The stream of fear

Abstract

The text will suggest that our emotional life is one continuous stream of active and passive fear. The argumentation is based on different insights about fear presented by Angelo Mosso and Carl Georg Lange in particular. Specifically, Mosso shows that increased circulation occurs after fear ceases, while Lange links anger and joy to increased circulation, showing that these two emotions are physiologically close. At the same time, Lange argues that sadness is physiologically close to fear because it is characterized by weakened circulation. On the other hand, there is an evolutionary connection between fear and anger. The text presents the idea that fear is the only basic emotion, and that other emotions are modifications of fear, hence the title ?The Stream of Fear? inspired by William James?s description of our mental life as one continuous ?stream of consciousness?.