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AS a preparation for the further study of emotional repression, emotional conflicts, unsatisfied desires, and the neuroses which are the outgrowth of these psychic kinks and tangles, I think it well to devote this chapter to the careful consideration of emotions, instincts, sentiments, and convictions. I am disposed, in general, to adhere to the teachings of McDougall and Shand in the matter of classifying emotions and associating them with certain instincts. I believe that every instinct has what might be called three phases, and they are:
Every human being is born into this world fully equipped with a set of inherent instincts, and every inherited instinct, as later developed, is accompanied by a well-defined feeling or emotion. Psychologists have only recently begun to study this question of instinct and emotion, and there may be some difference of opinion as to what really constitutes a primary inherent instinct; nevertheless, I think most psychologists will agree with the following classification of primary instincts and their accompanying emotions:
| Primary Instincts | Primary Emotions |
|---|---|
| 1. Flight | Fear |
| 2. Repulsion | Disgust |
| 3. Curiosity | Wonder |
| 4. Self-assertion | Elation |
| 5. Self-abasement | Subjection |
| 6. Parental | Tenderness |
| 7. Reproduction | Sex-hunger |
| 8. Nutrition | Hunger |
| 9. Gregariousness | Security |
| 10. Acquisition | Hoarding |
| 11. Construction | Pride of creation |
| 12. Pugnacity | Anger |
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We must abandon the old-fashioned belief that instincts are the Creator’s gift to animals to atone for their lack of intelligence; that as man advances intellectually he loses his instincts—becomes more and more free from all instinctive tendencies. Animal instincts do not disappear with racial advancement; they are merely repressed, they remain with us and proceed to make mischief for us when they are not properly understood or adequately controlled.
Before we can accept an impulse as a primary or inherent instinct, we must find it uniformly present in the instinctive behavior of the higher animals. We should also observe its exaggeration in those human beings who are mentally unbalanced—abnormally controlled —and who would, therefore, be expected to exhibit more of a tendency to be under the control of their racial instincts as compared with intelligence and reason.
It will now be in order briefly to examine these primary emotions:
1. Fear—Fear is the emotion associated with the inherent instinct of flight. You are more or less familiar with the old argument as to whether people run because they are scared or are frightened because they are running. Both the biologist and psychologist seem inclined to believe that we are frightened because of our flight, but in any case the simple facts are that even tho we may instinctively flee from danger and then have fear aroused in our minds as we proceed with the flight, we do not run very far until our fear directly contributes to the acceleration of our speed.
The thing works both ways when it is once initiated. While the emotion may be initiated by the instinct, when it is once aroused it serves greatly to augment the instinctive tendency.
Fear, when thoroughly aroused, produces that terror which leads to concealment—an effort to avoid danger by hiding. Fear leads us first to flee, then to hide. It is the most lasting, most indelible of all human emotions, and is the one emotion that seems to seize control of both mind and body in no uncertain fashion.
The emotion of fear invariably accompanies the instinct of flight—the desire to flee from danger; but, when this fear is so profound as to result in terror, it sometimes paralyzes the power of flight. So we see that when fear is overdone—leading to terror—it defeats itself.
While fear is instinctive, not all our early fears are inherited. All young infants are frightened by but two things: The fear of falling and the hearing of sudden loud and shrill noises. Practically all other fears they acquire by suggestion and association. Young children are not at first afraid of snakes, hairy animals, etc. It is the thunder associated with the storm that frightens the child, not the lightning. When certain adults cover their heads with the bed-clothing during a storm, they are only exhibiting the inherent instinct for concealment subsequent to flee ing from danger.
Fear is not a result of any process of intelligent reasoning or judgment. A young child may be terrorized by the sight of its own father down on the floor “playing bear.” It well knows its father will do it no harm, but when the father is seen in this strange aspect it easily succumbs to its instinctive fear emotions.
Because of the lasting impression which the fear emotion makes upon the human mind and memory, it becomes not only the one great influence which admonishes us to control our [p. 47] selfish behavior and curb our egoistic tendencies, but also the fundamental cause for much of our needless anxiety and the starting-point for many of our imaginative dreads and functional nervous disorders.
Fear is fatal to human happiness under conditions of modern civilization. Worry is chronic fear and is the arch-demon of all the hosts of joy-killers.
The only known cure for fear is faith. But before faith can operate, there must be courage—stamina—to control the inherent tendency to succumb to the fearful emotions.
2. Disgust—Disgust is the emotion associated with the instinct of repulsion and is aroused by bad tastes and smells. It seems to be especially stimulated by the sight of slimy creatures such as snakes and lizards. It no doubt lies at the bottom of the development of the esthetic taste in primitive man, and unquestionably constitutes the inherent urge which propels modern civilized peoples along those lines which lead them to look for the beautiful. There is little doubt but that repulsion and disgust lie at the very bottom of our effort to realize artistic thoughts and actions.
As our intellectual development progresses, we come to associate this emotion of disgust with people who for some reason offend our standards and ideals. We commonly hear it said, of some person who is repulsive in his appearance or personality, that “he makes me sick.”
Thus we see that disgust is an emotion which may become associated with food, surroundings, animals, and even human beings; and if allowed to gain a large place in one’s mental life it is certain to become responsible for much unhappiness. If we become oversensitive to all the trifling things we happen to dislike in our associates, we are doomed to suffer.
3. Wonder—Wonder is the emotion associated with the instinct of curiosity. It is a sort of incipient fear. No doubt this is the emotion, together with its foundation instinct of curiosity, that leads to invention, adventure, and exploration.
The wonder emotion—the curiosity instinct—is strong in both animals and children. It is peculiarly active in monkeys. Who has not observed animals in the pasture approach cautiously some strange object lying on the ground, and then shy away in fear, only to return again further to satisfy their curiosity? If wonder is overexcited it is transformed frankly into fear.
Undoubtedly this emotion constitutes the foundation of our scientific researches and religious speculations. The hunting instinct is probably another manifestation of this same inherent curiosity, augmented by hunger and other associated emotions. Here is an emotion which can contribute to our happiness or lead us into endless trouble—all depending on how we control it.
