“If we fancy some strong emotion, and then try to abstract from our consciousness of it all the feelings of its characteristic bodily symptoms, we find we have nothing left behind, no "mind-stuff" out of which the emotion can be constituted, and that a cold and neutral state of intellectual perception is all that remain...What kind of an emotion of fear would be left, if theneither of quickened heart-beats nor of shallow breathing, neither of trembling lips nor of weakened limbs, neither of goose-flesh nor of visceral stirrings, were present, it is quite impossible to think. Can one fancy the state of rage and picture no ebullition of it in the chest, no flushing of the face, no dilatation of the nostrils, no clenching of the teeth, no impulse to vigorous action, but in their stead limp muscles, calm breathing, and a placid face? The present writer, one, certainly cannot.”
Quote by William James
Work
What is an Emotion?: The Physiology of Emotion
Browse quotes and source details for this work. more
Author
William James
William James, born on January 11, 1842, and died on August 26, 1910, was an influential American philosopher, psychologist, and writer. He is considered one of the founders of functionalism in psychology and has had a profound impact on the fields of psychology, philosophy, and religion. more
You May Also Like
Source: What is an Emotion?: The Physiology of Emotion
“Running away from your feelings is running away from yourself.”
“Muriel sometimes put her emotions on highest exhibit by exaggerating a suppression of them.”
Source: The Ghost Clause
Source: Alex in Wonderland
Source: The Winners
“For every moment she's held together, there's another where she's fallen to pieces.”
Source: Five Total Strangers
“Unexamined feelings lead to all kinds of trouble.”
Source: Clariel
“Perhaps emotion, when it is tightly disciplined, turns into worry.”
Source: Pray for a Brave Heart