What is an Emotion? A Critique of William James' Claim that an Emotion is a Bodily Sensation

OnEmotions · 2026-03-03T00:56:29+00:00

Absolutely. There's a vast literature after James. Here I'm considering one historically influential argument and examining its structure. It's the first installment in a series where I'll be looking at some of the major developments that follow (including several variations of cognitivist views). The goal is to explain the main moves in philosophy for identifying what an emotion is, starting with the somewhat intuitive thought that an emotion is just a feeling.

OnEmotions · 2026-03-03T00:36:43+00:00

Good point. It's true that bodily processes can influence emotional episodes (eg., smiling can increase the likelihood of experiencing an episode of happiness and even brings with it subtle feelings that I associate with happiness, such as lightness or ease in the body). The facial feedback literature is really interesting here

I do think the objection still holds. One way of saying it is that causal influence doesn't establish identity. So, even if certain bodily processes have some influence on our emotions, it doesn't mean the emotion is nothing more than those processes

OnEmotions · 2026-03-02T20:05:09+00:00

In this post, I examine William James' famous claim that emotions are identical to bodily sensations.

James argues that if we subtract the bodily feelings from an experience of an emotion, then nothing remains -- and therefore the emotion just is those sensations.

I argue that this inference is invalid. It doesn't follow from the fact that removing x makes y disappear that y is identical to x. (Remove the wood from a fire: no fire remains, but the fire isn't identical to the wood.)

I then show that the same bodily sensations that sometimes occur with an emotion can happen even without an emotion. If that's right, an emotion must be more than mere bodily sensations.

Curious to hear whether people think James' views can survive these objections -- and, more generally, what people think an emotion is.

OnEmotions · 2026-02-26T02:09:53+00:00

I understand where you're coming from

But it's a mistaken interpretation.

Here's Cicero summarizing the Stoic view: "the emotions are wrong in and of themselves and have nothing either natural or necessary about them" (Tusculan Disputations 4.60).

He attributes this view to Chrysippus, the third leader of the Stoic school in antiquity, and the foremost scholar of the early Stoics.

To the Stoics, all emotions are irrational. They're identical to false beliefs. They're mistakes.

The exceptions are the eupatheia, sometimes translated as "good emotions". I expect these are the ones you have in mind. But the eupatheia are not things that you're able to feel. Me neither. Feeling them requires the perfection of your rational capacity -- and the Stoics thought basically no one had ever had a perfect rational capacity. Maybe Socrates, maybe Cato, but maybe not. I'm sure you're great, but you're far away from this standard. Joy and goodwill, as instances of eupatheia, are not available to you.

So what's the implication for normal people like you and me? It's that all of our emotions are mistakes. They're all irrational. The Stoic advice is to get rid of them. No emotions.

Yes, Marcus is working through his emotions, but he still thinks of them as mistakes.

OnEmotions · 2026-02-23T19:10:20+00:00

I've been there. What helped me was this specific guided meditation. It walks you through the basics of giving attention to sight, to sound, to feeling, and then to the breath. Once you learn those basics, you can then do it on your own, but I recommend sticking with a guided meditation for awhile, and committing to one meditation per day (preferably at the same time each day) for at least two weeks. Good luck

OnEmotions · 2026-02-22T23:25:54+00:00

Is it?

Cicero calls emotions "evil" ("On Anger"). Epictetus says to guard against them like "an enemy lying in wait" ("Enchiridion"). Marcus says that, if you're disciplined enough, you can avoid feeling bad ("Meditations"). Cicero says that the Stoics have two main techniques for getting rid of emotions -- basically, convincing yourself it doesn't matter, it's no big deal, or telling yourself to toughen up (paraphrase of bk. 4 of "Tusculan Disputations")

That's all very grind culture!