4. Elation—Elation is the emotion aroused by indulging the instinct of self-assertion. It is the emotion behind all our efforts at self-display. It is the positive element of selfconsciousness. It is particularly exemplified in the characteristic swagger of the male and the vanity of the female, and is an emotion undoubtedly responsible for much of the conduct that goes by the name of bravery.
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In the animal world we see this emotion in action as a spirited horse lifts high his hoofs and tenses every muscle in his body while prancing around on parade. It is shown in the spreading tail of the peacock, and the strutting of the mother hen in the presence of her chicks.
We find this same primitive instinct coming to the front in certain cases of the human insane. Softening of the brain is sometimes accompanied by “delusions of grandeur,” the unfortunate individual becoming the victim of a boastful and insane elation.
Elation—self-assertion—is essential to human happiness. While overexaggeration of one’s ego invariably leads to trouble and more or less sorrow and unhappiness, a reasonable indulgence of self-display and the enjoyment of average self-expression are indispensable to good health and happiness.
Human beings must have an opportunity to “show off” —at least in moderation—in order to be happy. Even the young child is observed to emerge from his bashful hiding behind his mother’s apron, and, after turning a somersault, inquire of the stranger, “Can you do that?” We are all more or less like the children, who, as they “show off,” say, “Watch me do this.” There is joy in performance. We are happy when in action. We are unhappy when we are denied the opportunity to indulge in some sort of self-assertion with its accompanying emotion of elation.
5. Subjection—Subjection is in contrast with elation, and is associated with the instinct of self-abasement. It is the negative side of self-consciousness and represents that slinking, crestfallen behavior that is so often mistakenly called humility. In some abnormal and morbid individuals this is carried to the point where the soul conceives itself as being guilty of all sorts of crimes and misdemeanors. This is the emotion lying at the bottom of our “inferiority complexes.”
Among animals, the dog exhibits the most profound development of this depressing emotion as he crawls along on his belly with his tail tucked between his legs—in the presence of a larger dog or a chiding master.
This is the emotion which becomes the basis of shame in the human species. Shame and pride presuppose the existence of self-consciousness, and since this is a state of mind denied the animal world, these more complex emotions are purely human. But the animals do share with man the rudimentary emotions of elation and subjection.
6. Tenderness—Tenderness is the name which has been given to those feelings connected with the parental instinct. It is the foundation of the protective impulse—the impulse to protect the young, the weak, and the helpless. It becomes the source of most of our moral indignation, and when thoroughly aroused it is closely allied to anger. Nothing will more thoroughly arouse the indignation of the normal human being than to see an inhuman wretch torture and abuse a helpless child.
This emotion of tenderness is the biologic explanation of all true altruism. It is seen especially in the maternal instinct for the protection of the young, which is common to the females of all the higher animals. It is associated with the love and devotion of parents for the ir offspring, and is the first instinct we have discussed which lends itself to the preservation [p. 49] of the species. Most of our inherent instincts are designed to protect the individual, but the emotion of tenderness aids in species survival.
The tender emotion is weaker in the male. That he has any of this sort of maternal solicitude for the young is probably due to the fact that many traits of one sex are in rudimentary form inherited by the other sex. The females of many animals have abortive horns, while the males of many species have rudimentary breasts. This sort of criss-cross inheritance between the sexes probably explains how man comes to have more or less of this motherly instinct and emotion for the young.
Under certain customs of the Roman courts it was observed that sons would appear against their fathers, but never did fathers appear against their sons. One of the Ten Commandments admonishes the child to honor its parents, but it was not necessary to have a commandment exhorting parents to love their children. Nature provided fully for that in the parental instinct and the accompanying tender emotion.
The urge of the human mother to kiss her child is probably a manifestation of the tendency of mothers among the higher animals to lick their offspring.
This tender emotion is the basis of all our Good Samaritan work, and the foundation of all efforts and laws designed to protect the weak against exploitation and abuse by the strong. It is a source of much joy and real self-satisfaction. Everything associated with the indulgence of this emotion makes for our highest happiness—provided we do not overexercise the instinct and cultivate it to such an extent that it becomes positively painful.
7. Sex-hunger—Sex-hunger is the emotion aroused by, and associated with, the inherent instinct of reproduction. It is a source of a great deal of jealousy. It is the emotion that underlies the mating instinct, and it impels and directs that interesting impulse to courtship. It accounts for both the aggressive social attitude of the male and the characteristic coyness and shyness of the female.
In the case of the better natures in the human species, the sex-urge is more or less intimately associated with the parental instinct and its emotion of tenderness, all of which directly contributes to the development of that higher devotion and attachment which we call love.
There can be little doubt that we have in our sex-emotions an instinct that can be so used as to contribute enormously to the sum of human happiness; on the other hand, no one would question the fact that these emotions are sometimes so abused as to be the source of the greatest sorrow and suffering. As concerns the average human being, the greatest joys and sorrows are locked up in the realms of this reproductive instinct and its associated sexemotions and attractions. No other primary emotion is capable of such beneficent use or such monstrous abuse. No other primitive instinct can contribute so much to human happiness when properly exercised; and likewise no other innate emotion can cause such suffering and sorrow when overindulged or otherwise perverted.
8. Hunger—Hunger is the emotion connected with the instinct of nutrition. The desire for food is one of the strongest of all human instincts, and the associated emotion of hunger is what leads to our hunting and feeding impulses. This is the emotion that is responsible for [p. 50] the development of the culinary and other arts having to do with the preparation and preservation of food.
The gratification of healthy hunger is one of the most profound of all human joys. A good appetite, if properly controlled, is the source of lifelong pleasure. Like the sex-emotions, hunger may be utilized for the production of joy or perverted to such an extent as to become responsible for the keenest suffering and sorrow.
9. Security—Security is the emotion we feel when we yield to our inherent gregarious instinct. Man is naturally a herd animal. He feels safer when he is one of a crowd of his own fellows. This emotion of security is the well-spring of the impulse of self-preservation, and when indulged, yields that feeling of safety which we experience as the result of companionship with those of our kind.
