Emotions: A Brief History

by Keith Oatley

A Brief History investigates the history of emotions across cultures as well as the evolutionary history of emotions and of emotional development across an individual’s life span. In clear and accessible language, Keith Oatley examines key topics such as emotional intelligence, emotion and the brain, and emotional disorders. Throughout, he interweaves three the changes that emotions have undergone from the past to the present, the extent to which we are able to control our emotions, and the ways in which emotions help us discern the deeper layers of ourselves and our relationships.

Genres: Psychology, Emotion

208 pages, Hardcover

First published September 8, 2004

Reviews

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm currently doing my master's in Philosophy, and so reading dull and dry academic texts is part of what I do. The study of emotions is an extremely interesting and exciting topic of discussion, and so reading this text I was hoping the nature of the content would shine through the form of the work. Unfortunately that was not the case. I struggled to get past 20 pages. This work is extremely, extremely boring. It has no hook. Nothing compelling. No reason to engage and interest the reader. It takes a marvelous subject and nullifies it. I apologize to the author. It is a good piece in terms of content: well researched, and informative. You would think that would be sufficient...but sadly, it isn't. Even Kant had something compelling about his work which would grab you and incite enough interest to keep flipping the page...

There is much, much more to writing than just content. This book is a good indicator of that.

I changed my rating from a 2 to a 3 after re-reading the 'emotions and the brain' chapter which is very insightful; as is 'emotional disorders' chapter. There are lots of good sections in this book, and it is well-researched and put together. While form is important, this is a text on the history of psychology. It's facts and not flare. And sometimes, straight facts is more important because the content is not hidden in fluff and rhetoric.

[Víctor Bermúdez · Rating 3 out of 5]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface
1. Meaning and ambiguity
Emotions: signals of what is vital
2. Evolution, culture, and a necessary ambivalence
Inherited repertoires of emotion built upon by culture and experience
3. Medicine for the soul
From Epicureans and Stoics via the seven deadly sins to cognitive therapy
4. Emotions and the brain
Accidents, imaging technologies, the new psychopharmacology
5. Social histories: emotions and relationships
Social goals of aggression, attachment, affiliation, and their mixtures
6. Individual histories
Emotional development from childhood to maturity
7. Emotional disorders
Excesses of sadness, anxiety, shame, and anger
8. Emotional intelligence
What is it to be emotionally intelligent? Are there skills to learn?
Endnotes
References
Index

[Amy Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a heavier on evolutionary history than cultural. I was frustrated with the one paragraph it gave to the influence of religion. Also I found it a little simplistic--like it was written for college freshman, which perhaps it was. However, I still learned a lot and am going to use it for reference.

[Tim McIntosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent history. An insightful primer on how important Western cultures and personalities (Athens, Rome, medieval Christians, Freud) approached psychology and emotions.

Two complaints: 1) A bit heavy on the evolutionary-development speculation. 2) Nothing on Jung (literally, nothing) which seems a profound oversight, even for a short book. —But otherwise very good.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read most of this for a scholarly project. Surprisingly readable for a book of its type and topic. Useful for my work.

[Amir Asim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will took me to the extremes of my own emotions

[Ari · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Interesting, but beware that it's much like a textbook, is it?"

An entertaining introduction to the different aspects of emotions - from the perspectives of different disciplines such as psychology, neuroscience, social science and evolutionary biology. Interesting and educational read. Format wise, it might be a bit more text book like. Inspiring concluding statement quoted from the book: "For the future of our human species, I think, it is not so much fear that we have to fear, but the human capacity for contempt: for treating others as outside any human relationship, without concern for their capacity for the emotional life that they share with us."

[Ana Mladenović · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt at times that certain aspects of the book could have been more thoroughly examined and that there was definitely space for new themes that could be derived from the original ones. Although, we have to keep in mind that this book is "a BRIEF history of emotions", and that it wasn't even supposed to be particularly long. But, even with that in mind, it often did seem incomplete. Overall, a solid read that provides a couple of useful information & gives you an interesting subject to dwell upon.

[Ogi Ogas · Rating 2 out of 5]

My ratings of books on Goodreads are solely a crude ranking of their utility to me, and not an evaluation of literary merit, entertainment value, social importance, humor, insightfulness, scientific accuracy, creative vigor, suspensefulness of plot, depth of characters, vitality of theme, excitement of climax, satisfaction of ending, or any other combination of dimensions of value which we are expected to boil down through some fabulous alchemy into a single digit.