Emotions: A Very Short History of Human Kind

A large-scale, fascinating study of how emotions shaped the course of human history—and how our perception of emotions evolved along with us.

We humans like to think of ourselves as rational beings who, as a species, relied on intelligence to survive. But many of the most important moments in our history had nothing to do with cold facts—they were tied to feelings.

In this book, scholar Dr. Richard Firth-Godbehere discusses emotions in the context of different eras and different cultures—Ancient Greece, Ghana, Japan, the Ottoman Empire, the United States, China, and Russia. Drawing on psychology, neurobiology, philosophy, art, and the history of religion, he offers a comprehensive view of this aspect of being, which is rarely given attention in the humanities.

In each chapter, the author examines specific historical periods and regions, thus building a complete picture of how emotions formed the modern world in all its variety. With examples, he demonstrates how our understanding and experience of emotions has changed over time, and how our ideas about feelings—alongside feelings themselves—have shaped both us and the world we live in.

The book has been translated into 20 languages.