The Origin and Nature of the Emotions; Miscellaneous Papers

The essays collect experimental and clinical studies arguing that emotional responses arise from phylogenetic associations and operate through integrated physiological systems. The author presents a kinetic theory of shock linking coordinated changes in brain, adrenal glands, and liver, supported by histologic and physiological experiments showing effects of fear, anger, trauma, infection, and rest or sleep on these organs. Other papers apply this framework to pain, laughter, crying, anesthesia, and a mechanistic view of psychology and disease, including experimental exploration of blood hydrogen-ion changes and a proposed relation between alkalinity, acidity, and anesthetic action.