Lược Sử Của Nhân Loại Về Cảm Xúc

by Richard Firth-Godbehere, Phương Hà (Translator)

Con người chúng ta thích coi bản thân là những sinh vật có lý trí, với tư cách là một loài đã dựa vào những tính toán và trí tuệ để tồn tại. Nhưng nhiều khoảnh khắc quan trọng nhất trong lịch sử của chúng ta ít liên quan đến lý trímà liên quan nhiều hơn đến cảm xúc. Các sự kiện từ nguồn gốc của triết học đến sự ra đời của các tôn giáo lớn trên thế giới, sự sụp đổ của đế chế La Mã, Cách mạng Khoa học và một số cuộc chiến đẫm máu nhất mà nhân loại từng trải qua không thể được hiểu đúng nếu chúng ta không nhận biết và hiểu cảm xúc.

Tác giả tiến sĩ Richard Firth – Godbehere chỉ ra rằng cảm xúc là một khái niệm “mà những người phương Tây nói tiếng Anh đã đặt trong một chiếc hộp cách đây hai trăm năm… cảm xúc là thứ xảy ra trong não được phát minh vào đầu thế kỷ 19.” Những nhà tư tưởng cổ đại đã nói về tính khí, đam mê hoặc tình cảm – những thuật ngữ cổ xưa giờ được thay thế bằng một thuật ngữ chung duy nhất: “cảm xúc”. Các nhà thần học Kitô giáo sau này, dẫn đầu là Thánh Augustinô, đã kết luận rằng bản thân cảm xúc không tốt hay xấu; giá trị của chúng được xác định dựa trên cách chúng được sử dụng. Bất kỳ cảm xúc nào cũng có thể là tội lỗi nếu được sử dụng vì lợi ích cá nhân. Trong thời hiện đại, chúng ta gần như đã loại bỏ ý tưởng phổ biến rằng kiểm soát cảm xúc là dấu hiệu của người văn minh. Ngày nay, thể hiện cảm xúc là điều có thể chấp nhận được và ngay cả những ham muốn vật chất (tức là “sự thèm muốn”) cũng không sao nếu một người thể hiện “khẩu vị tốt”.

Trong từng trang sách Lược sử của nhân loại về cảm xúc, Firth-Godbehere đưa độc giả tham gia vào một hành trình hấp dẫn và sâu rộng về vai trò trung tâm thường bị đánh giá thấp của cảm xúc đã diễn ra trong các hình thái xã hội loài người trên khắp thế giới và xuyên suốt lịch sử – từ Hy Lạp cổ đại đến Gambia, Nhật Bản, Đế chế Ottoman, Đế quốc Anh, và hơn thế nữa. Ông bắt đầu ở Hy Lạp cổ đại với những triết gia nổi tiếng mà các tác phẩm của họ đã định hình bức tranh trí tuệ của châu Âu và kết thúc với khả năng của trí tuệ nhân tạo có cảm xúc. Ở giữa, ông đi từ cơn thịnh nộ của một nữ hoàng châu Phi đến sự sỉ nhục của một Trung Quốc bị tàn phá bởi th-uốc ph-iện, từ nỗi sợ hãi đã thúc đẩy các cuộc săn lùng phù thủy đến niềm tự hào đã thúc đẩy Cuộc đua không gian. Hãy xem cảm xúc luôn chiếm vị trí trung tâm như thế nào trong hành trình này.

Mặc dù được mô tả như một cuốn sách lịch sử, nhưng Lược sử của nhân loại về cảm xúc đi sâu phân tích và trình bày cả những kiến thức trong tâm lý học, khoa học thần kinh, triết học, nghệ thuật, để từ đó minh họa sống động cách hiểu và trải nghiệm cảm xúc của loài người đã thay đổi như thế nào theo thời gian, và niềm tin của chúng ta về cảm xúc. Cho đến khi trang cuối cùng được gấp lại, chúng ta sẽ thấy cách các cảm xúc đã định hình sâu sắc về loài người hiện đại cùng thế giới chúng ta đang sống ra sao.

Nhiều học giả dường như đã đọc và tìm hiểu mọi thứ về chủ đề họ chọn, nhưng hiếm khi tìm được người có thể biến cơ sở dữ liệu khổng lồ này thành một cuốn sách thú vị, hấp dẫn, và dễ tiếp cận. Paul John-son và Yuval Noah Harari đã làm được điều đó; và nay là Firth-Godbehere. Không ngạc nhiên khi cuốn sách này đã được xuất bản bằng hơn 20 ngôn ngữ trên thế giới.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Psychology, Science, Philosophy, Emotion, Audiobook

380 pages, Paperback

First published November 16, 2021

Reviews

[Morgan Blackledge · Rating 5 out of 5]

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT:

The publisher of this book gave me an advanced copy to review (for free). That being said, I liked it so much I bought the Audible version (for cash).

I do not feel that my experience of this book was unduly influenced by the afore mentioned transaction. But I do understand enough about human psychology to know that people are influenced in their opinions by this type of thing without being explicitly aware. Please bare all of this in mind when reading this review.

- Thanks

REVIEW:

This is author researcher Richard Frith-Godbehere’s (a dope as fuck name if ever I have heard one) popularization of recent exciting developments in the interdisciplinary field of (you guessed it) the History of Human Emotions (HoHE)

I have to admit, I was unaware that the study of the HHoE was even a thing.

Although I am a therpaist with doctoral training in psychology, and I have even designed and taught courses on the psychology of emotions, I was unaware of this field of study and very pleasantly surprised at the wealth of super cool insights that are emerging from it.

Richard Frith-Godbehere does a really good job of presenting the theoretical constructs and findings of the field in concise and accessible terms.

Early in the text, Frith-Godbehere offers the following theoretical framework for understanding emotions in a historical context.

Emotional Regime: refers to the implicit and explicit expectations and injunctions of a given culture, subculture, or family system regarding emotional regulation and display.

For instance, in Victorian England it was considered unmanly to express emotions (except for within a very limited range). Men we’re expected to keep a stiff upper lip in the face of hardship and even unspeakable privation and trauma. Keep calm and carry on as it were.

This is an emotional regime.

And we all live in one.

Recall living in Donald Trump’s America, or think about growing up gay or trans in the Midwest if you need more contemporary examples.

Emotional Labor: refers to the amount of energy needed in order to live and work, or simply function in a given emotional regime.

When referring back to the Victorian example, imagine how difficult it was to suppress all those emotions. Or simply recall the last time you visited your Trump supporter family in Ohio with your same sex partner.

This is emotional labor.

Emotional Refuge: refers to other people with whom you can get emotionally real with.

People who are safe.

Your best Judy.

Or your irritabilibuddy (a portmanteau comprised of irritability + buddy, a term of art that I personally coined, referring to a friend that you feel safe grousing with).

Now I hope we all have one of these.

Jackie Leven is my irritabilibuddy.

She’s the GREATEST.

If you don’t have one of these, get one.

A good therapist counts.

Bad ones don’t.

Emotional Community: refers to whole GROUPS of people who you can get emotionally real with.

NOTE: all of these constructs come from the Marxist tradition. Ok, see how he smuggled a little Marxism in there?

Gotcha!!!

Anyway.

Marxist’s asserted that emotional refuge and emotional community could be revolutionary.

Just think about #MeToo, Black Lives Matter, Trans Lives Matter, Queer Pride and Narcotics Anonymous.

All I got to say to that is…

HELL to the YEAH to ALL that.

After dropping all that science, Richard Frith-Godbehere goes deep into the history of emotion.

