Self and Emotion 183“9x6” b2726 Self and the Phenomenon of Life: A Biologist Examines Life from Molecules to Humanitywhere a host of physiological reactions occur, and the subsequent experi-
encing by the brain of these bodily changes is the emotion (known as the
“James-Lange Theory of Emotion”). However, James went overboard
by saying, “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.”^5
From our current viewpoint, the shortcoming of James’ theory
lies not in the emphasis on peripheral reactions but in the absence of a
central controlling mechanism. First, it lacks an evaluative function pre-
ceding or concomitant with the peripheral reactions.^6 The weighing of
the survival value (or biological desirability) of the perceived stimulus is
crucial to the function of emotion. Second, James’ theory cannot explain
how recalling a past event can elicit an emotion, in the apparent absence
of an immediate outside stimulus. Third, James was ambiguous about
the inner feelings of an emotional experience. He did not distinguish the
perception of bodily changes from the inner feelings on a higher plane.^7
In hindsight, we can understand why William James did not bet
his money on the central nervous system. In the late nineteenth century,
when James posited his hypothesis, very little was known about the inte-
rior of the brain. The cerebral cortex was demonstrated to have only two
main roles: the sensory areas, which receive outside information, and
the motor cortex, which controls the skeletal muscles. The rest of the
brain was a “dark continent.” At the time, there was no specific spot in
the brain where James could securely anchor an emotional theory. James
had done a great job with whatever scientific knowledge was available to
him. Had he been born in our era and known as much neurophysiology
as we now know, I am certain he would have presented a more complete
theory and would have toned down such strong statements as “we feel
sorry because we cry, anger because we strike...”
It is indisputable that no emotional experience is complete without
sensing the physiological changes in the body, but these changes do not
comprise the totality of an emotional process. Between the perception of
an external object and the elicitation of the physiological changes, there