The Transmission of Affect TeRESA BRENNAN CORNELL UNIVERSITY PRESSCoppi © any by Comal Use Aig eer cep ee ute in vi hbk ope ‘eon ot bee! ina fom thn eminent ‘he pbs Fortran ss Canal Une Pos Sage se "pata Sere Mace New oh st pub an by Cara Unt ent printing, Comal pbc 5) ary of Cong Catalin Flcton ta pitta tao tee ti ISBN Soy al fe BN ong rs alk pope) Ass neg) Sen pes Eide wae ‘ony ives Prams ae none sponses uimata othe ue en pose inte pang oe ech ‘ern eu ne aeVOC nd aie popes ao eyelid feel ers Fe Comping 9 9 87 6s 42 e Papack pining 10 9 87 6 5 43 2 ee Contents Foreword 2 Introduction 2 2, The Tasmision of Aft nth Clinic 2 4 Danson in Groups 52 4 TheNew Paradigm 74 5 The Sealing ofthe Heart 97 6 The Edusaton ofthe Senses 16 7 Interpreting the lsh 139 Notes 265 Works Cited 203 Indes 247Introduction 1s there anyone who fat nota east ones Wald nt arom and ‘felt the atmosphere"? But if many have paused to wonder how they ecuta this impreson, and way #reemed both objective and et tain, tore & no record af ther cosy inthe copious Berta on _70up and cod paychlogy, orn the pycholgia and poycoana Ine writing that lms that one person can fel another's elings (Grd there writing tht doce thiy owe halle) This not espe lly surprising. any inguiry into ne one els the ther acs, forthe “atmosphere ast take ascount of piysology ae well he Sei paycholia tors tht generated the atmosphere inthe fs place!'The tarsoisin of alec Whether itil ane, range, {is acl or pychologial in ogi. But the transmission i also #e- ponsbl fr bodly change: some are bre changes, aa wil of thereon atmosphere, some lngee sting, Inter words, trans Iisson off, only fran stan alters the Sochemitry an eurlogyof he vj The “stmorphere” othe environment iter sly gots ino the ndvidual. Phyatcaly and blogic, something present hat vne no there Bor, ut ai not iia ul geri Itvas not generated solely or sometimes even inp by the indivi suf organism ois ges, ‘na ine when the popular of genetic explanations or ocal be- Daviors increasing th wanes of ae 2 concep ody ansmision takes place and has effects on behavioe is nt gens that determine sole the soil inde afc tht change‘ur biology. The tansmsin of ae isnot understood or studi ‘cause ofthe distance betwen the ence of tueion andthe reigning modes of balogkal explaration- No one aly Knaws how t happens, which may explain the reluctance fo ackaowedge ity xi tence! But this reluctance, historical x only ssont The tna son of atfet was once common koedge the concept faded om the history of soentie explaination ar the individu expec the Diologialy determine vd, cameo the fore ‘As the notion of the ndvidual gained n strength, as assumed more and mare that emotions an energes ae maa contained, fpingno farther tan thesken Bat whl recognized ely thal nr Aiiduatsn ia historical an euler procactheides hat ative ‘elEconaent sno a prscton sess Ie ll ery well to think that the idaas or Uhh agen subjects ae socially eon struc dependent on cultures, ime, and socal soaps within ‘hom. Indeed, aster Kae Mars, Kael Manabe, Michel Foust and any socal thinker worthy of the epithet “soca” ie ifial ohink ‘nything else. But we sxep vthcompariively ray acqiee ‘ence that our thoughts are not ently independent. we ate ‘oeteless peculiarly ecitant othe ia that ou enone ae ot loge ou ov The fat eta he akan for grantees of the ‘emotionally contained abject ea eal Bston of Erocentis in ‘rca inking, he at opt ofthe subj’ in the superior. Inyofis owen worldview ove that of other eles, Citic wh have cifclty with, they do not ace endorse, he iden hat progress sa modernist and Western myth are aonctbeless nd the way tht non-Western as weil as premodern pein cu tures assume that the person sat ste onan, Here mult ‘ultras coms up againt a boundary it proponent dont wish to bath. Notions of the wanzmision of abet are suspect a no white and coloal cata areal suepect. ‘Bat the suspicion isnot reasonable The denial of transnisson leads to muny nconsstenco in thes and trap of he sje. For insane, all eputable school of peychologiealthory anu that the subjects energetically and aecvelyslfconainest At the se