The History of Emotions: A Very Short Introduction

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Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring Emotions are complex mental states that resist reduction. They are visceral reactions but also beliefs about the world. They are spontaneous outbursts but also culturally learned performances. They are intimate and private and yet gain their substance and significance only from interpersonal and social frameworks. And just as our emotions in any given moment display this complex structure, so their history is plural rather than singular. The history of emotions is where the history of ideas meets the history of the body, and where the history of subjectivity meets social and cultural history. In this Very Short Introduction, Thomas Dixon traces the historical ancestries of feelings ranging from sorrow, melancholy, rage, and terror to cheerfulness, enthusiasm, sympathy, and love. The picture that emerges is a complex one, showing how the states we group together today as "the emotions" are the product of long and varied historical changes in language, culture, beliefs, and ways of life. The grief-stricken rage of Achilles in the Iliad, the happiness inscribed in America's Declaration of Independence, the love of humanity that fired crusades and revolutions through the ages, and the righteous rage of modern protest movements all look different when seen through this lens. With examples from ancient, medieval, and modern cultures, including forgotten feelings and the creation of modern emotional regimes, this Very Short Introduction sheds new light on our emotions in the present, by looking at what historians can tell us about their past. Dixon explains the key ideas of historians of emotions as they have developed in conversation with psychology and psychiatry, with attention paid especially to ideas about basic emotions, psychological construction, and affect theory. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable. Cover THE HISTORY OF EMOTIONS: A Very Short Introduction Copyright Dedication Contents Preface Acknowledgements List of illustrations Chapter 1: The pulse of the past What is this thing called La Révolution? Where psychology wrestles with history Reading a woman’s tears: London, 1940 Thinking and feeling Why study the history of emotions? Chapter 2: A map of woe A basic emotion? The woefull’st man that ever lived in Rome Black bile The gift of tears The most miserable form of insanity Chapter 3: From passions to emojis Words for feelings Speech acts and verbal communities Before ‘the emotions’ Affects, atmospheres, and aliens Speaking without words Chapter 4: Terror and the pursuit of happiness What was happiness in 1776? The most frantic joy The first terrorists A phobic regime If you just smile Chapter 5: All the rages The pleasures and pains of revenge Deadly sins ‘For jealousy is the rage of a man’ Natural instincts Loaded with information and energy Chapter 6: Looking for love From caritas to climate change A Victorian love story The stuff of romance Consuming passion The mess inside References and further reading Chapter 1: The pulse of the past References Further reading Chapter 2: A map of woe References Further reading Chapter 3: From passions to emojis References Further reading Chapter 4: Terror and the pursuit of happiness References Further reading Chapter 5: All the rages References Further reading Chapter 6: Looking for love References Further reading Index The History of Life: A Very Short Introduction Memory: A Very Short Introduction The Meaning of Life: A Very Short Introduction Risk: A Very Short Introduction Conscience: A Very Short Introduction The History of Medicine: A Very Short Introduction Forensic Psychology: A Very Short Introduction