History of emotions
Rituals and celebrations
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Digging for answers in a cave filled with Neanderthal skeletons
When a team of researchers returned to an Iraqi cave believed to be a Neanderthal burial site, here’s what they found
by Shayla Love
Learning and education
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Perplexed? Embrace it! Confusion is a symptom of learning
Perplexed? Embrace it! Confusion is a sign of learning, but the key is finding the sweet spot of productive confusion
by Juliette Vazard
History of emotions
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The fear that trashy media will rot your brain goes way back
Keeping up with the Faerie Queene: from early modern romances to reality TV, does bingeing ‘lowbrow’ culture rot the brain?
by James Waddell
History of emotions
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The journeys taken by emotion words shape our inner lives
Changes to the meanings of euphoria, enthusiasm and ecstasy over time chart the ever-shifting territory of the emotions
by Tim Lomas
Anxiety
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After many false starts, this might be the true age of anxiety
If anxiety is more common than ever, it’s also more treatable. But excessive nervousness wasn’t always taken so seriously
by Jason Schnittker
Emotions
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Are you sure you know what emotions are?
It’s tricky to define what an emotion is: is surprise one, or something else? Here are a few simple rules to get started
by Andrew Ortony
History of ideas
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How 12th-century Genoese merchants invented the idea of risk
From the docks of 12th-century Genoa to the gambling tables of today, risk is a story that we tell ourselves about the future
by Karla Mallette
Rituals and celebrations
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Rituals create community by translating our love into action
For the Confucian Xunzi, love and gratitude are not just feelings in response to events but possibilities for social action
by Curie Virág
Parenting and families
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Finns start life safe and sound with a baby box from the government
In Finland, mothers can choose a cash benefit or a baby box – 95 per cent choose the baby box, a richly emotional object
by Tanja Vahtikari
Compassion and empathy
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Pity is an emotion easy to scorn but central to our humanity
Have pity for pity: when misused, it can express condescension or selfish relief, but it can also be a consoling virtue
by Gordon Marino
Grief
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Ancient Akkadian poems and medical texts reveal grief’s universals
The oldest story in the world, the ‘Epic of Gilgamesh’, shows us that the pain of grief is a fundamental part of being human
by Moudhy Al-Rashid
History of emotions
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‘It cannot be helped’: on facing death as calmly as a pirate
‘Don’t make yourself uneasy, for it cannot be helped’: how to face death calmly and generously, like a pirate facing execution
by Rebecca Simon