CHAPTER I.

PRELIMINARY REMARKS ON THE ANALYSIS AND THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE EMOTIONS,
The latest result of the discussions in the West on the subject of the Emotions seems
•that6suchW to be that each Emotion is something analysis sui generis, that an organic connection
and classi- between Emotion and Emotion is not
neat ion are
impossible, traceable, that it is vain to try to reduce
any one Emotion into terms of any other, and that a genuine, unarbitrary, and inarti- ficial classification of these mental phenomena is impossible.1
1 See Sully, The Human Mind, vol.11., p. 86 (1892); Ribot, The Psychology of the Emotions, Chap. x. (1897) ; Michael Maher, Psychology, p. 446 (1900) ; and William James, The Principles of Psychology, vol. II., 448 (1901). For various schemes of classification, see Sully, The Human Mind, II., Appendix J., and Bain, The Emotions and the Will, Appen- dix B. James undoubtedly lays his finger on the real difficulty when he says (Ibid) that all the writing on the subject that he has come across amounts only to tiresome lists and des- criptions of emotions as distinct individual psychic entities
10 SCIENCE OF THE EMOTIONS.
It seems to some that this result is not final, that a true classification of the Emotions is possible,, and that an organic connection and a genetic prin- ciple of evolution of the complex from the simple are traceable amongst them. Valuable hints on the subject are to be found in Vatsyayana's Bhdshya on the Nyaya-Sutra of Gautama, T in the Bhagavad- Gita,* in the works of the other Indian Schools of philosophy, and of medicine,3 and notably in the various works of Sahitya, the science of poetry and rhetoric, which bulk largely in Sams- krt literature, beginning with Bharata's Natya- Shastra.
without any luminous deductive or generative principle. But when he propounds his own view of the physiological origin' of emotions and says it amounts to such a principle, one fails to follow him. On that view we have lists and descriptions of ' physiological entities 'instead of ' psychological '—that is all. Wherein is the organic and genetic principle? On the older view, certain situations in life caused certain mental states, known as emotions, which in turn caused, or were accompanied by, certain bodily changes ; and these mental states stood apart from each other, each being sui generis. Under James' view, certain situations in life cause certain bodily changes which are, (or are accompanied by, or cause) certain (mental) states called emotions (p. 449) ; and these bodily changes stand apart from each other, are sui generis, each of them. How are they related to each other genealogi- cally ?
1 I. i. 2 and IV. i. 3, &c.
2 xvi.
8 E.g., Stisliruta, Sutra sthana, I.
PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 11
An attempt is made here, therefore,
to la? before the student of philosophy and use a very brief sketch of a scheme of analysis ^e Emotions based on the assumption
that they can be analysed and, there- fore, classified scientifically. This is done with a view to invite further discussion of this vitally im- portant branch of psychology. If a true science of the Emotions could be discovered, the art of consci- ously, deliberately, and purposefully cultivating the higher and better ones and weeding out the lower and the evil would become a possibility — with what beneficent ultimate consequences to humanity is at present matter more for poetical and religious imagination and hope than perhaps for sober matter-of-fact expectation. Yet, there is no doubt that the theory and method of education would, even immediately, benefit greatly from such a science.
In view of these possibilities, it is very desirable that no conclusion declaring the impossibility of dealing more satisfactorily with the Emotions than has hitherto been done should be allowed to pass as final.
The present sketch lays no claim to
any maturity of thought. It is intend- present ed to propound only the general
outlines of a possible method of dealing with the subject, which have presented themselves more or less definitely to an enquirer. Defects will
12 SCIENCE OF THE EMOTIONS.
be found especially in the use of the names of the less common Emotions, inaccuracies in the appraisement of the true values of them, which are inevitable when a foreign tongue is used. But if, notwithstanding such shortcomings, there should appear to be any substantial truth in them, abler hands will naturally take up these outlines, and supply the necessary amplifications, correc- tions, and details of illustration.
The method that has been followed is, as it could not but be under the circumstances, intro- spective and analytical. But this should not be understood to mean anything that goes against the fact — which lies behind all that is written here —that Self and Not-Self, Spirit and Matter, Purusha and Prakrti, Pratyagatma and Mula- prakrti, are always inseparable, that changes of 4 Matter ' always accompany and correspond with changes of ' Mind/ and vice versa. What is meant is only this, that here the one series of changes is considered more prominently than the other.
It may be noted here that James's and Lange's theories of the physiological origin of Emotions represent the one exaggerated extreme of this truth of psycho-physical parallelism, as the older theories of the wholly emotional origin of certain physiological changes represent the other. Dar- win's famous work on The Expression of the Emotions explains some of the physiological reasons for the
PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 13
various methods of expression — blushing, sneering, etc. Since his time, many researches on similar lines have been made, and it is fully proved that while a change of mind, as just said, is accom- panied with a change in the physical body — appropriate facial transformations, or gestures with the limbs — so the production of the change of face or of the gesture tends to produce the corresponding emotion. Thus it has been found that if a subject, under hypnotic influence, but conscious, is made to double the fist and shake it at some one, anger is aroused ; if tears are produced by the exhibition of ammonia, sorrow is awakened and genuine sobbing will follow. Hence control of the expression of anger will tend to check the emotion of anger, and physical self-mastery may be made, and is made in civilised society, an instrument for mastery of the emotions. Many of the physical practices of Yoga, e,g,, the regu- lation of the breath, are based on this truth of psycho-physical parallelism, as the exaggerated distinction between Hatha-yoga and Raja-yoga is due to the excessive emphasising of the physical side of life and the psychical respectively. The meta- physical explanation will be found elsewhere of how and why, while the whole man is one, he is at the same time divided into a mind and a body, a psychic side and a physical side ; how and why, while he is acted on and reacts, is impressed and responds, as one, there is at the same time a
14 SCIENCE OF THE EMOTIONS.
succession within him between his two sides, now the one preceding and now the other ; i and what the sense is in which a change in the one side may or may not be said to be the cause of a corre- sponding change in the other.2 That the individual is a one, mind-body, is the element of truth in the James-Lange theory ; that he is also a many, mind and body, is its refutation. Cognition, desire and action ; thought, emotion and behavior ; have no significance and indeed no existence apart from and independently of each other ; but they cannot be melted down wholly, any one into any other.
1 The Science of Peace, ch, xv.
2 Ibid, ch. xi.