tine, poycologits working in cll experience afectve leansnindon. The are many peycholopeal cman (espeally mong the flowers of Melanie Kiet) who ellee that thy exper ence the afc of thir atin dizealy>Tanemiesion also doe The Tanomiin of Aft smanted (with varying degrees of thoughts) in the sadly of ‘ows and gatherings The uneven iterate on codepersency Bars wine to how the anenaion of affect hopper in mlaonships, Duthere, oo thethoory eno! ek. These ras among ots ara ded herein The Tranemsin of Aft. The concept of tansision ie mlevant to supposedly paychogen epidemics, among them chronic ftguesyadrome (CIS) or tenon def yperstvty die ‘order (ADHD. One explanation for tese phenomena i that of ay {excl entiation, acl dis spar true. Ba he problen wit he ‘designation “hysteria” stat people forget, no mater how often it [ava that hysteria ike paychovomatc ine general iophy icin is ete Ieveally stn the Mesh, not to be daposed aby a “upper porte power of postive thinking. Misappreensions about bysein are hemeees instances the tendency fo spit bagi cr ysl ingly Wel things rom psychogocial explanation at el thing). Becrse ofthis spit te mechanism of hysteria Meni to has not yet een specified: Unlike the mechanisms iol in stable group phenomens, the ranstoryieatfcaton with a tempo: ‘ary group formation ce the dynamics ofa psjeho-epidemc” nese mors explanation ial very wall to sy that poops crowd oF (Ga groupe can sdently with oe anothee, cam ropa produce @ "roup or mob coneseese that verdes thir ndiviital reason oF leave them den with symptoms; bth fact ells nothing about the meana Tt does no tel show 8 soc and peychologicl alot ‘bres el within or eviom the sin of nel corporeal body. ‘Before oulning argumontson hw the tansmson of alec aes pce and fering prtiminary dione of terms Tate agin tat Tran using the tr “tansmlon of alle to capture a proces tal ‘social origin but blogical and phys in effect. The origin of ‘rani cei sca in that thee affects do not only arise ‘within partclar person butabo coms rom without They come ia sninteracon with ole people and an environment Bethy havea ‘physiological impact. By the transmission of affect, I mean simply that the emotions or ae of Ore perion ad the ening or de pressing energies these alles ental can ener ino another A define tom of alect as such s more complicated “Te term “ate” is ne randaion ofthe atin afc, which an ‘betrandated as “pasion” of “emotion” Ac Amélie Roty his shown, her are trl changes in the axon ofthe hay emis a Irsraucton3 fects, desis, and passons enms that are weed synonyanousy in ‘varying tmcltion frm Grek an Latin punt he ate nineteen tnd tenth centres when “pucion” became reserved for sant healt commitment, and Sxire” was sept fom “alec )* ut the same termsfove ns hate, anger ey shame (or gull continue n evidence om ance imesto the pean they ar found Inancient Grek taxonomies f the emotions, before that a Egyptian ang Hebrew tabulations of demons, and continue tough 1 Fred tnd after. The fist phlosophical txt of the suc, Artois ‘Ror organize te affect in tern of "anger and mines love and hated, fear and confidence, shame andere, nase 3 Une ‘indnes, pty and indignation ney and emai." Preent efntions ofthe afecte or emetnetem mano Dat win’ Physiologie account of the emotions and something calle the ‘Willamfames Cal Lange they Tie ames Lange teary nial in that thore wre sal eiference betwen James and Lange, ee ‘lly concerning Jame’ awareness he external ators inning the emotions) serlly diate that boy responses geist fee sate. Ths view is popula sede by examples such as “ying make us sad” although for Willa ames Ue ire was fat more sunced. Nonetheless the primacy he gave to body changes ‘wasanticpated in Descartes bel that emotions ate passive percep ons of boy motions Decry’ iat incies us toward lating motos tht cn be verified by another bserver, and tise enor by mode psyehogy! Knowledge of tis bly maton, een ine il bodily motion forthe modern X-ay ey, fen longer eae by the patho badly sensation ty tht of sual and matory ese ‘vatn, The preiacton for the really dicermible phy.tlogeal ‘anges accompanied