Beginning with the ancients and progressing to our contemporary world.

Spoiler Alert: the very construct of emotions originates in western (English speaking) culture, and is relatively recent.

Other cultures and other epoch‘s thought about, discussed and experienced their feelings in very different ways than we do now.

That insight alone is worth reading the book for.

But there is so much more for than that awaiting the curious reader.

This one is a real satisfying and fascinating gem of a read.

FIVE STARS

[Ryan Boissonneault · Rating 3 out of 5]

Are emotions innate or culturally constructed? Many psychologists/social scientists choose one side or the other, but a new field of research, known as the history of emotions, views things differently. Historians of emotion (I didn’t know this job existed either) acknowledge that humans share an evolutionary predisposition to experience certain emotions, but that those emotions are interpreted and acted upon differently depending on the culture and historical time period. In answering the question of nature versus nurture, then, the historian of emotion would reply, “both.”

This turns out to be an interesting way to interpret the events, religions, and philosophies of world history. It doesn’t assume that humans are rational or irrational; rather, it presents our history as determined mostly by the complex interplay between emotions and reason, and, more specifically, by the ways we have decided to interpret, control, and leverage our emotions.

To take just a few examples, the philosophies of Buddhism and Stoicism can be said to have arisen primarily (and ironically) out of the desire to curb desire, whereas the fear of God created Islam and the fear and digust for the eccentric behaviors of others launched the witch trials of the early modern period. From the rise of Greek philosophy to the American Revolution and beyond, each historical event can at least be partially explained by how people dealt with an underlying set of emotions.

Of course, it’s not always so simple to isolate a single emotion as being responsible for the rise of an entire religion or philosophical school of thought, and this is where the book will probably face its biggest criticism. For example, one of the chapters is titled “Crusader Love” (yes, you read that correctly). When thinking about the history of the Crusades, love is not the emotion that first comes to mind, but was, for some reason, what the author decided to go with.

The rise of Christianity itself is a similar case in point. If you really wanted to, you could take certain aspects of the religion and its history and attribute its rise to the extension of universal love to all members of humanity. On the other hand, you could just as easily highlight the fear and intolerance for outsiders of the religion that led to Christianity’s more oppressive and violent aspects. History is messy in this way, and the author doesn’t exactly make it clear how his field can disentangle the complex mix of emotions that drive the rise of complicated belief systems and events. You may get the sense that each chapter represents a nice story to tell, but leaves out more than it includes.

If emotions are not universal (or at least not universally experienced and acted on), as the author claims, then is it even possible to comprehend the emotions experienced in another time or culture? And how does this new field of study determine which emotions were most prominent as the cause of an event or religion? Sure, a big part of Stoicism, for example, is the suppression of negative emotions like fear and anxiety. But other aspects of the philosophy might be just as critical to its development, such as its egalitarianism and universal love (which predates Christianity, by the way) or its emphasis on tranquility or happiness. Can we really make the case that it was only or primarily an urge to suppress desire that accounts for the rise and subsequent popularity of Stoicism? It seems like we could write any number of alternative chapters highlighting a different emotion.

Overall, I agree that emotions are not the result of either nature or nurture entirely, and that our history is largely driven by how we’ve chosen to rationally modify them. But the reader should also be aware that disentangling these emotions and their associated responses is no easy task. The author’s presentation of each emotion as responsible for historical events is necessarily subjective and selective, and, as such, can only lead to partial explanations.

[Daniela Lupsanu · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was SO GOOD! It did peek my interest from the title alone, but it offers such a fresh perspective, without necessarily nudging the reader one way or the other. It just gives you all the information about how emotions have been regarded throughout time and societies so that you make up your own ideas about how and why our current views and understanding may be limited. It’s filled with historical, religious and philosophical insights, which only adds up to how well rounded I found the entire experience.

[Brian Griffith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a chatty, rambling tour of concepts about emotion over the course of centuries and around much of the world. Actually, Firth-Godbehere is a digustologist, specializing in the study of what different people find revolting, and why. This specialization gives him a basis for comparing numerous “emotional regimes.” Much of the book is quite philosophical, but there’s action in exploring how emotions have changed over time. For example, medieval Christian aversion to desire and pleasure as sinful things tended to shift toward a Renaissance-age appreciation for “good taste” in choosing life’s finer things. To me, the book got quite interesting toward the end, where the author turns to examine modern-age efforts to shape sentiments for political or commercial ends. Then there’s efforts to sense and mimic emotion through AI, all of which prove to be culture-specific, and so far, hopelessly simplistic.

[Zygintas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pirmas sakinys: Mano katė dažnai pyksta.

Pagrindinė knygos mintis – emocijos nėra universalios.

Pagrindinis tikslas – pristatyti sąlyginai naują mokslo šaką (pošakę?) – emocijų istoriją: teorijas ir idėjas.

Didžioji knygos dalis parašyta paprastai, suprantamai, lengva pasidaryti santrauką:
• Senovės Graikija. Platonas (teoretikas): pathe yra mūsų sielos sutrikdymas, išorinių įvykių ar pojūčių sukelti raibuliai, išmušantys žmogų iš pusiausvyros ir sutrikdantys ramybę (20 p.). Dievo siela arba grynasis protas, kurio negali paveikti pathe, yra logos. Norint būti išties dorybingam, reikia siekti tokio gėrio, kuris kyla iš logoso, ir nepasiduoti pathe (ją kontroliuoti). Aristotelis (praktikas): emocijomis galima manipuliuoti ir geras oratorius tą privalo daryti. Suskirstė pathe į sąrašą, kad būtų galima jas naudoti retorikoje.
• Senovės Indija ir troškimų religijos: hinduizmas (turite eiti savo keliu, nepaisydami to, kaip dėl to jaučiatės. Kad tai padarytume, reikia atsižadėti visų jo teikiamų skausmų ir malonumų) ir budizmas (troškimas netrokšti).
• Krikščionybė ir Šv. Pauliaus aistros: "Viena vertus, buvo senovės hebrajų idėja, jog reikia stengtis nenusidėti, kad Dievas tavimi nepasibjaurėtų, o jeigu vis dėlto nusidedi, jeigu tiki, už tavo prasižengimą gali būti atleista, jei priimsi kraujo auką Jahvei. <...> Kita vertus, Paulius rėmėsi stoikų idėja, kad laimę galima pasiekti tik susitelkus į tai, kas išties dorybinga – šiuo atveju, norint, arba net trokštant, kad mūsų nuodėmės būtų atleistos." (83 p.)
• Kryžiuočių meilė ir Šv. Augustinas: jausmai nėra nei blogi, nei geri – Dievo paieškos yra emocinės, skatinamos tinkamos meilės. Meilė – tai vartai į tiesą, t. y. Dievo malonę. Problema ta, kad meilė taikoma tik krikščioniams, o karas gali būti "baudimo aktas, panašiai kaip netinkamai besielgiančio vaiko sudrausminimas." (102 p.)
• Osmanų imperija ir teigiama baimė: "nesielgti taip, kaip turi elgtis musulmonas, reiškia prarasti arba galbūt paprasčiausiai niekada negauti Alacho meilės ir malonės." (117 p.), t. y. neįžeisti Alacho.
• Raganų medžioklė, Tomas Akvinietis ir pasibjaurėjimo jausmas: "Žmonės jautė pasibjaurėjimą moterimis (ir vyrais), kurias manė esant raganomis (ar raganiais),o baimė buvo begalinis klaikas, nuolat persekiojęs to laiko europiečius." (132 p.)
• John'as Locke'as ir prigimtinės teisės (gyvybė, laisvė ir nuosavybė): materialūs troškimai yra priimtini, jeigu turi gerą skonį (grožis yra gėris, blogis yra bjaurus). Didžiausia prabanga yra laisvė, o laisvę (ir laimę) suteikia turtas.
• Japonija ir gėdos kultūra: skirtingai nuo Vakarų kultūros, kurioje žmonės jaučia kaltę dėl to, ką padarė, ir nerimauja dėl asmeninių bausmių, Japonijoje bijoma tapti visuomenės atstumtaisiais, užtraukti nešlovę aplinkiniams.
• Afrika ir tikėjimas, kad "kūnas ir siela yra tokie artimi, kad jų negalima atskirti." (209 p.), o mirus siela reinkarnuojasi per giminės liniją. Todėl pyktis, kuris nepageidautina emocija, nuodijanti žmogų, yra nukreipiama į kitus – išorinę grupę, suformuojant stereotipus. O stereotipai yra šališki, "nes savo grupėje esame linkę atleisti ar net ignoruoti tai, ką kitu atveju vertintume kaip rimtą pažeidimą." (218 p.)
• Pirmasis pasaulinis karas, kontūzijos ir potrauminio streso sindromas – iki tol buvusi moteriška emocija nukelia vyrus nuo pjedestalo.
• Kinija ir žaidimas žeminimo bei pažemintojo emocijomis.
• JAV vs. sovietai: meilė motinai (individualus auklėjimas) vs. meilė tėvynei (t. y. pilietinė pareiga mylėti valstybę ir būti patenkintam) (auklėjimas kolektyve).

