Emotional Lexicons: Continuity and Change in the Vocabulary of Feeling 1700-2000 (Emotions in History)

Emotions are as old as humankind. But what do we know about them and what importance do we assign to them? __Emotional Lexicons__ is the first cultural history of terms of emotion found in German, French, and English language encyclopaedias since the late seventeenth century. Insofar as these reference works formulated normative concepts, they documented shifts in the way the educated middle classes were taught to conceptualise emotion by a literary medium targeted specifically to them. As well as providing a record of changing language use (and the surrounding debates), many encyclopaedia articles went further than simply providing basic knowledge; they also presented a moral vision to their readers and guidelines for behaviour. Implicitly or explicitly, they participated in fundamental discussions on human nature: Are emotions in the mind or in the body? Can we "read" another person's feelings in their face? Do animals have feelings? Are men less emotional than women? Are there differences between the emotions of children and adults? Can emotions be "civilised"? Can they make us sick? Do groups feel together? Do our emotions connect us with others or create distance? The answers to these questions are historically contingent, showing that emotional knowledge was and still is closely linked to the social, cultural, and political structures of modern societies.__Emotional Lexicons__ analyses European discourses in science, as well as in broader society, about affects, passions, sentiments, and emotions. It does not presume to refine our understanding of what emotions actually are, but rather to present the spectrum of knowledge about emotion embodied in concepts whose meanings shift through time, in order to enrich our own concept of emotion and to lend nuances to the interdisciplinary conversation about them. Cover 1 Emotional Lexicons: Continuity and Change in the Vocabulary of Feeling 1700–2000 4 Copyright 5 Acknowledgements 6 Contents 8 List of Contributors 10 1: Defining Emotions: Concepts and Debatesover Three Centuries 12 1. DEBATES ON EMOTION IN MODERNITY 13 2. PROSPECTIVE CONNECTIONS 16 3. EMOTIONS IN THE ENCYCLOPEDIA 19 4. KNOWLEDGE OF EMOTIONS IN THE CENTURY OF ENLIGHTENMENT 23 5. CONCEPTS OF EMOTION: AFFECT, PASSION, FEELING 27 6. CONTEXTS OF EMOTION: NATIONS, SOCIAL CLASSES, GENDER 35 2: Topographies of Emotion 43 1. INSIDE AND OUTSIDE 46 2. EMOTIONS IN THE SOUL 50 3. IN THE DEPTHS OF THE GEMÜT 55 4. TEMPORALITY AND DEPTH 62 3: Showing Emotions, Reading Emotions 73 1. AESTHETIC PERSPECTIVES 74 2. THE FOCUS OF ENLIGHTENMENT: THE COMMUNICATIVE FUNCTIONS OF FACIAL EXPRESSION 78 3. THE NATURAL-SCIENTIFIC TURN 87 4. NEW AND OLD QUESTIONS 97 4: The ‘Origin’ of Emotions: Sensitive Humans, Sensitive Animals 102 1. ‘UNNECESSARY SQUABBLINGS’? DISTINCTIONS AND SECONDARY DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN HUMANS AND ANIMALS 104 2. A GENEALOGY OF EMOTIONS? THE HISTORIES OF EMOTIONS, OF THE BODY AND OF ANIMALS 110 3. ‘MENTAL DRIVES’ AND ‘OBSCURE FEELINGS’: HUMAN/ANIMAL DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN PHYSIOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGY 116 4. ‘EMPATHY’ AND ‘COMPASSION’: THE PEDAGOGY AND POLITICS OF HUMAN–ANIMAL RELATIONSHIPS 122 5: Healing Emotions 129 1. THE HUMAN AS A UNITY IN DELICATE BALANCE: AN EARLY MODERN CONCEPTION 132 2. UNITY BEGINS TO FRAGMENT: A TRANSITION THROUGH DIVERSION: THE SHORT NINETEENTH CENTURY 135 3. NEUROSES, PSYCHOSES, AND DISPASSIONATE CELLS: 1880–1930 143 4. UNRESOLVED FEELINGS, ADRENALIN RUSHES, AND OTHER DISORDERS: 1930–1990 152 5. HISTORY MOVES ON 159 6: Age(ing) with Feeling 162 1. GOOD PROSPECTS? HAPPY OLD PEOPLE 162 2. THE CULTIVATION OF PASSIONS THROUGH LIFE’S STAGES: PERSPECTIVES FROM THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 166 3. THE FEAR OF AFFECTS IN LIFE CRISES: PERSPECTIVES FROM THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 171 4. THE SCIENTIZATION OF EMOTIONS IN ALL PERIODS OF LIFE: PERSPECTIVES FROM THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 178 5. THE VICTORY OF THE SANGUINE 186 7: Felt Distances 188 1. FEELING AS TOUCHING: EMOTIONS, SENSORY PERCEPTION, AND SPATIAL PROXIMITY 190 2. FEELING BETWEEN INDIVIDUATION AND ‘UNIVERSAL LOVE’: FROM SUBJECTIVE REFLECTION TO TOTALIZED CLOSENESS 195 3. SYMPATHY, GEMÜTLICHKEIT, AND SOCIAL LOVE: TOPOGRAPHIES OF FEELING IN INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS 201 8: Social Emotions 212 1. NATURE’S PRECONDITIONS: COMMON SENSES—BIOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES—PERSONALITY PROFILES 215 2. THE NURTURING INSTITUTIONS: CIVIL SOCIETY—NATIONAL COMMUNITIES—FAMILIES AND EDUCATORS 223 3. COLLECTIVE EMOTIONS IN DANGEROUS FORMATIONS: SAVAGES—FOREIGNERS—MASSES 232 9: Civility and Barbarism: Emotions asCriteria of Difference 241 1. CIVILITY: THE INDIVIDUAL IN SOCIETY 244 2. CIVILIZATION: SOCIETY IN HISTORY 251 3. THE SOMATIZATION OF DIFFERENCE: BIOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY 259 10: Emotional Knowledge: Modern Developments 271 1. CONCEPTS AND KEY DISCIPLINES 271 2. FEELINGS BETWEEN BODY AND SOUL, PHYSIQUE AND PSYCHE 274 3. FEELINGS BETWEEN INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIETY 275 4. UNIVERSALITY AND PARTICULARITY 277 5. MORALIZATION OF FEELINGS 282 List of Encyclopedias and Short Titles 285 Index 296 Emotions are as old as humankind. But what do we know about them and what importance do we assign to them? Emotional Lexicons is the first cultural