Many animals, altho they exhibit little or no affection for one another, insist on remaining together in herds. Most human beings dread to be alone. Solitary confinement is regarded as the acme of punishment. Some nervous patients simply will not remain alone. We dearly like to congregate in throngs on the slightest pretense—a parade, or a football game—no matter what the excuse, mankind likes to revert to the associations of the herd. Many an unsocial being, while shunning intimate personal contact with his fellows, nevertheless, sticks closely to the great city with its teeming thousands.
The sense of security is essential to human happiness. No matter how little personal affection we may have for our immediate associates, we do not want to be alone. No matter how irritating our fellows may sometimes prove to be, we prefer to remain with the tribe. We can, of course, by means of diminished self-control, indulge in such anti-social conduct as to cause ourselves to be segregated from our fellows; such isolation, however, soon becomes a source of unhappiness. In fact, we recognize that most of our primitive instincts can be so exercised as to contribute either to our happiness or unhappiness. Much depends upon our reaction to our emotions—our self-control.
10. Hoarding—Hoarding is the emotion accompanying the instinct of acquisition. It is the urge to labor and leads to the endurance of hardship in an effort to accumulate food and other possessions which we deem essential to the joy of living. When perverted, this impulse may lead to theft and other crimes, or may manifest itself after that peculiar fashion known as kleptomania. A typical example of the hoarding instinct is seen in the action of a squirrel burying nuts.
In a former generation we forewent the pleasures of living in order to prepare for the blessings of heaven. To-day heaven does not have such a hold on the popular imagination, and so we find any number of people who are relentlessly pursuing wealth, in order to leave a vast estate and thus minister to the pleasures of their children after they, the parents, have departed this life.
Those who deny themselves pleasures in this life in order to prepare for the joys of heaven, are akin to those who toil to amass a fortune for the next generation; both have the essential idea of foregoing the pleasures of to-day for the sake of future rewards.
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11. Pride of creation—This is the emotion we experience as we view the results of our efforts to create, to construct things. It is creative self-satisfaction. It is the emotion associated with the constructive instinct. Every human being likes to work up raw material into some article of his own design, and it is this instinct which lies at the bottom of the manufacturing proclivities of the human species. Even children like to build things with their blocks, just as birds build their nests, beavers their dams, and ants their underground mansions.
I doubt if any normal-minded healthy human being can fully experience the joy of living unless he is engaged in some worthwhile pursuit—some sort of creative or constructive toil. Thousands of men and women are supremely unhappy for no other reason than that they are comparatively idle.
12. Anger—Anger is the emotion associated with the instinct of pugnacity. This is a primary instinct that is likely to be aroused when any obstacle is placed in the way of the exercise of any of our other instincts or their associated emotions. It is the basic instinct that makes man a fighting animal. It is the biologic explanation of war. Some females are deficient in it, but it is present in large degree in the average male. It is a type of general defense reaction. That is, when any of the inherent emotions are thwarted, the natural reaction is one of pugnacious resistance, and there is aroused in connection with this behavior a reaction of more or less anger.
What happens when you try to take a bone away from a dog? The best-natured infant displays resentment if you interrupt his meal. All men resent any interference with their pleasures. Even the strong emotion of fear will give way to pugnacity and anger; the most timid animal, when it is brought to bay, and finds its instinct of flight thwarted, is apt to turn viciously upon its pursuer.
While we are entitled to that self-confidence, that desire to look out for our rights and privileges, which is compatible with average self-respect and self-esteem, it is unfailingly true that when we become over-bellicose and pugnacious, our emotion of anger can be depended upon to neutralize the joys of living and eventually to all but kill the very happiness for the promotion of which our pugnacity has been overexercised and our anger overindulged. Man is not truly happy when he is angry.
We have just seen that the human species is largely dominated by a group of twelve inherited emotions. We should next give attention to the manner in which these twelve emotions can be combined, built up, or associated into secondary, composite or acquired emotions.
It is not easy to find the proper words to define or express these highly complex feelings and emotions, and undoubtedly various authorities might suggest a somewhat different classification, but the following represents what to me seems to be a fairly comprehensive survey of this group:
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| Secondary Emotion (Composite and acquired) |
Primary Components (Instinctive factors) |
|---|---|
| 1. Sympathy | Tenderness + Sex + Security |
| 2. Admiration | Wonder + Subjection + (Pride) |
| 3. Imitation | Admiration + Security + (Vanity) |
| 4. Rivalry | Elation + Anger + (Envy) |
| 5. Vanity | Elation + Sex + (Pride) |
| 6. Pride | Elation + Hoarding + (Egotism) |
| 7. Gratitude | Tenderness + Subjection + (Awe) |
| 8. Awe | Fear + Admiration + (Subjection) |
| 9. Reverence | Awe + Gratitude + (Spiritual Nature) |
| 10. Envy | Anger + Subjection + (Pride) |
| 11. Remorse | Anger + Revenge + (Subjection) |
| 12. Scorn | Anger + Disgust + (Elation) |
| 13. Contempt | Disgust + Elation + (Vanity) |
| 14. Aversion | Fear + Disgust + (Rivalry) |
| 15. Courage | Elation + Some Other emotions |
Thus we see that we may employ our primary emotions much as we would words for the purpose of building up sentences, more full and comprehensive expressions of thought. As we progress in the scale of civilization our complexity of thought greatly increases—and likewise our power of originating more complex emotions—and thus is the capacity for enjoying happiness or experiencing sorrow also greatly augmented.
Let us then more fully consider the composite nature of our emotions.
1. Sympathy—Sympathy we observe to be based on the primary emotions of tenderness, sex, and security. This acquired emotion presupposes more or less love and devotion. It connotes an understanding, to some degree at least, of human nature. It is the biologic and psychologic foundation for that state of mind that makes possible the promulgation of the Golden Rule.
Sympathy has its root in parental devotion, in sex attachment, and in that fellow feeling toward the rest of the herd or tribe which makes us more secure in our personal existence.
Sympathy implies suggestibility. Suggestion has much to do with our education through the channel of imitation. It is because of suggestion—that strange urge to do what others do and think what others think—that the animal herds stampede, all the dogs in the neighborhood join in a dog fight, and human beings become panic-stricken and run amuck as a mob.