Knygą įdomu skaityti, pasižiūrėti į istoriją iš emocijų pusės, tačiau skepsio lieka – trūksta bendros teorijos, bendro vaizdo (yra atskiros detalės, iš esmės tai, ką išvardinau aukščiau), kai kurie teiginiai kelia abejonių (pavyzdžiui, kad Kolumbas suprato, kad jis atrado naują žemyną (133 p.), todėl pradedi abejoti ir kitais).

Ir klausimas, ar tikrai istorijoje nepakankamai įvertintas emocijų vaidmuo, išlieka.

[Олександра Борсук · Rating 4 out of 5]

Треба буде запам'ятати ім'я цього науковця. Дуже вкатив. Як з точки зору професійності, так і подачі: прийнятний рівень русофобії, профеміністичні погляди, почуття гумору та дрібка іронії

Я очікувала більше історичних фактів, а тут ~50% – це розбір давньогрецької філософії та релігій різних куточків світу. Але шо ж поробиш як саме релігії до ХХ століття контролювали емоційні режими людей поки це на себе не перейняли політики

Окреме ❤️ за те, що він підтримує концепції емоцій моєї улюбленої нейробіологині Лізи Барретт (у нас її видає КСД 😒)

Зняла ⭐️ саме за наше видання. Дратувала полівановщина, а японських слів було досить багато. Також вкурвило, що перекладались всі іншомовні терміни і цитати, окрім російських. Скіки можна оцього "і так поймут" 🤬

Точно слідкуватиму далі за працями цього автора 🔝🔝🔝

[Lidya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a combination of philosophy, history, science and every other genre under the sun and I was so down for it. There was so much interesting, engaging information given to me and I think what made the experience enjoyable was that I didn't see any of it coming. I'm not sure what sort of expectations I had for it, but beginning at the time of Christ to then discussing Judaism, St. Paul, St. Augustine, the Crusades, Islam, Buddhism, Japan and AI was not what I was anticipating. While it may seem that all of these things are too much to fit comfortably in the book, I would say that they were done with taste and elegance. Holistic perspectives were given on all the topics and I was actually dreading the book ending because I wanted to learn more about how our understanding of emotion had evolved over time. It helped to broaden my understanding that while there are some emotions (and also the fact that idea and term emotions is a recent phenomenon) that are universal, many of them are not, and furthermore, many of them are expressed in vastly different ways. I highly, highly recommend this book if you're interested in taking a little trip down emotion's history lane.

[Rohit Kumar · Rating 4 out of 5]

One piece of wrong info in the book, alexander did not just turned back and went home because he and his army was tired and homesick. He was defeated in india and wounded in battle because of which he died later.
Later on a lot of his generals tried invading and one of them (seleucus) made as far as east india and there he was defeated by chandandragupt maurya who seleucus married his daughter with, for peace and business treaty. And a lot of greeks settled in east india too. We still have some of that lineage around here

[Donatas · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didelis nusivylimas. Bet gražus viršelis.

[Tiana Ferenčić · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ovo nije knjiga za razbibrigu, već ona koja će vas zaintrigirati, natjerati na razmišljanje, naučiti nešto novo i otkriti kako su se emocije razvijale od starih Grka do Indijaca preko religija i Osmanlija sve do odlaska na Mjesec i pojave umjetne inteligencije.

[Despina Frantzi♡ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Καταλαβαίνω ότι θα είχε ιστορία το βιβλίο, αλλά προσωπικά με κούρασαν αρκετά οι τόσες λεπτομέρειες.

[Franco Bernasconi · Rating 4 out of 5]

En general estaba bueno el libro. Me gusta tiene una perspectiva bien interdisciplinaria: une historia, psicología, filosofía y antropología para abordar las emociones. Se nota que el autor está relativamente bien actualizado respecto a las investigaciones en el tema, además. Por tanto, creo que es un libro muy valorable y en el que, sin duda, aprendí cosas nuevas. Lo que no me gustó tanto es que a ratos sentí que el libro iba muy lento, que se daba demasiadas vueltas y contaba demasiadas historias para terminar diciendo uno o dos puntos importantes. Eso hace la lectura más liviana, es cierto, pero el precio es hacer el libro más largo de lo que podría ser.

Punto aparte es el capítulo en el que se trata a Hobbes; ahí no estoy muy de acuerdo con lo que plantea. Según este autor, la raíz de los conflictos para Hobbes es algo así como que en temas inciertos llegamos a posturas dogmáticas basadas en la emoción y en el placer, de modo que discutimos y hasta peleamos físicamente. No obstante, en mi limitada lectura de Hobbes, lo que he visto es que, si bien tiene todo un rollo con las emociones, lo que plantea respecto las peleas otra cosa: la igualdad nos lleva a desear los mismos recursos, que son escasos, y de ahí nace la desconfianza. Luchamos como mecanismo de defensa, para ganarle algo a otro y/o por gloria, y ahí surge la guerra de todos contra todos. Claramente no es la misma postura.

[Lana · Rating 3 out of 5]

La idea de enfocar la historia de la humanidad desde el punto de vista de las emociones me ha parecido novedosa y muy interesante. He aprendido con esta lectura acerca de diversos temas y épocas, y aunque me habrían faltado otros momentos históricos para hacerlo todo más completo, es evidente que era imposible abarcarlo todo en un libro de este grosor. También debo decir que he apreciado mucho que no se centrara en la historia de Occidente exclusivamente y presentara la realidad de diversas poblaciones.
Lo que no me ha convencido nada es cómo el autor salta de unas ideas a otras de formas (diría yo) un tanto bruscas, dejándote con historias a medio contar para introducir otras y luego retomar las primeras (una práctica frecuente de este libro es iniciar un "relato" sobre una época, interrumpirlo para aportar la definición o visión actual de la emoción o el asunto en cuestión, retroceder hasta algo anterior a la época primera y ya luego seguir con esa historia). Personalmente, me habría gustando más una cierta linealidad en esas narraciones. Además, al tratar cada capítulo un momento diferente me ha parecido inevitable encontrar algunos más interesantes que otros y alternar períodos de leer mucho y muy rápido con verdaderos estancamientos.
Ahora la verdad es que me apetece pasarme a la ficción.

