The exploration of historical 'emotional blueprints' and their influence on contemporary mental processes
In the realm of human emotions, our understanding has evolved significantly over time. A recent study delves into this evolution, comparing the way emotions were perceived around 3,000 years ago in Mesopotamia with modern-day perspectives.
During Mesopotamian times, medical and emotional understandings were largely influenced by mysticism, divination, and religious or cosmic beliefs rather than empirical anatomy [3]. Healing and emotions were often seen as linked to cosmic forces or spiritual causes rather than specific organs or bodily fluids.
By contrast, classical Greco-Roman medicine, developing after Mesopotamian times, began to attribute emotions and moods to physical imbalances of bodily humors—blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm—with each humor linked to temperament and emotion [1]. This framework located emotions largely in the bodily fluids and their balance, rather than discrete organs.
Ancient Mesopotamian beliefs often connected emotions more abstractly with the heart or breath as life force, but these were not anatomically or physiologically analyzed as in later Western medicine. Rather, emotions might be discussed in terms of spiritual or cosmic influence affecting the whole body or soul rather than isolated organs.
In later classical medicine, emotions were linked to fluids and temperaments, associating body parts such as the brain and heart with mental states and affective balance. For example, melancholy was linked to black bile presumably housed in the spleen or liver areas, and sanguine temperament to blood, emphasizing internal bodily composition [1].
Modern human understanding localizes emotions largely to the brain and nervous system, informed by neuroscience, although culturally certain emotions might still be metaphorically linked to body parts (heartache, gut feeling).
The major historical difference lies in the fact that people in Mesopotamia conceptualized emotions through a spiritual or cosmic lens without detailed anatomical localization or understanding of bodily fluids. Later classical medicine post-Mesopotamia introduced a proto-biological model attributing emotions to bodily humors and their imbalances distributed in various organs like blood (heart), bile (liver), and phlegm, which shaped later Western ideas about emotions and temperament.
Interestingly, the liver was thought to be the central organ of the body and location of the soul in ancient Mesopotamian beliefs, which could explain why it was associated with joyous feelings. Anger was linked to the legs in ancient Mesopotamia, which differs from modern associations with the chest and hands.
A study conducted in 2024 analyzed emotional expressions in ancient texts from Mesopotamia, dated around 3,000 years ago. The study analyzed one million words from ancient texts and found links between emotional expressions and references to body parts. The study suggests that the way we associate emotions with body parts may have cultural variations.
In 2013, researchers in Finland created 'body maps' of emotions by asking people to match their body parts to different emotional experiences. The study found that anger is often experienced in the chest and hands, while happiness is felt strongly in the chest and face. Happiness was most associated with the liver in ancient Mesopotamia, while it is often associated with the chest in modern times.
Emotions can cause physical changes in the body, such as changes in breathing, sweating, skin sensitivity, salivation, blood flow, body temperature, facial tension, and digestive system. Anxiety can trigger the release of hormones like adrenaline, increasing heart rate and tensing muscles. This feedback loop between the body and the mind might explain why we talk about 'gut feelings' and 'gut-wrenching anxiety'.
In conclusion, the study provides insights into the historical shift in understanding emotions, from a spiritual or cosmic perspective in ancient Mesopotamia to a more physiological model in later Western medicine. This represents a significant conceptual shift that has shaped our modern understanding of emotions and their association with body parts.
- As we look towards the future, advancements in science, technology, and health-and-wellness research might shed light on the complex relationship between emotions and the body.
- In the realm of science, the integration of mental-health research with neuroscience could lead to a deeper understanding of the biological basis of emotions.
- With the continued growth of space exploration and research, it's conceivable that our knowledge of human emotions might even extend beyond the Earth, revealing universal emotional patterns across various species and societies.
- By understanding these patterns, we may find new insights into human emotions, potentially paving the way for improved mental health and wellness strategies that bridge the gap between the spiritual and the scientific perspectives on emotions.