by rein comple human tation tthe drives of unger lovee, agreson far andl presevation Boe iy changes in feu hunger pain, rage, and alfstionate or coal arousal become the ise cegores of endogenous drives, wile rvs in tum ae seated a the source of the fs The problem, ‘sill even, ses nthe emphasis om the oly changes tin ‘hereduconksm in understanding tea These bodily changes ae at viewed as “inolligent” or ay tertonal unconscious prone cpa eof bing reconectd with conscious ons ahough I lee they shoul be) Tn sum, txonomls of the emotions an aft have descended 44 TheTrmomicin of Aft from three tranchex One i ancient another Sani with Dat ‘way an hid stems rom James nd Lange Besa of thar ober ‘atonal tos the ls desonded fram Darwin donot reckon with tore complex afecive stats such arent, ul, uousy and love Th same taxonomies, these cogtve ae ae ttmed dest In the ‘premteth conta’ sogitive paycology a diinaion betwen 2 {ocas a present thing and dese—ac a Imaglndone—was de ‘vated ino tort sgnfcaes, partly to reckon wih the oie ‘component in desires, which invales gle nd thinking, Here shall, ‘Mire bo forms of fet, But ial in complex anemone esl isthe moment ffdgment A we wil ae the proton er Etojetion of judgment i the moment ensrdon takes place, Moreover Ue eof gent sina o the experience of tet {snot foreign tthe exiting erate By an affect, mean the physologia hit accompanying fg ent. The notion tat pamions and ales are themselves gens Isimplictin the frequent dettion of fect, 0 quote an example any evaluative postive or negative) centation oward an abject.” "he iden tt lst ae fadgments, oy aes nevevemacar a 2 ade (a "Tone the atid”) hashes common carey han the ‘ation of acts a surges of mation o poeson. Bt the evant oF Jcgmontl aspects of acts wl Be ctl in distinguishing be ‘een thew ysl phenamene and hose depioyed in feoing cr dscomament In other words, fedings are notte same thing as af fs. Pting simpy when I fel angry, eel te passage of anger ‘rough we, Wha feel with and what Ife are tinct ‘At present the ert ets lings aa ret of aes, long wih moods, enn, and emaons? But “fogs” etymology ‘lly fort the proprioceptive apocier of any ving rganiem— 1 own Gropris) sjtem of reception, Standard definitions concen teste on eat recived byway of sal oginates within an ‘nna, although stil of cours, also originate rom without “felings? eer to the senatons tt repute thee stint and ‘heeeto the sens, but felngs eludes something move than Se "iy lormatlon insofar a they suppose aiid Snerpeation of that information For or parpoes ere, I deine feelings as Sen ong that hae found the ight teh i words ‘The ditinaon between affects and fecings comes int its own once the focus ison the trnemison of afc Bat heres no ean ©chalnge thee that extn ae Sasa synonyms wih fesse a erdnlypyilgilsbed,o ut mode ad sentiments are subsets fring to ener ing afte comel ns What docs aed a bebe indi at a aco, cing SM sea” ema pyle gs The merece Ue emotion such a ejay appa ty bones, Pe jecvontheone hand and onthe other boy, nate, pasty, ack of gency, and the cbjt When ates and flings fre thetecves Into consideration, they willbe allocated a tate hat ether makes ‘hem ubjetive or makes thm par ofthe bjt ain he physiology ofthe aft when Boaly chunges are measured something to Be stuied, but ot by seas of fetng and ening, jst av unconsious bodily precemer ave not mint to be ifeligent or intentional pro es 50a feeling and soning red outs methodological ols for studying the objet, Decne they cannot be seen, of couse, ad Icuse they constitte x connection withthe oj By feng and ensign mean vague emoting By “sensing” Crean he de- ployment of mel and hearing aswell as pen vison, wile by “ie ng” as imped above, T meen the scat and rp lterpeaion ‘ofthis information via language: Feting ae sensations that have founda matin words wil ty fo show thatthe subject distintion ke ehaped by »the same foundational fantasy that lade uso projet affects on and into the mothe or another wh stands in fo the mother the same Famasy that cries thatthe transmission of act ext. The Teson for thinking tat a anasy shapes thre mot