[Ihor Kolesnyk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Автор має значну підготовку у темі історії емоцій. Це помітно по тому, як він намагається впакувати у невелику книгу величезні історичні періоди і культурні ареали, але зробити це так, щоби звідти потрапили до уваги лише одна-дві історії. Це ті історії, які мали би щось підтвердити, якусь його вихідну гіпотезу. Однак цієї гіпотези немає у книзі, ані певних позицій - лише історії, які виглядають дещо відірвано, фрагментарно і враження формують відповідні. Повага за те, що він вийшов із Заходу, побував у Азії, Африці, трохи навіть розкритикував існуючі теорії емоцій (передаю привіт фанатам Екмана, Гоулмена й емоційного інтелекта). Ще він трохи вводить в обіг інформаційні технології та емоційну "машину", але мені бракує ось тут 1) чіткості його підходу; 2) вихідних питання, на які він дає відповідь - бо відповідь "з емоціями усе не так однозначно" звучить дуже смішно; 3) таки глибшого аналізу різних культурних контекстів, живих прикладів, а не "глобальних уявлень" про Китай, Африку, Японію чи ще когось. Тут недостатньо взяти лише один кейс і ним підтвердити усі стереотипи щодо культури; 4) і певно найважливіше - термінологія у цій темі дуже плаває, не співвідноситься із українськими тлумаченнями, а з англійської переклади не завжди вдалі. Швидш за все senses, emotions, and feelings подекуди грають роль одне одного.

Якщо відставити мою вимогливість до цієї теми і автора убік, то загалом книга є доброю для багатьох наших читачів, які розширять із нею уявлення про історію емоцій, почуттів.

[S.M.Y Kayseri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sejarah bukanlah sebuah bidang ilmu asali (first-degree), contohnya seperti fizik, biologi dan kimia. Ia memerlukan operator untuk menggerakkan dan membina premis-premisnya, berbanding dengan hukum-hukum alam yang tentunya ada walaupun tiada manusia yang memerhatikannya (Bezanya adalah jika dalam keadannya yang sejadi, ia tidaklah diberi bentuk melalui rumus dan notasi).

Keduanya, setiap perkara di dalam realiti luar, walaupun secebis habuk, boleh dikaji melalui ilmu-ilmu asali. Manakala, bagi pengalaman manusia pula, tidak diberi kepentingan sebegitu melainkan kita bertujuan untuk memberikannya kepentingan. Contohnya, pengalaman makan di kedai itu secara lazimnya tidak diberi sebarang perhatian, sehinggalah kita ternampak seorang lelaki disimbah air oleh isteri (atau kekasihnya).

Maka, ilmu sejarah merupakan sebuah ilmu terbitan daripada pengalaman manusia yang diberi kepentingan tertentu oleh pengkajinya. Ilmu-ilmu asali tidak berkaitan tentang sesuatu, kerana kesemuanya tertakluk di bawahnya, manakala, ilmu sejarah pula berkaitan dengan sesuatu, yakni yang diberi perhatian.

Jadi, kita boleh katakan wujud sejarah sesuatu bangsa, wangsa, negara, dan juga perkara-perkara lain seperti tabiat pemakanan, budaya dan sebagainya kerana ada pengkaji yang menyaring pengalaman-pengalaman penting dan diletakkan di bawah sebuah naratif. Sejarah menukarkan pengalaman asali di realiti luar kepada suatu naratif, di bawah telunjuk pengkajinya.

Apabila buku ini membicarakan tentang “sejarah emosi”, maka apa yang ingin disampaikan adalah bagaimana emosi-emosi yang bersifat asali diberikan pengertian khusus buat sesetengah bangsa, budaya atau ketamadunan.

Berdasarkan pengalaman-pengalaman tertentu sesuatu komuniti itu, akan lahirlah suatu pengkhususan ke atas sesetengah emosi, yang digalakkan dan diwariskan kepada unit-unit di dalamnya. Dan inilah yang disebutkan sebagai “emotional regime”. Kita dapat perhatikan dua buah keluarga mempunyai respon yang berbeza apabila menerima berita baik/buruk yang sama. Apabila rejim ini diperluaskan, maka akan terbentuklah “emotional communities” di mana bangsa/negara itu berkongsi profil emosi yang sama.

Apa yang membezakan sesebuah “emotional communities” dan “emotional regimes” dengan yang lain, jikalau semua manusia mempunyai jenis emosi yang sama? Jawapannya terletak kepada pengkhususan pengalaman yang berbeza dialami oleh sesebuah komuniti itulah yang membezakan pengutamaan emosi dalam sesebuah komuniti.

Dalam sebuah komuniti yang semangat kerjasama antara ahlinya merupakan soal hidup dan mati, seperti tamadun awal China yang bertapak di tepian sungai yang berpotensi banjir besar, atau di Jepun yang mempunyai sumber terhad dan bencana alam semula jadi yang kerap; emosi yang menggalakkan semangat kerjasama diberi keutamaan, manakala manusia yang terlampau beremosi akan ditegur malahan ditolak.

Maka buku ini menyelusuri sejarah beberapa tamadun besar di dunia dan mengkaji tentang dinamik antara rejim-rejim emosi yang diamalkan. Disebabkan tebal buku yang terhad, tampak seperti agak reduktif pendekatan penulis terhadap beberapa tamadun, contohnya tamadun Islam dikaitkan dengan rejim emosi ketakutan (khawf) walaupun hakikatnya khawf mempunyai rona yang lebih mendalam daripada sekadar ketakutan yang menuntut pematuhan buta. Tetapi, penulis tetap mencuba untuk memberikan penghuraian yang adil dalam setiap tamadun yang ditampilkan.

Konsep yang menarik selain daripada dinamik rejim di atas adalah berkenaan emosi asali dan terbitan (first degree and second degree). Kesemua tamadun mengakui kewujudan kehendak asali seperti ketamakan, keghairahan, kemarahan dan sebagainya, di mana salah satunya akan menjadi emosi utama dalam sesebuah tamadun. Akan wujud emosi terbitan untuk mengawal atau memberi bentuk yang lebih baik terhadap emosi terbitan tersebut.

Contohnya, agama Buddha mengakui bahawa dunia merupakan sebuah ilusi, atau maya, maka emosi terbitan ke atas emosi sayu ini adalah kehendak untuk tidak berkehendak kepada dunia (the desire to not desire). Agama Yahudi yang sejarahnya dalam Injil Lama penuh dengan kemarahan dan azab yang diturunkan oleh Tuhan yang begitu cemburu, membentuk emosi terbitan yang begitu obses dalam menjaga kesucian supaya tidak menimbulkan kemarahan Tuhan. Bangsa Rom yang begitu besar daya ketamakannya dalam menakluk dunia, menerbitkan falsafah Stoicism yang mencuba untuk menjinakkan daya ini, malahan menukarkannya menjadi sebuah emosi yang lebih baik dan diterima.

