The Emotions

WILLIAM JAMES and Carl Lange, investigating the problem of the emotions, independently and within a year, arrived at a very similar point of view with regard to the relation between the emotion as experienced by the subject and its bodily expression. The theory, generally known as the James-Lange theory, inverts the usual common-sense sequence which would say that we cry because we are sorry, and asserts that, on the contrary, we are sorry because we cry. Practically every student of psychology since the publication of the original articles has had to consider this contention; it is fairly easy to criticise, extremely easy to ridicule, and yet still remains provocative.The Emotions.By Carl G. Lange William James. (Psychology Classics, vol. I.) Pp. 135. (Baltimore, Md.: Williams and Wilkins Co., 1922.) 4 dollars.