain works this way, how does this inform what we should do? Or if anger occurs in the motivational part of the brain, what does this say about its usefulness in politics? Or if there is an injustice, who is responsible for rectifying it and what would be an apt way of doing so?
Well, I am interested in lots of things that psychologists, neuroscientists, and activists find interesting but the questions I ask are quite different. Instead of asking how the brain works, I ask given that the brain works this way, how does this inform what we should do? Or if anger occurs in the motivational part of the brain, what does this say about its usefulness in politics? Or if there is an injustice, who is responsible for rectifying it and what would be an apt way of doing so?
I’m currently writing a book on love for a trade house. It is very very hard.
Like David Hume, I am interested in human nature, empiricism, and moral psychology. Like Nietzsche, I see myself as an iconoclast engaging in a revaluation of values. But my purpose for doing so can be found within the African-American and feminist philosophy tradition. My work always has as its end goal this question: How can my work aid in the empowerment and liberation of those who are marginalized and oppressed?
No. I have written for the LA Times, New Philosopher, Salon, Enterprenuer.com, and other publications. My Op-Eds are where I like to explicitly merge philosophical ideas with contemporary news. I have appeared BET, NPR, and the BBC to offer insights.
In 2015, I created the UnMute Podcast. The purpose of the podcast is to make philosophy accessible and to also provide a platform for people and topics that have not been given much attention in mainstream philosophy. At UnMute, I interview young, brilliant, and diverse philosophers as they give their take on controversial issues, pop culture, and the social and political dramas of our day. We laugh. We learn. We plot revolutions.