Buku ini menunjukkan bahawa sejarah bukan bersifat relatif, i.e. setiap bangsa mempunyai interpretasi terhadap emosi yang berbeza. Jikalau ini benar, mustahillah sesebuah emosi itu menjadi sebuah rejim dan membentuk “emotional communities” kerana setiap orang menafsirkan emosi itu secara subjektif. Sejarah adalah bersifat relasional, di mana sesebuah bangsa itu memahami sesebuah emosi itu sepertimana bangsa yang lain, tetapi dengan penekanan dan pengkhususan yang berbeza. Contohnya, A dan B yang sedang berdiri di pelabuhan nampak kapal
yang satu. Tetapi kapal pada A nampak kecil berbanding dengan B kerana A duduknya lebih jauh daripada B. Ini yang dimaksudkan sebagai fungsi relasional; kedua-duanya menggunakan hukum yang sama dan benar, tetapi outputnya berbeza kerana “syarat” yang berbeza.

Implikasi penting dalam memahami fungsi relasional di sebalik unsur-unsur abstrak seperti emosi ini adalah, jika sesebuah komuniti itu mengalami syarat yang sama, maka emosi yang dibangkitkan juga akan menjadi sama, maka akan berpotensi memupuk perpaduan. Dan jika wujud media di dalam sesebuah komuniti yang memainkan rona emosi yang berbeza, akan memecahkan keseragaman emosi dan akan mengakibatkan perpecahan.

Perpaduan mesti dipupuk dalam segenap peringkat, bermula daripada aspek emosi hinggalah ke peringkat ideologi. Ataupun, lebih tepat lagi, mustahil sesebuah komuniti itu meraih perpaduan ideologi yang sama jikalau tidak mempunyai keseragaman emosi yang terlebih dahulu. Emosi merupakan sebuah daya impetus yang begitu mendesak; ia akan menolak keseluruhan komuniti itu kepada satu arah dengan bersepadu. Tugas pemikir dan negarawan adalah membina kompleks untuk merumahkan komuniti tersebut setelah daya emosi menjadi susut.

Rakyat Amerika mengamalkan dasar isolasi dengan begitu tegas sekali, sehinggalah kejadian serangan di Pearl Harbor menyalakan emosi menuntut keadilan yang begitu tinggi. Melalui percaturan pemimpin ketika zaman itu, dan seterusnya diteruskan oleh pemikir strategi, rakyat Amerika berterusan berpadu dalam kepercayaan bahawa merekalah “polis dunia” sehinggalah mereka melerai apabila sebuah kejadian dunia mengundang emosi yang berbeza.

________

History does not belong as a discipline founded first-order to external reality, such as physics, biology or chemistry. History requires an operator to establish and build its premises, while on the other hand, first-degree discipline yield natural laws which would always exist even without any humans investigating them. The only difference would be that they would exist in its natural form, unframed by manmade formulas and notations.

Secondly, everything in the external world, even the smallest dust, is subject to the natural laws. While, the experiences of man is not innately given such importance, except when we decide to bestow them with it. For an example, the usual daily trip to the restaurant would not be given any special attention, until a guy was splashed water by his wife (or by his lover, perhaps).

And thus, history is a derivative (or second-order) discipline which arises from specific human experiences that are given some degree of importance. First-order disciplines do not have any specific objects, as all objects are subjected under them. Second-order disciplines, such as history, on the other hand is about specific objects, i.e distinct experiences given importance by its operators.

We can say that there are histories about people, noble houses, nations and also about other things such as culinary habits, culture and so on, because there are operators which funnelled the entire breadth of experiences through a set of narration. History transforms mundane experiences in external reality into a narration, done by its operators.

When this book discussed on “history of emotions”, what it is really about is on how emotions which are universally experienced by all people is given distinct importance by certain people, cultures or civilisations.

Based on distinct experiences occurred to a community, certain processes of distinction on certain emotions would be given birth, which would be enforced and inherited to subsequent units in the community. This is called as “emotional regimes”. We can see that two families would have completely different emotional responses when received the same good/bad news. When a specific regime is enforced more widely, it would become an “emotional community” where all of the units within the people or country shared the same emotional profile.

What differentiates between one emotional regime/community with the other, if everyone shared the same breadth of emotions? The answer lies in the different experiences occurring in a community which gives certain emotions a priority.

In a community where cooperation among its members is a matter of life and death, like the early Chinese and Japanese civilizations, emotions which promotes the formation of cooperation will be encouraged, while the opposite would be repressed and eventually suppressed.

This book walks through the history of several civilizations and studies the dynamics between the cultivated emotional regimes. Due to the limited pages, it might seem quite reductive at times. For an example, the Islamic civilization is related to the emotional regimes of fear (khawf), while in reality the term itself possessed a myriad of deeper meanings aside from blind fear. Nevertheless, we can appreciate the attempt by the author to remain impartial in discussion.

Another interesting concept from the book is about first and second-order desires. All civilizations affirm the existence of primary desires such as greed, lust, anger and so on, where one or two of them would be given preference in a civilization based on their historical experiences. To control the primary desires, a second-order desire is enforced.

For an example, among Buddhist communities who believes the illusory nature of the world (maya), a second degree desire would be: a desire to not desire. The Jews, who experienced the wrath of a vengeful God throughout the Old Testament, developed a second-degree emotion bordering on obsession, focusing on strict rituals to avoid inciting the ire of God. The Romans, who certainly had a vicious appetite in conquest, developed Stoicism to tame this appetite, to a point attempting to convert it to a better form.

This book shows that history is not relative in nature i.e. each people has its own subjective interpretations on different primary emotions. If that’s the case, then it’s impossible to form “emotional communities” which crosses racial or cultural fault lines. Rather, history is a relational disciplines, whereby each people understands the emotions the same with other people, but with different distinctions. For an example, A and B who stood at the same port behold the same ship but with different sizes. This is not due to them seeing two different ships (and thus subjective, depending on the operator), but rather how A or B perceive the ship depends on their positions in relation to the ship. Both of them use the same laws; the different outputs yielded by the different conditions each faced.

The important implication in understanding the relational function behind abstract elements such as emotion is this: if a community experiences the same conditions, then the emotions aroused will also be the same, thus fostering unity. Conversely, if within a community there exists media that cultivate differing emotional tones, the uniformity of emotion will be fractured, resulting in division.

Unity must be cultivated at every level — beginning from the emotional aspect up to the level of ideology. Or, more precisely, it is impossible for a community to achieve ideological unity if emotional uniformity has not first been established. Emotion is a driving force of immense urgency; it propels an entire community toward a single, cohesive direction. The duty of thinkers and statesmen is to build the structures that can house the community once that emotional momentum begins to wane.

The American people once practiced a strict policy of isolation, until the attack on Pearl Harbor ignited a powerful emotion of justice-seeking. Through the strategic maneuvers of leaders of that era — and later, through the continuity of strategic thinkers — the American people remained united in the conviction that they were the “police of the world,” until this unity dissolved when another world event stirred a different collective emotion.

[Ellen]

I was sent a complimentary copy of this book by Hachette Books. Thank you...it looks fascinating and I look forward to reading it!

[Sarah M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this one!
Not exactly what I was expecting for some reason but I learned a fair bit and gained some new perspectives! Need to make a list of some topics covered that I wanna do some more research on!