Not only are our tender emotions sympathetically aroused by the sight of suffering or sorrow, but fear anger, joy, and laughter are also highly contagious. Even curiosity is catching: witness the crowds gathered on the street-corner, all gazing skyward, just because one or two persons first paused to behold something in the heavens. Practically all our primary emotions can be sympathetically excited by suggestion. Sometimes, in our efforts to indulge in self- [p. 53] assertion (to overcome our subjective tendencies), we develop a contrary state of mindcontra-suggestion. I am sure the reader cannot help but recognize the vast possibilities for weal or for woe that lurk in the quality of emotional sympathy. Uncontrolled sympathy may plunge us into all sorts of oversolicitous anxiety and unnecessary worry. Normal sympathy invariably contributes to the sum of our happiness.
2. Admiration—Admiration is built out of the primary instincts of wonder and subjection, and is probably also associated with its fellow acquirement of pride. Un mistakably the feeling of admiration is also tinged with awe. No doubt it has a touch of both sympathy and love. When overindulged, carried too far, it may often terminate in envy.
Curiosity leads to that investigation and inspection which, with its associated emotion of wonder, constitutes the basis of admiration; and when, in the presence of our new discovery, we observe certain elements of superiority in it, we are led to experience the emotion of subjugation—the expression of the inherent tendency toward self-abasement in the presence of superiority of force or being.
I doubt if the highly self-satisfied and conceited person is capable of genuinely admiring anything or anybody. And we must not overlook the fact that when we enlarge our capacity for admiration we at the same time increase our capacity for happiness.
3. Imitation—Imitation is founded primarily on the inherent emotion of security, the outgrowth of the instinct of gregariousness. Tribal association is at the basis of suggestion, and suggestion leads to imitation. The secondary emotion of admiration, as already defined, must of course enter into it, for we want to imitate only that which has first challenged our admiration. Another secondary emotion which undoubtedly is a factor in imitation is that of vanity.
Imitation is the basis of our education, of our whole régime of industrial training, of our social acquirements and convictions. Imitation represents our conduct when we are engaged in accepting a suggestion. Imitation augments our feeling of social unity, and adds to our capacity for social cooperation.
We have a variety of imitative behavior. The most common form is that based on sympathy, as when we smile back in recognition of the smiles bestowed upon us. Even animals flee and stampede for no other reason than that their fellows are similarly exercised. This sort of imitative conduct seems to be an outgrowth of the gregarious instinct and its emotion of security.
Another phase of imitation is shown in the case of the child who imitates the gestures or other behavior of someone who has excited his curiosity or admiration. Adults painstakingly imitate the technique of their more experienced and skilful superiors.
We must recognize the necessity for so controlling the imitative tendency as to lead us in helpful directions. Suggestion is a powerful influence, and we cannot ignore its possibilities for good or evil.
4. Rivalry—Rivalry is founded on the two primary emotions of elation and anger. Elation, the emotion of the self-assertive instinct, and anger, the feeling accompanying the instinct of pugnacity, lead to emotions of rivalry when they are a bit further augmented by the [p. 54] secondary emotion of envy.
Rivalry leads to emulation. There is undoubtedly a tinge of jealously in it, and ofttimes of sex-consciousness. Rivalry is an important element in both pride and so-called patriotism.
True rivalry is differentiated from anger in that the former does not seek to destroy its opponent. Rivalry is best illustrated by the playful fighting of young animals and by the spirited contests between human beings in connection with games and out-door sports. This trait is strongly present in Americans and in most Europeans, but is only rarely manifested by the Hindus and other Oriental races.
If rivalry can be dominated largely by elation it will minister to our happiness; if anger is allowed to enter too largely into its composition, as a rule, it becomes a factor for unhappiness. It all depends on how we manage its flow and control its origin.
5. Vanity—Vanity grows out of the primary emotions of elation and sex, plus those secondary feelings we commonly include in the term pride. We are vain because we enjoy the emotions of elation associated with the instinct of self-assertion, and vanity is peculiarly associated with the sex-instinct in the female. In fact, in a way we might say that vanity is peculiar to the human female, tho men may share this emotion to a lesser degree.
Vanity also sometimes takes on the nature of self-directed pity, sympathy, and love; and when thus exercised it may become a source of much sorrow before we awaken to discover how much unhappiness can be generated by self-pity and overmuch introspection. The simple vanity of the average woman is certainly harmless and altogether wholesome as a promoter of happiness.
6. Pride—Pride is built upon the primary instinct foundation of elation and hoarding, plus the psychic state of egotism. We are proud of and enjoy the elation associated with selfassertion. We are proud of our ability to accumulate, to hoard, and are conscious of the poise and power that come with possession. This element of pride is more distinctly a male emotion as contrasted with the vanity of the female. It has more to do with the masculine egotism, self-confidence, courage, and chivalry that go with the male consciousness of superior physical power and endurance.
We must not confuse the impulse of pride with normal and legitimate self-confidence—a sort of self-regarding sentiment. Again, we must not overlook the fact that pride of a certain sort may add much to the satisfaction of living; while if our ego becomes too highly exalted, we may find ourselves entangled in an unfortunate maze of psychic difficulties and social rebuffs that will effectively destroy our peace of mind and undermine our happiness.
7. Gratitude—Gratitude is composed of the primary instincts of tenderness and subjection tinged with the secondary emotion of awe. We can be influenced by gratitude in the first place because we are tenderhearted, and next, because we feel, in the presence of certain things or situations, more or less self-abasement, with its emotion of subjection. Then if the exhibition of superiority is carried a bit farther, so that there is [lost word] within our mind a feeling of awe, we are ripe for experiencing the emotion of gratitude. We are ready to give thanks, and the whole state of mind represents one of intellectual appreciation, the dawn of the sense of values and relationships between things and beings.
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We experience a feeling of gratitude when we receive something from some source which we regard as superior—from some being of exalted power. We are exercised by gratitude when we are recipients of something at the hands of someone we admire and respectsomething which we could not bestow upon ourselves. On the whole, gratitude is highly helpful in its emotional influence on health and happiness.