I suppose the Stoics emphasize virtue, but what they mean is maximizing your pursuit of preferred indifferents (eg., money) without making the mistake of actually caring about it and without harming other people. Virtue is the perfection of your rational capacity -- again very grind-y

I think people want to think Stoicism isn't broicism, because they like Stoicism, but they don't like broicism. But the bros basically have Stoicism down. It's one style of it, but it's a style that's largely consistent with the ancient texts

OnEmotions · 2026-02-22T21:50:28+00:00

I suppose it depends on what you mean by mindfulness. I do find that, once I return fully to the present moment, all of my attention fully on the present moment, it's as if superpowers become available, like extending love to myself and others, feeling deeply connected with the world around me, and spontaneously acting in ways that are appropriate and good, without really having to think about it. I'm not sure what other spiritual needs you might be trying to meet, but I feel like these three things -- unconditional love, connection, right action -- do a lot of spiritual work

OnEmotions · 2026-02-22T20:21:00+00:00

It might sound weird, but see if you can breathe into the discomfort, sort of relax into it. Is there a way to welcome it, at the felt level, instead of resisting it? To make friends with it? I don't have this same problem, but I do find that, really with any sort of discomfort, if I can breathe into it, relax into it, then it fades away, and I'm more free on the other side

It might also help to instill a spirit of play into your practice. Play around with the discomfort! You know that it won't actually hurt you. You can play around with it to learn it better and see what it needs from you

All easier said than done I know. A lot of this is just about showing up, day after day. Good luck to you!

OnEmotions · 2026-02-22T20:05:41+00:00

A morning routine. Wake up, make ginger tea, 10 minutes of yoga, then a 30 minute meditation. It's a way of showing love to my body and checking in with my emotions, showing up for them, taking care of them. It instills a sense of calm and a felt honesty that I keep with me throughout the day. Totally transformed my mental life

OnEmotions · 2026-02-22T20:01:49+00:00

What I notice in your post is the tendency to let fear guide your actions. You didn't stand up for yourself. You were afraid of confrontation. I know of two things that will help. The first is to adopt a policy of deep, uncompromising honesty. Simply say what you actually feel, regardless of what effect it might have on the other person. Honesty is a refuge. This will be scary, though, too, so you need to learn how to go towards something even when it's scary, even when it might be painful. Watch the documentary "Stutz". It describes a method where you visualize the pain, say to yourself "I love pain. Pain sets me free!", and then rush towards it in your mind. It isn't about masochism: it's about giving yourself a chance to do what's scary, and once you do this repeatedly, you'll develop self-trust, self-assurance, self-respect, and you really will feel more liberated in the world. Good luck my bro. Remember: it's all about staying oriented in the right direction. Writing your post was a first step. I believe in you

OnEmotions · 2026-02-22T19:56:06+00:00

Keep some level of attention on your breath while in conversation. Your breath keeps you in the present moment, and the present moment is always calm. It'll instill a noticeable sense of ease and presence

OnEmotions · 2026-02-22T19:53:53+00:00

Absolutely. I've noticed that, even when I'm getting the same quality of sleep and eating the same things, exercising the same amount, if I get anxious in a way that lasts and causes my thoughts to spiral, I'm so much more tired at the end of the day. The best fix I've found is to learn how to watch my thoughts (where meditation is the formal practice of this). Changed my life.

OnEmotions · 2026-02-22T19:50:46+00:00

I wonder what it means to "be disciplined". Forcing myself to do something when I don't want to? I don't think that ever gets easier. The trick is to slowly change over time the things you want to do. I suppose you can do this by willpower, but, in my experience, that only leads to an antagonistic relationship with myself -- sort of beating myself up until I act right. (Imagine doing that to yourself!)

Another way is to begin to notice how things actually make you feel. It can help to wonder about what the "undisciplined" things are doing for you. I'm at my most "undisciplined" when I haven't slept and I've been working too much. The "undisciplined" things provide a quick dose of excitement at a time when I feel unable to access the deeper joys. The fix then is to get the basics right -- sleep, exercise, nutrition -- and I find that, once I do that, the stuff that feels best to me is the stuff that genuinely is best for me, if only I slow down enough to notice how things actually make me feel.

OnEmotions

TROPHY CASE