[Maher Razouk · Rating 5 out of 5]

بدأت كلمة «التذوق» في الظهور بشكل منتظم ومتزايد في أوروبا في أوائل القرن السادس عشر ، في الوقت الذي بدأ فيه عدد العناصر الفاخرة التي تدخل القارة في الارتفاع. من الواضح أن الناس كانوا يعرفون ماهية التذوق ؛ إذا عدنا إلى صديقنا القديم أرسطو ، نكتشف أن التذوق كان يعتبر من الحواس الدنيا. يعني ذلك ، إلى جانب اللمس والشم : لمس شيء ما في الطبيعة بقليل من الجسد. كان البصر والسمع أفضل بالنسبة لأرسطو : حواس أعلى. ضع في اعتبارك أن أرسطو ، على الرغم من تألقه ، لم يكن لديه أول دليل عن الإشعاع الكهرومغناطيسي أو الموجات الصوتية. نحن نعلم الآن أن إدراك اللون يحدث عندما تقوم أدمغتنا بفك تشفير الضوء المنعكس عن كائن ما ، بعد أن يدخل - ذلك الضوء - أعيننا. لكن أرسطو اعتقد أن اللون جزء من الكائن - شيء بداخله. لقد اعتبر أن ذلك يعني بأن الأصوات والمشاهد تذهب مباشرة إلى الروح دون لمس أي شيء. بعد كل شيء ، لا يضطر معظم الناس إلى لصق شيء ما في أعينهم لرؤيته أو في آذانهم لسماعه. لكن التذوق يعني لمس شيء بلسانك ، أي وضعه في أحد فتحات جسدك (الفم) ، ونحن البشر نميل إلى الشعور بالحساسية قليلاً عندما يتعلق الأمر بثقوبنا.
.
Richard Firth-Godbehere
A Human History Of Emotions
Translated By #Maher_Razouk

[Wes · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was an interesting book. It wasn't quite what I thought it was going to be, but it covered some worthwhile material. It isn't really a history of emotions; more like a survey of world history and how emotions played a role in big events. But then there is a fair bit of history of the development of psychology and emotions research. Then there is some garbage tossed in the end about post-modernism and constructionist ideas. Overall the book leans a bit left. I wish it would have focused more specifically on the actual history of emotions. I'm sure I didn't catch everything on the first pass, so this is going in my stack of books to read again.

[Joseph DiRe · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book to be more about a compiled list of random historical events rather than the exploration and development of human emotions. There didt seemed to be an overarching theme aside to prove the point that each culture interprets emotions differently(obviously) and does a poor job at that.

I feel like a good book explores an overarching thought and slowly brings the reader into the same realization through each chapter. This did not happen. Felt as if there were much better ways to discuss this topic; the balance between historical context and psychological refrences was also lacking. Little to no psychology behind emotions, and too much political references.

[knygugriauzike_gabriele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Richardas Firthas-Godbehere'as skaitytojus kviečia susipažinti su labai svarbiu, bet neretai nepakankamai įvertintu emocijų vaidmeniu pasaulio istorijoje. Nuo Senovės Graikijos iki Gambijos, Japonijos ir Osmanų imperijos, Jungtinių Amerikos Valstijų iškilimo ir dirbtinio intelekto bei dar plačiau – emocijoms tenka didžiulė reikšmė viso pasaulio žmonių visuomenėse ir perioduose. Rašytojas, keliaudamas po įvairius istorinius laikotarpius, parodo, kokios galingos yra emocijos ir kaip jos kūrė pasaulį, kuriame gyvename šiandien.

Apie ką susimąstote išgirdę žodį „emocijos“? Leiskite, pamėginsiu atspėti: apie standartiškai ir vienodai pateikiamus jausmų, kurie nei vieno kasdienybės neaplenkia, apibūdinimus, apie kardinaliai skirtingas nuotaikas, pasirinktinai užklumpančias, atsižvelgiant į tai, kaip tam tikru momentu sekasi, apie psichologinį procesą, vykstantį mūsų smegenyse. Vis dėlto, emocijos - kur kas daugia, o prieveiksmį „standartiškai“ pavartojau ne be reikalo, kadangi šioje knygoje, gilinamasi į tų pačių emocijų skirtingą suvokimą ir interpretavimą: tiek tautose, tiek individualiame žmogaus gyvenime.

Pereikime prie pastarųjų dalykų interpretacijos. Apie ką pagalvojate išgirdę žodžių junginį „emocijų istorija“? Galbūt apie jų visų ir paties „emocijos“ termino atsiradimą pasaulio žodynuose bei vartojimo pradžią? Galbūt apie emocijų evoliuciją? Gal netgi apie jų vaidmenį istorijoje? Bet kuriuo atveju - jūsų mintys yra nukreiptos teisinga linkme. Skaitydami šią knygą, susipažinsite, kaip pasaulio raidoje atsirado viena ar kita emocija, kokia buvo jų įtaka tam tikrų žmonių sprendimų priėmimui, kaip jos nulėmė, kad pasaulis šiandien yra toks, koks yra, o ne kitoks. Juk niekas negali žinoti, kas būtų buvę, jei tuo momentu žmonių širdis ir protus būtų apėmusios kitokios emocijos.

Kokios emocijos nulėmė vienus didžiausių pasaulio mūšių/karų, vykusius net prieš tūkstančius metų? Kokios emocijos įtakojo viduramžiais vykdytą raganų medžioklę? Kaip paaiškėja eigoje, tai net glaudžiai susiję su iki šiol stereotipų lydima moterų lytimi... Kokias emocijas žmonėms, ypač vyrams, buvusiems fronte, sukėlė I Pasaulinis karas? Ir kokiu keliu įvairios emocijos mus veda dabar, XXI a., kai nei vienas iš mūsų neįsivaizduojame gyvenimo be išmaniųjų technologijų? Atsakymus į visus šiuos ir dar daugybę kitų klausimų rasite knygoje. Knygoje, nugulsiančioje į sąrašą tų, kurias verta skaityti dar kartą. Ir dar kartą. Verta, nes kaskart galima atrasti kažką naujo.

Kūriniui, kurio turinys ne iš lengvųjų, skaitymo malonumui didelę įtaką daro rašymo stilius, autoriaus gebėjimas „prieiti“ prie kiekvieno skaitytojo, mokėjimas informaciją pateikti taip, kad ne tik būtų suprantama ar sudomintų, bet ir paliestų, įkvėptų bei sužadintų tam tikrą pasąmonės vietą. R. Firth-Godbehere sarkastiškas, ironijos ir pašaipių, o kartais net juokingų replikų nevengiantis rašytojas. Jo subtilūs ir taktiški komentarai neabejotinai suteikia šiam kūriniui naujų spalvų. Pats rašymo stilius taip pat toks, kad neįspraudžia skaitymo į kampą ir nekankina „sausu“ tekstu, o leidžia panirti į malonų ir platų kaip vandenynas pažinimo džiaugsmą.

Būdama istorinių knygų gerbėja, kuriai prie širdies ir psichologinės knygos, mėgavausi kiekvienu šio kūrinio puslapio, net ir kebliais, sudėtingais terminais, sakiniais ar po storu filosofiniu sluoksniu paslėpta jų reikšme. Regis, dauguma įvykių/procesų/asmenybių girdėti (ir ne tik) jau iš anksčiau (pavyzdžiui, iš istorijos pamokų), tačiau rašytojas R. Firth-Godbehere, pagrindinį dėmesį telkdamas ne kam kitam, o emocijoms, tuos pačius dalykus pateikia kitu kampu ir leidžia pačiam skaitytojui juos atrasti per kitą suvokimo prizmę (per emocijų prizmę). Tai nėra lengvo turinio knyga, kurią būtų itin paprasta perskaityti, pavyzdžiui, vienu prisėdimu. Jei taip padarytume, greičiausiai, nė pusės tikrosios joje esančios prasmės liktume nesupratę. Tačiau tiems skaitytojams, kurie vertina ne paviršutiniškumą ir greitį, o gilią ir lėtą analizę - šis kūrinys prilygs brangiam perlui, kuris savo vertės nepraranda nuo dėvėjimo (knygos atveju - nuo perskaitymo).

