A Human History of Emotion

How the Way We Feel Built the World We Know

By: Richard Firth-Godbehere

Narrated by: Richard Firth-Godbehere

A sweeping exploration of the ways in which emotions shaped the course of human history, and how our experience and understanding of emotions have evolved along with us.

We humans like to think of ourselves as rational creatures, who, as a species, have relied on calculation and intellect to survive. But many of the most important moments in our history had little to do with cold, hard facts and a lot to do with feelings. Events ranging from the origins of philosophy to the birth of the world’s major religions, the fall of Rome, the Scientific Revolution, and some of the bloodiest wars that humanity has ever experienced can’t be properly understood without understanding emotions.

In A Human History of Emotion, Richard Firth-Godbehere takes readers on a fascinating and wide ranging tour of the central and often under-appreciated role emotions have played in human societies around the world and throughout history—from Ancient Greece to Gambia, Japan, the Ottoman Empire, the United States, and beyond.

Drawing on psychology, neuroscience, philosophy, art, and religious history, A Human History of Emotion vividly illustrates how our understanding and experience of emotions has changed over time, and how our beliefs about feelings—and our feelings themselves—profoundly shaped us and the world we inhabit.

Critic reviews

"An educative foray...Insightful…Plenty of scholars seem to have read everything on their chosen subjects, but it’s rare to find one who can convert this massive database into lucid, captivating prose. Paul Johnson and Yuval Noah Harari do it; Firth-Godbehere is another."—Kirkus (Starred Review)

"A fascinating look at the profound ways in which the harnessing of human emotions has shaped world-wide history and culture. Eye-opening and thought-provoking!”—Gina Rippon, author of The Gendered Brain

“A well-written, fact-filled global tour. Readers interested in a history of emotional responses will find this a good place to start.”—Publishers Weekly

"Emotions are a much bigger part of the experience of being human than most people would ever realize. If you want to know more about emotions and how we arrived at our understanding of them, this book is exactly what you need."—Dean Burnett, author of Happy Brain

“Reading The Human History of Emotion is like watching a familiar film turned upside down. Take Richard Firth-Godbehere's hand and let him walk you down a strange path through some new and familiar historical landscapes. I very much enjoyed having my preconceptions challenged, and any book so comprehensive that it starts with Socrates and ends with emojis deserves a place on my bookshelf.”—Iszi Lawrence, author and co-host of Making History

"Richard Firth-Godbehere takes us on a rollercoaster of historical emotions, from the ancient to the modern and into the future. He shows that human emotions are more complex than you might think, with an infectious enthusiasm and energy that keep the pages turning. Whether you are looking for new ideas, narrative history, psychological theory, or cultural anthropology, this book will teach you something new about how people have felt about their feelings through the ages. A book like no other."—Thomas Dixon, author of Weeping Britannia: Portrait of a Nation in Tears

"As we are so often held siege by and manipulated by our emotions, it seems wise to become calmly acquainted with them. Richard Firth-Godbehere provides an elegant and entertaining guide to the best and the worst of our furies and delights."—Robin Ince, co-host of The Infinite Monkey Cage

History without emotion is no history at all

Firth Godbehere writes an accessible history of how emotion has shaped historical events around the world. I found it both informative and entertaining. I love that the author is the narrator.

Emotions

I agree that we can’t look at history without inquiring into the emotional state of the actors.

What emotion would best characterize our age?

What emotion would best characterize our age? One day I read a book How emotions are made, where is shown that emotions are actually constructed in the brain, they are not something like wearher, albeit sometimes perceived like that because they resides in "lower circuits". In the book I am mentioning they are explored mostly through neurological point of view, in A Human history of emotion it's explored mostly from phenomenological and historical view, what we know was perceived/characterized through human history and how it shaped historical events. I think biological is something like good/bad which mixed with arousal, which can mix with bad and good and rage might be somewhat a separate function too. From phenomenological standpoint, I remember the discussion between Dalajlama and bishop Tutu, where Dalajlama says Tiberian tradition teaches how to transform emotions, contradicting bishops "weather" view.

Amazing.

Dr. Godbehere has a writing (and speaking) style that engages you immediately. Once hooked, you’re on an adventure through history with emotions as your guiding light.

I was impressed with how differently I see our current views of emotion after hearing the topics presented in this book the way they were presented.

I recommend this book to everyone.

Informative and thought provoking

I learned things, had some ideas I had confirmed, had some ideas I had debunked, and enjoyed myself all along the way. Narration was excellent and clear. Highly recommend!