assentiment

Assentiment is a neologism used in some philosophical and literary contexts to describe a stance that combines cognitive agreement with emotional endorsement. It refers to the act or attitude of giving assent to a proposition while simultaneously registering a sentiment that supports or critiques it. In this sense, assentiment merges the rational component of assent with the affective dimension of sentiment, indicating that belief formation can involve both logical acceptance and affective alignment.

Etymology and usage: The term blends 'assent' and 'sentiment' and does not have a single established origin; it has appeared sporadically in discussions of moral psychology and deliberative reasoning. It is not widely included in standard dictionaries, and its precise definition varies by author.

In practice, assentiment might be used to describe a decision or judgment that is not only true or correct under analysis but also emotionally resonant or ethically persuasive. For example, a citizen may express assentiment to a policy not merely because of its empirical merits but because it elicits a sense of shared values and responsibility.

Relation to other terms: Assentiment is related to but distinct from assent (explicit agreement) and sentiment (emotional evaluation). It also relates to the broader study of how affect and cognition interact in judgment and decision-making.

Limitations: Given its status as a neologism with limited usage, assentiment should be defined carefully within any text and clarified when introducing it to readers.