„Emocijų istorija“ - istoriniais faktais pagrįsta, pusiau mokslinė knyga apie tai, kas iš tiesų yra emocijos ir kuo jos svarbios kiekvieno iš mūsų gyvenime, kaip jos, užgimusios mūsų viduje, nejučia formuoja išorinį pasaulį, jo istoriją ir raidą. Skaitydamas šią knygą, mano nuomone, kiekvienas skaitytojas ne tik sužinos tai, ko anksčiau nežinojo, bet ir suvoks, kad „emocija“ neturi vienos standartinės išraiškos (čia - ne matematikos ar fizikos formulė), kurią būtų galima taikyti visiems pasaulio gyventojams iš eilės. Galiu garantuoti, kad, perskaitę šią knygą, daugelis skaitytojų istorinius faktus pradės interpretuoti kitaip, nei tą darė iki šiol, o ir asmeniniame gyvenime ras, ką būtų galima pakeisti, suvokiant bei geriau pažįstant savo emocijas.

Rekomenduoju istorinių knygų gerbėjams, kuriems nemažiau įdomu į mylimą sritį (istoriją) pažvelgti kitaip, negu įprasta - be perteklinių datų, asmenybių tarpusavio sąsajų, įvykių, perversmų, žemėlapių, o paprasčiausiai nagrinėjant ir analizuojant emocijas, jų svarbą bei skvarbą. Siūlau, jeigu kartais pagalvojate, kad pavargote nuo aplinkinių emocijų, kurios jus veikia ne taip kaip norėtumėte, pertekliaus, kadangi ši knyga padės suvokti, jog tai, ką būdamas tokioje aplinkoje jaučiate jūs, nebūtina sutampa su tuo, ką patiria ir kaip savo emocinį lauką suvokia jie. Rekomenduoju, jeigu ieškote knygos, kuri padėtų geriau suvokti tiek pasaulinės istorijos įvykius, tiek pačius save, savitą emocinę būklę bei jos įtaką kasdieniams sprendimams.

5/5⭐

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Firth-Godbehere offers a good thesis. Emotions and feelings are not one and the same. We feel the heat of the sun, the freezing jolt of icy water, trickles of sweat, pangs of hunger - the sensation of touch, a smooth surface. Emnity, jealousy, hope, joy and fear - a constructed separation. Emotions, a box with poorly defined edges.

Emotional regimes - the smiling airline steward in the first-class compartment - patience in the face of any rudeness. I'm reminded of Ishoguro's depiction of this in Remains of the Day, where the butler's father is on his deathbed but the man remains serving the gentlemen at table and asks the doctor to see to the gouty feet of one of the wealthy guests, after his father is dead. His conception of the regime roots him to the spot when he might be there for those moments.

Emotional labour. Firth-Godbehere uses the example of the person (usually a woman) in a household, expected to perform emotion-related tasks, sending birthday cards and keeping the house clean to impress visiting neighbours. Emotional labour as the need to 'induce or suppress feelings to sustain the outward countenance that produces the proper state of mind in others.' I like this because it shows the WHY of emotional labour, it is to sooth someone else. To be marxist, it's an extractive system. 'To go back to our airline steward, the emotional labour is the effort it takes to keep smiling, even though deep down inside he wants to scream at the customer'.

I did enjoy the more scientific ideas he put forward - you often read that Emotions History is interdisciplinary but we don't always see this happen. A bit like my university saying it aims not to be Eurocentric. I mean like, 'The reward parts of the brain light up like a Christmas tree in an fMRI when people see pictures of individuals they’re attracted to.’ The idea of love as the brain being on crack is a funny counterbalance.

His work doesn't quite bite for me. And I think while being readable is nice, do we really need to describe China as 'A wounded dragon that can only sleep for so long.' Maybe my criticisms are linked to the fact that I find discussions of Artificial Intelligence about as interesting as the art it creates...

[Reda Marozienė · Rating 4 out of 5]

Labai daug pateikta informacijos ir istorinių duomenų apie emocijų svarbą pasaulyje, apie tai kaip emocijas apibūdino senovės Graikijos mąstytojai, įvairių religijų atstovai ir net šiuolaikiniai psichologai. Labai sunku buvo skaityti skyrius apie hinduizmą, budizmą ar didžiuosius filosofus, nes man toks mąstymas sunkiai suprantamas. Bet įdomios temos apie kryžiaus žygius, raganų medžioklę, Osmanų imperijos iškilimą, Japoniją, Kiniją ir kitus istorinius įvykius, kurie prasidėjo sumaniai valdant žmonių emocijas ir nukreipiant norima linkme. Be to parodoma, kad tas pačias emocijas skirtingų tautų žmonės supranta ir vertina skirtingai.

[Enakshi J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the most anticipated reads of 2022 for me as I had always found the psychology behind emotions and reactions intriguing. A Human History of Emotions is comprehensive and requires patience and an open mind to delve deeper into the study of emotions. Emotions are not merely feelings; they are governed by biological as well as evolutionary origin. Like how we are conditioned into responding a certain way to certain stimuli, our reactions are also a result of our culture and evolution.

Read the complete review here: https://www.aliveshadow.com/category-...

[Violet · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was enjoyable although uneven with some chapters better than others. Some felt too technical, like the one on Buddhism, while others a bit far-fetched - the one on the Ghanaian Queen, despite having such an interesting historical figure, felt like a filler, and at times I thought the author was extrapolating too much, maybe because despite being an expert it was written for the general public and in a way that was at times too simple. Overall though, it was interesting and enjoyable to read.

Free copy sent by Netgalley.

[Agnė · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all, this is a history book. Not a psychological, self-help type book, but a history book about how emotions affected certain historical events.
However, some stories felt a bit "cherry-picked" and not a as comprehensive guide of emotions throughout the ages.

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,75*

[Rusty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to come ...

[Ovidiu Lechintan · Rating 3 out of 5]

o carte bună, dar pe alocuri încâlcită în explicații.
foarte interesant cum autorul pune în context istoric diferite emoții. cum anumite emoții au contribuit la anumite momente istorice importante. cum au fost văzute de-a lungul istoriei anumite emoții. cum de la o civilizație la alta, de la o perioadă de timp la alta, unele emoții sunt interpretate în mod diferit.
de citit dacă te interesează o perspectivă asupra emoțiilor, altfel nu vei fi încântat de carte.