8. Awe—Awe is produced by a combination of fear and subjection. When our instinct of fear is first aroused and we are faced with a superior exhibition of some sort, so that selfabasement functions, and we experience the emotion of subjection, then, if in connection with these primary instincts there is more or less of the secondary feeling of admiration, the foundation is laid whereby we may become more or less overwhelmed by influences and phenomena which we cannot fully understand.
At the bottom of our awe is always the trinity of curiosity, ignorance, and fear.
I fully recognize that awe may be a factor in reverence and worshipfulness, and in such a rôle it is certainly sometimes uplifting and joy-favoring; but, as more commonly experienced, it probably contributes much to our fear, anxiety, and unhappiness. At least, there always exists great danger, through ignorance, that awe may augment our superstitious tendencies and thus lead to all sorts of foolish worry and unwholesome anxiety.
9. Reverence—This is the first compound emotion we have considered in which we do not find as a component factor any primary or inherited emotion-unless we are disposed to include curiosity and wonder. As we progress in the scale of human feelings and higher emotions, we shall find more and more of these emotions which are built out of similar emotions; that is, feelings which are combinations of other composite and complex emotions. Reverence is the offspring of awe and gratitude, and this is the first point at which we come in contact with a probable spiritual nature in the human species.
Reverence is that emotion, that state of mind, that basic feeling which is utilized by our higher mental powers or spiritual nature for purposes of worship. Reverence is the first fruit of the progressive evolution of man from his physical nature, up through his instinctive sphere and psychologic development, to the higher realm of spiritual ideals.
Like many other acquired emotions, reverence may contribute to either happiness or sorrow, depending altogether on how we react to its impulse. In moderation reverence leads to a normal attitude of worshipfulness, and it is only when such emotions lead to overconscientiousness and religious worry that they can be regarded as factors of unhappiness.
10. Envy—Envy is built out of the primary emotions of anger and subjection. When we are in the presence of something that causes us to experience the instinct of self-abasement, with its associated emotion of subjection; when this situation becomes a bit irksome, and we grow restive in its presence; when we feel that the joys of living are in some way being interfered with by our superior fellows—then anger is aroused, and we are more or less pugnacious; and if, in connection with this, the acquired emotion of pride is interfered with—if our elation is suppressed and our instinct for hoarding enjoined—then the foundations are laid for envy. Envy is, of course, the basis of jealousy, and has its deeper roots in the hoarding impulse.
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We are usually envious of people because they have something we failed to get, or else because they have more of it than we have. Cruelty is no doubt many times merely the expression of subconscious envy and jealousy.
11. Remorse—Remorse is founded on the primary instinct of anger and on that more highly developed sentiment which we call revenge. (Sentiments as a class we will define more fully presently.) In order to show how anger is father to remorse, we should explain that remorse is anger directed against ourselves. It is sorrowful regret for one’s own acts. You should be angry at yourself for something wrong you have done, but you can’t “get mad” at yourself as you can at another person, and so you temper your anger, when self-directed, into the emotional terms of remorse; and now, on the other hand, toward those who have become responsible for your self-humiliation—because one always seeks an alibi—you have a feeling of revenge.
The primary instinct of subjection also is a part of remorse; it comes into play as a result of experiencing the debasement of our emotion of elation. Remorse implies that we have passed through an emotional conflict, and that our choice and its resultant behavior are not such as to warrant self-approbation. We suffer remorse when we are thus disappointed in our decisions and conduct.
Remorse is the mildew of the composite emotions. It withers every noble ambition if it is long indulged. We cannot hope to avoid experiencing it now and then, but we should studiously avoid its prolonged entertainment. We should learn early and skilfully to settle our emotional conflicts, so as to avoid having to live any considerable part of our lives in the debilitating atmosphere of remorse.
12. Scorn—Scorn is built out of the primary emotions of anger and disgust. In the presence of the instinct of repulsion we experience the emotion of disgust, and when that with which we are disgusted is interfering in some way with our joy of living, then our pugnacity and its associated anger are aroused, and these together cause us to scorn those who disgust us. Secondarily there comes into play the primary emotion of elation: having permitted ourselves to indulge in scorn, we are wont to enjoy self-assertion and elation. This whole experience connotes intellectual failure on our part to appreciate the worth and struggles of our fellow beings.
Scorn is seldom, if ever, a factor in human happiness. If you desire quickly to lose all your worth-while friends, just begin to indulge in scorn and practise cynicism.
13. Contempt—Here is the next step in composite emotions. Contempt is a combination of the primary emotions of disgust and elation. It presupposes that scorn has gone before, and on top of disgust we are elated, we positively assert ourselves; and then, if we add to this the feeling of vanity, as already defined, we have the stage set for profound contempt. It represents, psychologically speaking, a state of exaggeration of ego, on the one hand, and a cultivated oversensitiveness to repulsive things and unpleasant conditions, on the other.
14. Aversion—Coming down through the scale of scorn and contempt, we next have aversion, a composite emotion built out of fear and disgust. Not only is something repulsive to us, and therefore disgusting, but we recognize it more or less as a rival; it interferes with [p. 57] our pleasure of living, and so we tend to give it a wide berth, particularly through fear as to what might be the outcome of too intimate a contact with the object of our aversion.
In the end, through it all, there is the feeling of rivalry, with its deep roots of envy. Aversion may be developed to that point where the fear element subsides, rivalry disappears, and disgust develops into intensified loathing, even horror; strange to say, it is sometimes in this connection that the emotion of wonder, the instinct of curiosity, comes into play, and we ofttimes see that wonder is able to turn loathing into fascination. We sometimes become inordinately fascinated by those things that were primarily exceedingly disgusting and for which we experienced the deepest aversion.
Look with misgiving upon the tendency toward overdevelopment of aversion. While we are justified in tolerating its reasonable presence in the face of ugliness and wrong-doers, we must carefully avoid becoming oversensitive and finicky in the presence of the common problems and circumstances of every-day life.