bak of alee fect and objet est on anaiyss, the itncon betwen the ate ore incoherent at bypassing the alas’ eines 2 new radi, and that eis a thoryof the payche andthe aera ‘vironment that snot premised on slecontatient ‘The Argument ‘Theft part ofthe book fl out sme ofthe parameters lined in (his chaplr in that eiews evigene forthe nner of at nom peydoanalji,peycholoy, and soll snes. Chapter 2 a3 yes work on the anon ofan the cline and shows how ‘he oss we come oa moder hry of arson en Wie ‘Bio's and Daniel Str’ serous ofthe tothe inant eaonship and Jean Laplanches partir endemtanding of the cid athe Symptom ots parents Chapter tno how te rans of ‘ect opeatsin group, gaerings, and cows The es of to- sphere” ina oom tl us at once thal the traseion of et does ‘ot enly work between to persons lt alone only beeen parent and cd As noted the ence potently evant to understand Jing the Behavior of groups and gatherings despite the wey in which ‘das of emotnalty in groups Rowe boon nsociated with age ci crete ideas ofthe “ove” This cuptr links dcasion ofthe fommmuricaton ofthe ats in groupe wth ent and contemporary ‘search on entrainment and chemical communion, suggrting that these Be considered s meni forte trnumison of ec ‘On this ass chapter «then tas tothe matter of new pradign. “The way the peyche conceptual ts e-containmert mens a8 ave seen, denying the mothers agency" But as ths euper shows, the foundational antary dows not only ke the mothe a passive repostory for unwanted ate after ith The same fanny dstor’s ‘he nguiy Into matmal agency In let. By pursuing an nguiry {nto then utero maearch, chapter dro the homoge way ‘which coneptelztions of the mation between the inv an ‘he environment and that between mother and fetus ave ees ie 20 The Temi of ct ltd by the foundational fantasy and the fants’ fects on theory and scence. In both ares, the nals fro expen conf ‘hat the maternal enorment and olfatery factor in the aca ene orment shape hima all © Thi tare the dscaion fer ‘ns of roe wil agency and intetonaliy. After anlyeing how the Aiton betwen indvdual and environment lied ith the Aisinctions betwen mind ae body eet and bjt atv and asi, and comsiousnass and enconecousnes ish be plan hat the dea of the tranamison of affect tame any reductons pe ‘oncepton abou the piy of logical causality in soc explana tion ons head. The problem, a a tablished nthe discon of ‘straint i ow to coneptlize the information biology uncon ‘ss Honest neo Darwinias ate une account forte evince of Frmenal interaction intr ad subseguently nol a the eck ‘xlanations fr maladaptive hormonal respons in cur genetic eve Taio. peraiges hse on the ansziion of affect encounters no such dfcley or 0 seems to me as an ouider surveying rel ‘ant scientific serch, Sacha paradigm aio offers elieatve to the supernatralst explanations that hold demons responsible for siden changer in dipostion, ‘Asfaras Team tel, the negative fects (undertod as mob rather tan endogenous forces) are dental with demons and/or deadly sare—the cavhst incaations ofthe Hea of negative alles ithe ‘st. The seven deadly sin ae not act They ae fect: re ltl ny ust ange gtony, avai Early Christin wing ie ab ‘ania ting, speak ofthe demon of despair end the demeon of shame. Toward the end of chapter 5 willis the origin of hase fects in relation lo the foundational fans, they extending the ‘planar we of his theory ogi aoount at bth consi ‘ent with the known fae and hat offers a reasoned account of sp osedly supernatural entitles, Eating Madey extaished that the foundational fantasy is prompted by envy tte afective com sent of themed forcontol and power over hes) cjetiscaton, nari and anger or aggrasion. Additonal it demonseaed that the peychoanalyte accu of sty Ide eered » microcsmie ‘version of thelogcl account ofthe Fl and an eco, environ manta notion of judgment ‘Here esha ss that envy, pride anger and other negative fest sreidentia with the seven deny sins wich wee eign cat as Imation anlemons Bot there are vast scholaly gaps betwen the appearance of those fective contlaions stead anos and ee epee ance inthe cin and it eds to be