Page:Outlines of Psychology (Wundt) 1907.djvu/224

 194 II. Psychical Compounds.

equal to that in paralysis. These are the asthenic emotions. There is still another distinction, which is not important enough, however, to lead to the formation of an independent class of physical effects of emotions, since we have to do here only with modifications of the phenomena characteristic of sthenic and asthenic emotions. It is the distinction between rapid and sluggish emotions, based upon the greater or less rapidity with which the increase or inhibition of the inner- vation appears. 7. Both in natural, and in voluntarily aroused emotions the physical concomitants have, besides their symptomatical significance, the important psychological attribute of being able to intensify the emotion. This attribute is due to the fact that the excitation or inhibition of certain particular groups of muscles is accompanied by inner tactual sensations which produce certain sense-feelings. Since these feelings unite with the other affective contents of the emotion, they increase the intensity of the emotion. From the heart, respiratory organs, and blood-vessels, we have such feelings only in cases of emotions, when the feelings may indeed be very intense. On the other hand, even in moderate emotions the state of greater or less tension of the mimetic and pantomimetic muscles, exercises an influence on the affective state and thereby on the emotion. a. Older psychology, because of its general tendency to give an intellectualistic interpretation to psychical processes, generally offered logical reflections about emotions, as a theory of the emotions, or even as a full description of them. The best illustration of this kind of a theory of the emotions is the doctrine of Spinoza. In such theories the psychological treat- ment was very largely influenced by ethical considerations. As one result of such influence, we have the distinction between emotions and passions, the latter term being employed to des- ignate those conditions in which certain particular impulses through long continued feeling and emotions, gain the complete