15. Courage—Courage is rather difficult to define. It is a composite emotion, having for its basis the primary emotion of elation, associated with the instinct of self-assertiveness. It is probable that courage is elation combined sometimes with one emotion and sometimes with one or more other emotions. Courage is the emotion that leads to acts of bravery, and while it may be associated with many emotions, impulses, and sentiments, it is characterized by the fact that it represents the triumph of faith over fear. When courage is in the saddle, the primary instinct of fear, for the time being, has been vanquished.
This, then, represents an effort briefly to define and summarize those fifteen secondary composite or acquired emotions which represent the psychologic evolutions of the twelve primary instincts and their accompanying emotions.
When our more highly organized or composite emotions become clearly defined in the consciousness, when they become centered about somebody or something, they acquire the dignity of sentiments; and we should know that when we get into the realm of human sentiment we are face to face with such full-grown impulses as love, hate, and respect, not to mention the more profound and higher convictions that sometimes come to possess and control the human mind.
Having seen how the twelve primary instincts can be built up into fifteen secondary or acquired emotions, let us take the next step and study the ten human sentiments, which are likewise created out of our primary inherited and secondary acquired emotions. When our emotions are coordinated and focused on some person or thing, we call the feeling a sentiment. Sentiments may be classified as follows:
* In the matter of sentiments, we are beholden to Shand’s concept ofthese human experiences as related to emotions and instincts, and indebted to him for many of the suggestions herewith presented.
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| Sentiments | Component Emotions |
|---|---|
| 1. Pity | Tenderness + Sympathetic Pain |
| 2. Shame | Self-respect wounded by self |
| 3. Jealousy | Love + Self-abasement + Anger + (Fear) |
| 4. Revenge | Anger + Rivalry + Envy + (Hate) |
| 5. Reproach | Anger + Tenderness + Remorse |
| 6. Humility | Subjection + Awe + Reverence |
| 7. Play | A certain psychic and physical state |
| 8. Humor | Elation + Rivalry + Vanity + Pride |
| 9. Love | Tenderness + Sex + Respect + Sympathy |
| 10. Hate | Anger + Fear + Disgust + Rivalry |
1. Pity—Pity has for its foundation the primary emotion of tenderness and a sympathy which is so profound as to become almost painful. We are always hurt when we indulge in pity. There is sometimes associated with pity the subconscious feeling of superiority and more or less condescension. It connotes that we are playing the rôle of a charitable benefactor, and deep down in the subconscious mind there is the emotion of elation, tho, of course, we would never for a moment admit this to our more superficial consciousness; nevertheless, the truth is that there is behind some forms of pity more or less elation.
When moderately indulged, pity may augment our capacity for happiness; but if overdeveloped it undoubtedly dampens joy and burdens the mind with anxiety.
2. Shame—Shame is a sentiment which represents the wounding of our self-respect by ourselves. Our elation or self-assertion has received a blow, and our eyes are open to the fact. It is sometimes a very prominent factor in our expression of surprise, and no doubt in early life it is the chief element of so-called bashfulness—that is, bashfulness in its more or less unrecognized state.
Shame lies at the bottom of much that passes for shyness and modesty. Shame results from the consciousness of a struggle going on between the primary emotions of self-assertion and self-abasement. We suffer from a sense of shame when anything occurs which will tend to lower us in the esteem of our fellows. If our conduct is such that we must frequently be ashamed of ourselves, we must reckon that such self-consciousness is bound to detract from the sum of our personal happiness.
3. Jealousy—Jealousy is a deep-rooted sentiment. It is a combination of self-abasement, with its feeling of subjection and inferiority, in association with the fear emotion. It embraces more or less of the love impulse, and on top of all this there is present an element of anger.
We feel that our happiness is being jeopardized. Pugnacity asserts itself. We propose to offer resistance, and anger comes in as the first speaker of this emotional trio. Of course, it is nearly always anger against a third person, and sometimes it involves a lessening of the feeling of tenderness for the second person; and further, as factors in the composition of this green-eyed monster, we must put down envy and wounded pride.
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Probably only a mother’s love is so unselfish as to demand no reciprocation and therefore be incapable of jealousy. While animals and very young children seem to be resentful of attentions paid to other individuals, such sensitiveness can hardly be regarded as full-grown jealousy, since the latter sentiment presupposes the presence of a highly developed consciousness in association with profound affection.
We are exercised by jealousy when the one we love gives to another that affection which we think belongs to us. We come to feel an emotion of ownership in our friends and loved ones, and the loss of their devotion wounds our pride and self-esteem. When one’s selfregarding sentiment has been severely wounded, there is likelihood of arousing the vengeful emotion associated with resentment and anger.
The green—eyed monster is ever the foe of happiness. If we permit jealousy to dominate the soul, joy is certain to depart. There is a sordid selfishness associated with this sentiment that precludes a tranquil state of mind.
4. Revenge—Revenge is a complicated, deep-seated human sentiment. It starts out as rivalry, then grows into envy; disappointment breeds anger; in the end it is sometimes propelled by that demon of all human sentiments, hate. We may become angry at an insult which assails our elation and assaults our ego. We may seek retaliation because of some real or fancied wrong. It may be that a social struggle has challenged our pugnacity and thus aroused our anger and in the end embittered us to the indulgence of hate. Revenge is the full growth of tolerated bitterness and emotional disappointment.
Our whole system of law, penalties, and punishments is but an effort to substitute the machinery of public justice for the older order of private vengeance. The desire for revenge follows on the heels of conscious resentment. We more particularly resent public slights or insults, and our vengeful emotion is shown in our studied efforts to “get even” with the offender.
We also resent insult or injury to our family, tribe, or country, and thus may develop family feuds and national animosities with their bloodshed and wars. The savage, ofttimes, when brooding over his insult and his contemplated revenge, is found to “sulk in his tent.” Vengeance is a deliberated sort of resentment in contrast with the sudden and unrestrained emotional reaction of anger, tho all revenge is rooted and grounded in anger—the pugnacious instinct.
The soul who seeks revenge is sad and self-centered. Joy attends the forgiving spirit, while sorrow and regret are the final rewards of all who allow their better natures to be ravaged by the barbarous desire for personal vengeance.
