The James-Lange Theory of Emotions - Term Paper Example

In James’s terms we face the public performance, have butterflies, tremble, stutter, and as a result, feel anxious (Cannon 109). James was making a clear volte-face on previous thought, the guts of his theory depending on the view that the visceral discharges associated with some external situation actually lead to the emotion as we know and experience it. Support for this theory was based largely on introspection. The argument can be reduced to a few main points. James asserted that any sensation has extremely complex physiological manifestations and that these are all felt, some obvious, some more obscure. We imagine some strong emotion and then try to push from consciousness all feelings of the bodily symptoms associated with it (Cannon 115). If we do this successfully, then in James’s terms there will be nothing left; the emotion will be gone. He cited many examples of how everyday situations lead to these complex, strong bodily feelings (seeing a child peering over the edge of a cliff, for example) and argued that his case is supported by the idea of how easily we can classify both normal and abnormal behavior according to bodily symptoms.