Before Emotion

This book brings together scholars working in different classical traditions - Greek, Chinese, Latin, Hebrew, Sanskrit, Arabic, Pali, Hittite, Egyptian, Japanese, and Sumerian - to investigate how major texts in these diverse traditions conceptualized, mapped and categorized the sentiments, attitudes and states we think of as emotion. It is distinctive in its: 1) focus on the foundational questions concerning the categorization and conceptualization of emotion; 2) level of collaboration among scholars working in different traditions and disciplines; and 3) vast scope of inquiry far beyond what is usually considered in comparative studies, covering eleven different ancient/classical traditions. It also aims to build on the resources of these traditions to make an intervention in how we might think about emotions today.