5. Reproach—Reproach represents human anger modified by the primary emotion of tenderness and restrained by the secondary feeling of remorse. It represents a state of mind which betokens the exercise of self-control and suggests the possibility of administering correction or criticism under the guidance of reason and judgment. When a person we love does something distasteful to us, we reproach him, saying, “Oh, how could you do it!” If another had offended us in similar fashion our anger would have been aroused.
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This is a sentiment that can easily be made to serve the ends of either happiness or sorrow—depending on how much intelligence and corrective planning attend its indulgence. Wisely exercised reproach may lead to repentance and reform; overindulged, it can bring about undue depression and protracted sorrow.
6. Humility—The sentiment of humility is founded on the primary emotion of subjection, self-abasement, in connection with the secondary composite emotions of awe and reverence, and its real understanding is to be found in the individual natures of these components. Humility is often mistaken for piety, and sometimes what we call humility is merely the manifestation of some physical disease or the outward exhibition of an unfortunate inferiority complex.
Like reproach, humility can be made to minister to both joy and sorrow. Undoubtedly, a normal state of humility predisposes one to the reception of many blessings in disguise; while overmuch self-depreciation can only bring on depression and sorrow. We must maintain a reasonable self-respect if we are to retain the joys of wholesome elation.
7. Play—The biology and psychology of play are more or less obscure. The play emotions are hard to isolate and define. There is room here for almost endless discussion; there are at least half a dozen different theories respecting play, its nature and origin.
The play tendencies of individuals and peoples are largely influenced by the behavior of the ductless gland system—the temperament. Disposition is the sum total of our inherited instincts and their associated emotions. Character is the final product of our habit formations, our acquired characteristics based on both our dispositions and temperaments.
Play is altogether too complex to be a simple instinct. It is likewise too complicated to be classed as an emotion. It seems best to include it among the more highly organized sentiments.
Whatever we may say about play, we are compelled to recognize that it is almost wholly the servant of joy. Play is the real sentiment of good cheer, good will, and good times. Human beings are unquestionably most happy when they are in the midst of care-free and childlike play.
8. Humor—Humor is probably founded on the basic emotion of elation connected with the inherent instinct of self-assertion. We no doubt feel just a bit superior to everything that excites our humor, tho the element of surprise also may contribute to our laughter. There is also an element of rivalry in humor. We enjoy a joke just a little better when we have gotten the best of the other fellow. We laugh more heartily when the other fellow steps on a banana peel than we do when we pass through the same experience ourselves. There is an element of vanity in humor, and probably some pride, tho we must admit that of all human emotions, more particularly sentiments, this one of humor is the most difficult to define. I am not at all satisfied with any definition that has thus far been formulated. There is an undoubted temperamental bias to all our humor.
Like play, humor is consistently the hand-maiden of joy. Seldom, if ever, does good humor culminate in sorrow. Humor is a sentiment peculiarly and exclusively human, and a “good story” can always be depended upon to promote good fellowship and develop the [p. 61] cheery side of human nature.
9. Love—We are now approaching the climax of human sentiment—the most complex combinations of feelings and emotions. Hum an love is founded on the emotion of tenderness, having its root in the parental instinct. It next branches out and takes root in the sex-hunger emotion, having its association with the reproductive instinct; and then the element of sympathy appears. There is not only the feeling of tenderness in sex-companionship, but also of increased security from association with our fellows. In a small way, the gregarious instinct is enacting its rôle; there is safety in numbers, and then there comes into play that human emotion which is so difficult to define, namely, respect. I have not included it among the emotions, nor among the sentiments, but I bring it in here as an attribute, an auxiliary of love.
Love is that peculiar feeling of adoration and affection for a person whom we have come to regard as the one among a thousand and altogether to be desired over and above all the rest of creation. Love is a full-grown sentiment. It is the sentiment of sentiments, the all-embracing emotion of emotions, the supreme passion. Of course, it varies in degree and nature according to its component parts and in accordance with the mind and character of the individual whom it exercises.
Around this master-sentiment may gravitate a host of other profound emotions and sentiments-even convictions. As one psychologist has pointed out, when a man has acquired the sentiment of love for a fellow being he is apt to experience the tender emotion when in the presence of this person, fear or anxiety when the loved one is in danger, anger when his friend is threatened, and sorrow if anything serious befalls this individual. Likewise, we rejoice when our loved ones prosper, and feel grateful tow ard those who befriend or assist them.
Love is the one divine element in human nature, the well-spring of our profoundest joys and most lasting happiness. The wounding of our love may indeed cause the keenest suffering, and the failure to find it reciprocated may cause the bitterest disappointment; nevertheless, the whole experience of loving and being loved is so transcendent, so human, and so everlastingly beautiful, that we can only reckon that the whole experience, from first to last-up hill and down, through sunshine and storm—serves to stimulate the mind and inspire the soul, while it enormously expands our capacity to experience joy and understand happiness.
10. Hate—Having reached, in love, the acme of sentimental development, it only remains to define hate. Hate is, after a fashion, nothing more nor less than perverted, misdirected love. It represents the prostitution of sentiment, so that the place of respect and love comes to be occupied by a terrible quartet of anger, fear, disgust, and rivalry. Hate is the full-grown sentimental counter-part of the magnificent impulse we call love, and, of course, it likewise varies in degree in accordance with its component emotions and is modified by the character of the one who indulges it.
Little need be said about hate and its relation to happiness. We all know that hate is incompatible with joy. There is simply no way to get comfort and delight out of the [p. 62] indulgence of hate—it is truly the arch-demon of all the little devils who are subversive of joy and destructive of happiness.
Such, then, is the story of human sentiments. It should be remembered in this connection that pleasure and pain are not emotions. They are feeling-tones that serve either to prolong or to cut short other emotions. Excitement and depression play the same rôles.
Sorrow is a term used synonymously with grief. It represents the opposite of happiness. It is after all hardly a sentiment or an emotion. It is a feeling-tone; one might define sorrow as representing degrees of feeling-tone. Sorrow is aroused by extremes of emotion, by a mixture of sentiment and overruling passions. It implies the overthrow of our hopes, ambitions, and affections; in its most extreme manifestation it is the feeling we experience when we suffer the agony of despair.
