But were they talking about emotions? Affectus, affectio, and the history of emotions

Journal article

Champion, Michael, Garrod, Raphaële, Haskell, Yasmin and Ruys, Juanita Feros. (2016). But were they talking about emotions? Affectus, affectio, and the history of emotions. Rivista Storica Italiana. 128(2), pp. 521-543.

Publication dates
Authors	Champion, Michael, Garrod, Raphaële, Haskell, Yasmin and Ruys, Juanita Feros
Abstract	This study investigates how Latinate writers from the classical world to the early modern might have referenced the concept of 'emotion'. It focuses on the polyvalent terms 'affectus' and 'affectio', as these not only appear to have been heavily implicated in premodern discourses about emotional states and dispositions, but are also the cognates of modern terms, such as 'affect' and 'affection', that are undeniably emotions-centred. The study provides a preliminary survey of what the terms 'affectus' and 'affectio' could denote in terms of emotions, considers whether they were synonyms or signified discretely, and explores the expansion of their meaning when used in compounds with terms denoting the mind or body. It uncovers no teleology, but rather the likelihood that usage was modulated according to genre and authority. In conclusion it suggests points of departure for further research that will be able to nuance and complicate this important word history.
Year	2016
Journal	Rivista Storica Italiana
Journal citation	128 (2), pp. 521-543
Publisher	Edizioni Scientifiche Italiane
ISSN	0035-7073
Web address (URL)	https://www.edizioniesi.it/rivistastoricaitaliana/index.php?id=2016
Open access	Published as green open access
Page range	521-543
Author's accepted manuscript	AM_Champion_2016_But_were_they_talking_about_emotions.pdf License All rights reserved File Access Level Open
Publisher's version	License All rights reserved File Access Level Controlled
Output status	Published
Print	2016
Online	2016
Publication process dates
Deposited	25 Jan 2023

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