A Historical Perspective: Ancient Theories

• Zeno's (336?-264? BC) school of thought. Nature is made of order and reason.
• Animals have the expression, but not the experience of emotions:
• According to Cicero: "All disorders and perturbations of the mind arise from a disregard of reason, hence they arise only in men; for though beasts act similarily, they are not similarily pertubed".
• According to Seneca: "dumb brutes do not have human affections, but have similar impulses".
• There are 4 classes of affections:
• There are 3 'good' affective states (moods, habits, dispositions).
• Cheerfulness (good fellowship, good temper): Rational elation (by opposition to pleasure).
• Discreteness (shame, fear of dishonor): Rational disinclination (by opposition to fear).
• Virtuous will (benevolence, affability, cordiality): Rational inclination (by opposition to appetite).
• The natural affections (kinship, companionship)
• The necessary affections: the physical pleasures and pains.
• The Passions
• Violent perturbation of the Soul: Excessive irrational impulse (instinctive tendency to action), contrary to Nature.
• Disease of the Soul, sickness and infirmity.
• The best life involves the suppression of the passions from all aspects of mental life, unilke the peripatetics who think they should simply be controled .
• They are a kind of judgment/opinion - The first intellectualistic theory of emotion.
• There are 4 basic and fundamental passions:
• Appetite or Desire : 'Irrational impulses towards' - Opinion of coming good, potentialy beneficial.
• Fear : 'Irrational recoil from, accompanied by a lowering of vital energies' - Opinion of intolerable and soon to occur evil.
• Pleasure or Delight : 'Irrational expansion or elation of the mind' - 'Recent' opinion of good, appropriate for mind elation.
• Pain or Grief : 'Irrational contraction or depression of the mind' - 'Recent' opinion of evil, appropriate for mind depression.
• All other emotions are derived (subclasses) from the 4 basics. For example:
• Envy = Grief at another's property which causes no injuries to the envious.
• Mourning = Grief at the death of a dear person.
• Some Stoics: Zeno, Chrysippus , Posidonius , Hecato, Herillus and Sphaerus.

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Editor: Jean-Marc Fellous

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