Joy, like sorrow, is a term connoting degrees of feeling-tone. Both joy and sorrow may qualify all other emotions. We may have any degree of sorrow and likewise any degree of joy associated with any and all other human emotions and sentiments. Joy is perhaps most typically expressed in our play-functions, when we have an opportunity for self-display in association with extremes of pleasurable emotions, enjoyable master-sentiments, and impassioned happiness. It is the pleasurable feeling aroused by any and all intense emotions, master sentiments, strong passions, and profound convictions.
Happiness constitutes the goal of our emotional life. It stands for that psychic and physical state of being which represents the sum total of pleasure that can be experienced by a highly developed personality. Happiness is the ideal of human existence. It is the realization of joy raised to the th power, and may qualify and intensify all other human emotions.
We have now come to know how twelve basic inherent instincts and their accompanying emotions can be combined and organized into fifteen secondary or composite emotions; and how, still further, these twelve primary emotions and fifteen secondary e motions are capable of being concentrated upon some object or person and thus can be combined and built up into the ten master-sentiments of human experience.
Now we are ready for the next step. These primary instincts and secondary emotions, together with their more complex resultant sentiments, constitute the material out of which we build the seven controlling convictions of human experience, and they may be classified as follows:
| Controlling Convictions | Component Sentiments |
|---|---|
| 1. Friendship | Sympathy + Love + Respect |
| 2. Altruism | Elation + Pity + Sympathy |
| 3. Patriotism | Security + Rivalry + Pride + Vanity |
| 4. Religion | Wonder + Fear + Gratitude + Subjection |
| 5. Occupational Loyalty | Security + Pride + Rivalry |
| 6. Family Loyalty | Tenderness + Sex + Pride + Jealousy |
| 7. Social Conventions | Fear + Security + Shame + Pride |
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In further explanation of convictions we may offer the following suggestions:
1. Friendship—Friendship is the first and basic human conviction. It is more than an emotion, it is greater than an impulse, it transcends a sentiment. There is something profound about friendship at its best. It is undoubtedly based on the sentiment of love, and has in association with it many other emotions, including, no doubt, both sympathy and respect. Friendship is the equivalent of love plus loyalty and more or less of the sex-element. It is so influential in human experience that there appear to be no lengths to which it will not go to assert itself and to justify its existence.
2. Altruism—Altruism is also a conviction, at least with many people. It is, no doubt, founded on the basic emotion of elation and the instinct of self-assertion. We have a peculiar pride and satisfaction in knowing that we are big enough and good enough and kind enough to be altruistic. Then the emotions of sympathy and pity come in for their part. We are sympathetic with those we help, and sometimes we go so far as to pity them. In fact, altruism is a sort of glorified pity, exalted sympathy, idealized elation, if you please—a species of social patriotism.
3. Patriotism—Patriotism is no doubt founded on the primary emotion of security, associated with the herd instinct. We defend our country and our institutions because we need their protection. The element of rivalry comes in, starting out sometimes quite innocently, and ending, when our own security is threatened, with the arousal of pugnacity and its accompanying anger; and that, many times, means war. Also into our patriotism come the emotions of pride and vanity, altho we would not care to push these to the foreground in our own consciousness. Patriotism simply means loyalty to the common herd. It is a species of social courage.
Many an individual coward is patriotic in crowds; he is brave when he is in an army, but he would not be so patriotic if he should be left alone in defense of his ideals. In certain aspects, patriotism is a sort of camouflaged pride, a species of disguised anger, rivalry, and revenge, which we persuade ourselves is justified by the circumstances of the hour.
4. Religion—Religion is a conviction having its roots in the emotions of fear and awe, as inspired by a belief in the superhuman. Closely associated with religion is the feeling of righteous indignation, which is so often aroused by the emotion of tenderness connected with the instinct of parental love and devotion. From a biologic and psychologic standpoint, religion grows out of wonder and curiosity. To speculate on what is beyond the skies—on the life that may exist beyond this one—is an inherent impulse of human nature. The element of fear also comes in. Ignorance always tends to beget the feeling of subjection and selfabasement, while the presence of material or other blessings tends, in sensitive natures, to inspire a sense of gratitude to the invisible power that runs the universe.
Religion is, after all, merely that behavior which is dictated by conscience and directed by one’s spiritual mentor, assuming that mankind is indwelt by some sort of spiritual entity.
5. Occupational loyalty—We all enjoy being loyal to our business connections, our profession, our trade, etc., or to our social set. This conviction is likewise based on the feeling of security, the safety that comes from tribal association. It has also in it the emotions of pride [p. 64] and rivalry, much after the fashion of patriotism. We like to be loyal to the satisfaction of our creative pride, the fact that we have constructed things. It is a form of clan or minor herd pride.
6. Family loyalty—Family loyalty is a deep conviction. It grows out of the primary instincts of tenderness and sex, in which the more unstable emotional elements of pride and jealousy play varying parts. It is the basis of human society and embraces a wide range of emotions and sentiments. The home, through its association of husband and wife and the rearing of children, and through this group’s contact with the outer world, develops some of the highest emotions and sentiments of the human heart. It is the basis of the ideal of social life in this world.
7. Social conventions—The conviction that we should be more or less loyal to the conventions of society, has for its origin the two primary emotions of security and fear. We feel more secure in the tribe, and we feel safer if we live as the tribe lives. But the tribal tabus, the social requirements, are important to keep, not only because of this security, but because we want the respect and admiration of our fellows.
Then, too, the element of fear definitely prevails here. We fear the result of ignoring the time-honored customs and traditions of our race and kin. Still further, the element of pride comes in. If we obey we are exemplary citizens. If we disobey we bear the stigma of reproach. And still further there is an element of shame. We don’t want to be numbered among the sinners and inferiors. Of course, this whole conviction is largely a matter of education, training, and social example, and here, for the first time, we arrive at the place where education becomes the dominant rôle, the chief factor in the creation of a human conviction.