[Lloyd Downey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A slightly odd subject. How could emotion have a history? We, humans (and other animals too apparently) just have emotions surely and they have always been the same and are the same across the world. I remember reading about Darwins' pictures of emotions ...like fear, happiness etc. And these were supposed to be universal. However, Firth-Godbehere clearly demonstrates that the foundations of theories about emotions are very plastic. And are certainly not the same around the world. Actually, I've just read Lisa Feldman-Barrett "How Emotions are made" so I was somewhat prepared for some of the revelations that Richard F-G makes in the current Book. It seemed to me that Lisa had set out to really introduce a new paradigm and I wondered how successful she was going to be. So here, in the current book, is some evidence that she's gathering disciples.
FG opens with: "pets don't feel emotions. And before you find yourselves defending a hill marked MY CAT LOVES ME, it's not just pets. Humans don't feel emotions, either. Emotions are just a bunch of feelings that English-speaking Westerners put in a box around two hundred years ago. Emotions are a modern idea - a cultural construction.The notion that feelings are something that happens in the brain was invented in the early nineteenth century.
There is clearly a problem of definition: sensation of touching something. In the English language alone, various terms have been used at various points in history to describe cartain types of feelings. We've had temperaments (the way people's feelings make them behave), passions teelings felt first in the body that the affect the soul), and sentiments (the feelings you get when you see something beautiful or someone acting immorally). We've left most of these historical ideas behind, replacing them with a single catchall term that describes a certain type of feeling processed in the brain: "emotion". The problem is that it's difficult to pin down the types of feelings that do and don't constitute emotions. There are almost as many definitions of emotions as there are people studying them."
FG starts with Plato and Aristotle: "To Plato, feelings could either raise us to a greater good or condemn us to dangerous short-term pleasures. Aristotle thought emotions sprang from a part of the soul we share with animals and that they were useful when arguing or negotiating with an enemy. Both believed that emotions could be manipulated by reason, or lógos. Plato thought emotions should be directed toward something high, something spiritual, while Aristotle thought of them in a practical, down-to-earth way, as a tool for getting things done.
FG then moves to Buddha: "What the Buddha did was to draw on the beliefs of his culture and reinterpret them, What he came up with is now known as the Four Noble Truths,
1. There is suffering.
2. The cause of suffering is desire.
3. The way out of suffering is through nirvana (or, in Hinduism, connecting to your bliss sheath).
So far so good. But the last noble truth was something unique: there is a path to nirvana. This path came to be known as the Noble Eightfold Path.
Thence FGF moves to the stoics: if you are controlling your thoughts and feelings appropriately, you won't ever feel sorrow. A Stoic's life's work was to focus on giving thought priority over feeling until it became natural to stop and think about a situation before taking action". And thence FG segues from the Apostle Paul who used familiar stoic arguments with the Athenians until he got to the cusp of his arguments and mentioned the resurrection...where he promptly lost his audience. But "Paul managed to meld how he felt about Jesus as a Hebrew with how he felt about Jesus as a Stoic. It allowed more Greek-speakin people to believe. It allowed the word to spread and, eventually; allowed emperors to take up the cross.and led to 2.4 billion people describing themselves as Christians today. Arguably, as a Jewish sect, Christianity was never going to take off ....especially if voluntary circumcision was involved.
And then...well about 340 years later...Along comes Augustine of Hippo. To Augustine, and to many before him, emotions weren't intrinsically positive or negative; their moral value was determined by how they were used. Any feeling could be good if it was used in service of God, and likewise, any feeling could be sinful when it was used for personal gain. Even today, most branches of Christianity put Augustinian love at the center of their faith. The idea that God is love comes straight from Augustine. Augustine is also the source of the idea that Jesus's crucifixion was not a blood sacrifice, as the early Christians believed, but an act of pure grace and love -an act of forgiveness by God", I must confess that I find it fascinating at the way that both Paul and Augustine effectively invented most of the Christian doctrines disseminated today. They did not originate with Christ ....except in a fairly remote and indirect sense....... but were products of the imagination of these two guys.
Very much later, around 1000 AD Ibn Sina placed feelings firmly inside the body. To him, the passions were a medical issue, and cures for unruly emotions no longer had to involve religious penance, prayer, or exorcism. You could find the right treatment by balancing the humors. It also meant that monitoring the source of emotions--the heart -could help control your feelings and keep you on the path Allah set for you.
Slightly later..around 1270.... along comes Thomas Aquinas:"Aquinas actually dedicated an entire section of his book 'Summa Theologiae' to emotions. ....." but technically he was writing about the category of feelings known as passions, or passiones animae (passions of the soul). These were feelings that began in the body and influenced the mind, not unlike pathe.
Aquinas also identified another category of feelings, affects, or affections, that travel in the opposite direction: the mind thinks about something for a bit, perhaps even for a long time, then makes the body feel the appropriate response. To put it simply, passions are the feelings that Plato and the Stoics so desperately wanted people to control"......"But Aquinas didn't only categorize the passions as desiring or angry. He also split them up according to when they occur. Some emotions-joy, sorrow, courage, fear, and anger--are about what is happening to you in the moment. So if you win a game, you feel joy at that particular time. If you lose, sorrow. Other passions -desire, flight or abomination, hope, despair--are felt when you know what is likely to happen to you sometime in the future. If you want something but don't have it, you feel desire or hope. Love and hate are outliers because they exist, according to Aquinas, at all points in time".
Then , in the period 1560-1630 around 50,000 so called witches were burned or killed. Of the many passions people felt toward witches in the period, two were particularly important. The first is fear, and the second is a particular type of disgust -abomination. Important to emphasise here that FG is a specialist in "disgust" and I've found it particularly interesting how much of moral judgements come down to a feeling of abhorrence or disgust....which is probably an outcome of conditioning. (The ugh theory of morality).
FG briefly touches on fist and second order desires. I'm especially interested in this because I completed a Masters thesis on such desires. First order desires "are the selfish desires for riches, for possessions, for personal wealth. You might call first-order desires greed.* It's better to embrace second-order desires: the desire to desire, or, perhaps, as is the case in Buddhism, the desire not to desire. Second-order desires help you control your feelings and achieve something better than material gain: a virtuous life, eudai-monia, nirvana, and heavenly rewards".
FG comments that "the word emotion has become so ingrained into the language and culture that we give the word no more thought than we do the word arm. The difference is, last time I checked, that I knew exactly what an arm is. By contrast, the last time someone tallied them up (back in 1981), there were 101 different definitions of emotion in use by psychologists. Things have only gotten more complicated since."
I found myself wondering if Fg oversimplifies the situation ...for example the following "If there is something universal about emotions, it's that they ebb and flow --a bit like qi.....The drive to get past the century of humiliation, both internally and internationally, still motivates China today. It has since become one d the wealthiest and most powerful countries on earth, and that, in no small part, is the result of an emotional tide that first began at the beginning of the century of humiliation". It maybe sounds reasonable that the Chinese were suffering from humiliation at Western hands. But this is a big claim...is there any evidence that it was 'humiliation' that has driven the demand for progress. How does one describe the similar drive in Singapore where there was no equivalent humiliation ofr in Thailand. One might equally argue that it was the peasant's rage at being kept down by the ruling class that drove the civil war ending in a victory for the communists. And the drive for prosperity and modernism was little different to what had occurred in Japan ....not in relation to humiliation as much as in a desire to not be left behind and lose autonomy.
There is a lot in this book and I've only captured part of it. He men lions some fMRI studies; Hate is an interesting emotion: MRI studies struggle to find a single specific pathway or neurochemical responsible for it. The best candidate is what researchers call the brain's "hate circuit," involving a combination of the insula (thought to be implicated in disgust) and those areas that link aggression to decision making - the putamen, frontal cortex, and premotor cortex.® The neuropsychological gap between disliking something because it revolts you and because it makes you want to punch it seems to be narrow"
And I found myself quite fascinated by the story of Paul Ekman journeying in PNG to check out pictures of faces with emotions with people who had never seen a European. But turns out that it was really pretty hard to find such people and the techniques left a lot to be desired....thus giving fuel to Lisa Barrett's thesis that emotions are much more complicated than faces and voices...She posits that emotions are constructed when the brain processes a number of psychological factors simultaneously--internal feelings, perceptions of what's going on in the outside world, patterns that individuals have learned. All of which tends to rule out mechanical recognition of emotions simply by "reading faces".
Overall, I found it pretty interesting. It's a big subject and FG has not covered it all. How could you. We don't know how Australian Aboriginals view emotions, for example. But happy to give it four stars.