The more rational statement is that we feel sorry because we cry, angry because we strike, afraid because we tremble, and not that we cry, strike, or tremble, because we are sorry, angry, or fearful, as the case may be. Without the bodily states following on the perception, the latter would be purely cognitive in form, pale, colorless, destitute of emotional warmth.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Emotions arise from physical reactions rather than causing them; feeling sorry follows crying, not the reverse.
- In plain terms
- We feel emotions because our bodies react, not the other way around.
- What can you take from it?
- Physical states shape emotional experiences.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How does your body respond to fear?
- Can you change emotions by changing posture?
Another view
The theory may oversimplify complex emotional processes that involve cognition.
More from William James
The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.
Permalink to quote #33 A purely disembodied human emotion is a nonentity.
Permalink to quote #35 My thinking is first and last and always for the sake of my doing.
Permalink to quote #32
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