history of terms of emotion found in German, French, and English language encyclopaedias since the late seventeenth century. Insofar as these reference works formulated normative concepts, they documented shifts in the way the educated middle classes were taught to conceptualise emotion by a literary medium targeted specifically to them. As well as providing a record of changing language use (and the surrounding debates), many encyclopaedia articles went further than simply providing basic knowledge; they also presented a moral vision to their readers and guidelines for behaviour. Implicitly or explicitly, they participated in fundamental discussions on human nature: Are emotions in the mind or in the body? Can we "read" another person's feelings in their face? Do animals have feelings? Are men less emotional than women? Are there differences between the emotions of children and adults? Can emotions be "civilised"? Can they make us sick? Do groups feel together? Do our emotions connect us with others or create distance? The answers to these questions are historically contingent, showing that emotional knowledge was and still is closely linked to the social, cultural, and political structures of modern societies. Emotional Lexicons analyses European discourses in science, as well as in broader society, about affects, passions, sentiments, and emotions. It does not presume to refine our understanding of what emotions actually are, but rather to present the spectrum of knowledge about emotion embodied in concepts whose meanings shift through time, in order to enrich our own concept of emotion and to lend nuances to the interdisciplinary conversation about them. Authors: Ute Frevert, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Christian Bailey, The Open University and Balliol College, Oxford, Pascal Eitler, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Benno Gammerl, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Bettina Hitzer, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Margrit Pernau, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Monique Scheer, University of Tübingen, Anne Schmidt, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, and Nina Verheyen, University of Cologne Publisher's note A cultural history of terms of emotion found in German-, French-, and English-language encyclopaedias since the late seventeenth century. Emotions are as old as humankind. But what do we know about them and what importance do we assign to them? Emotional Lexicons is the first cultural history of terms of emotion found in German, French, and English language encyclopaedias since the late seventeenth century. Insofar as these reference works formulated normative concepts, they documented shifts in the way the educated middle classes were taught to conceptualise emotion by a literary medium targeted specifically to them. As well as providing a record of changing language use (and the surrounding debates), many encyclopaedia articles went further than simply providing basic knowledge; they also presented a moral vision to their readers and guidelines for behaviour. Implicitly or explicitly, they participated in fundamental discussions on human nature: Are emotions in the mind or in the body? Can we "read" another person's feelings in their face? Do animals have feelings? Are men less emotional than women? Are there differences between the emotions of children and adults? Can emotions be "civilised"? Can they make us sick? Do groups feel together? Do our emotions connect us with others or create distance? The answers to these questions are historically contingent, showing that emotional knowledge was and still is closely linked to the social, cultural, and political structures of modern societies. Emotional Lexicons analyses European discourses in science, as well as in broader society, about affects, passions, sentiments, and emotions. It does not presume to refine our understanding of what emotions actually are, but rather to present the spectrum of knowledge about emotion embodied in concepts whose meanings shift through time, in order to enrich our own concept of emotion and to lend nuances to the interdisciplinary conversation about them Emotions Are As Old As Humankind. But What Do We Know About Them And What Importance Do We Assign To Them? 'emotional Lexicons' Is A Cultural History Of Terms Of Emotion Found In German, French, And English Language Encyclopaedias Since The Late 17th Century. Defining Emotions: Concepts And Debates Over Three Centuries / Ute Frevert -- Topographies Of Emotion / Monique Scheer -- Showing Emotions, Reading Emotions / Anne Schmidt -- The 'origin' Of Emotions: Sensitive Humans, Sensitive Animals / Pascal Eitler -- Healing Emotions / Bettina Hitzer -- Age(ing) With Feeling / Nina Verheyen -- Felt Distances / Benno Gammerl -- Social Emotions / Christian Bailey -- Civility And Barbarism: Emotions As Criteria Of Difference / Margrit Pernau -- Emotional Knowledge: Modern Developments / Ute Frevert. Ute Frevert, Monique Scheer, Anne Schmidt, Pascal Eitler, Bettina Hitzer, Nina Verheyen, Benno Gammerl, Christian Bailey, Margrit Pernau. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Content: 1. Defining Emotions: Concepts and Debates over Three Centuries 2. Topographies of Emotion 3. Showing Emotions, Reading Emotions 4. The 'Origin' of Emotions - Sensitive Humans, Sensitive Animals 5. Healing Emotions 6. Age(ing) with Feeling 7. Felt Distances 8. Social Emotions 9. Civility and Barbarism: Emotions as Criteria of Difference 10. Emotional Knowledge - Modern Developments