ite cer tha his book not 3 istry ofthe aes, Whe wiht coud be moe comprehensive tn ‘his respect the projet Tam outlining wil ave be cllective er eavor baciuse of the research asc to ake i fare wel a sop drawing together ll that has been dane In partclay thre Isscope here for mor convergence in theslogy andthe history of pic Jesophy and scence: However do explore the relation betivcen the ol acs and sins and how tase that have ge underground most deeply remenge as pathology. For istanc, sloth which ance fs tured a major sin, Sums to dppeae when we tm o psyche lye formulations of equivalent alert tes. ule We Tene ter that depression i marked by net Is lo apparently meri lyyansety and inwaré-tarned anger ain thi it contutes adie ‘ext comple of fects Dereon more ky hough hs snot 4 only cause io mark the reception of a an exo para rocton, which works asthe markers of depression usually work, ‘ume through negative jgnent| ‘While agrcing that wha dens the sigan affects vate, pee tally aco time or through Mistry ae well as clues, aso ange ‘hat hee are constant penal at work and they a versal for ‘ow—in tht they are potently pres inl an poyebesa we ‘knoe them. do net think they are univer forever, for vases we will come tin the end. They ae universal as potent tt they evo fom the guns geometric positioning of human perception {Wat eccrs a humans come fo see the worl fom thi wn sland point. ut wi this imaginary positioning saps of tantay ta fantasy whee oxgin are wrong sri othe nan rar an ‘he werd info which it soem such posiong becomes materi ‘nd psa whon iis canara in extermal ret case co structed in the extra vale of sacl and economic orders? In such cass, the foe ofthe negative afc catered and poses and pons, in any gen domain, wil incense Tse nega fects increase especially in elation ote present gba conamy on thar obvious polteation a volence as tobe rented tthe psa ‘oxi and stesso aly en the West Ys whether the eatin: aes ar increased by 2 soil order tht sets ti roion ot iinishedin ceization hat counters tthe potent pes 22 The Thani f Act ‘et Nonethes that potential cn be unfulfled,resistd econom ely jst an itcan be perenaly A the personal eve, the tarsmision ofthc affects can Be = std, provided they are iscered, a ws wil discuss i cupte © ‘Oe ness ith the fctings that ae romcines confused withthe ‘fects ut that arin fat, sco disaming or petving by sense ion. As strssed at theouse the things hal one fel are acts The things that one Fels with reeling, which can lo fel and even ice tho energy ofthe le ive anor love ‘The seventh chapter argues that the aupprenion of consciousness fed on dceming or fine fons (atthe same thing as wil be eas 8 in “feling angry”) he ppeson of information fom body’ dives systems It the suppresion of knowlege gleaned proce by cling or sensing Such knowlege sachin of conan ation and assccation inthe exh (with iy own anc the ‘i that alo structured like language an fenton as pata ‘way But such knowedge, whether gleaned by sel or teach or sound, doesnot aways, ever habitual, penetrate the modem con seiouness. The subjt/object categorie that onder the World of ‘ul peroeption override When these caegoies thicken together nh he negative ates that el them, he ality fo fel ioraton from theater sence dines. 1 conseyuenc, the spit etween thought and rel fing ech ‘wll be eon as another product ofthe sme fretting yo the sbje/bjct isin, deepens serially at these tne a the ‘ubje/objt mechod captures the investigative high gourd. The spit ‘alive thing inofaras mane ae swatped by neat aectarn a vay tha ead than o alate more and fe le Ate nr time ‘his swaming by the aos has consequences or helo, pose. ty, scl they, an pola pilosopy. Explanations tavern a opal determinism and neo Daim rein ogee soil ate ar ten duced io bing actors. What crcl the rea gad ations of thw whe defn the social constuction of persons, ‘he way that rain Bolg and phys phenomena Uist qe social expansion. While wellpeings are sok the rane mission of iets dep phys in its effects ie mencover the ey 0 the social and scenic undersanaing of what have hier beck \heaopal mts Imsduction 25