Re: affectivity: feelings and emotions

diane celia hodges (dchodges who-is-at interchg.ubc.ca)
Wed, 25 Feb 1998 19:16:05 -0800

At 5:30 PM 2/25/98, AMY BETH KATZ wrote:

> I haven't read anything about synchronicity in the classroom, but I know
>it happens because I often witness it myself. I know Hall claims that the
>only way you can really see this "dance" is when it is filmed and viewed in
>slow motion, but I have seen it happening myself.

French philosopher, Henri Bergson, in "Creative Evolution" (ooh, 1920s? 1930s?)
also said as much, that the "observability" of change is impossible to
witness, but if we could slow it down, frame by frame, we could see the
process - I can't recall now if he advocated introspection and reflection -
although, by his argument, there is only introspection and reflection
for"knowing" the "world" - something to do with never being within the
"now", but always being just past it... fuzzy. But you reminded me of it
with Hall's recommendations, which are significant, today, in our age of
video and visual technologies.

> There must be others who
>are aware of this to: that often times another person's emotions,
>transmitted through their voice or body, has a direct effect on your
>body-emotions???
>

Yes - many many studies on children and infants, and how they communicate
with each other, how, for instance, distress travels through a group, where
the tears of one child or baby are "emphathized" with to the extent of
mirroring grief - both recalling one's own grief, and, perhaps, the sound
of an other's sorrow triggers that recollection, body-repsonsively, so that
tears produce grief?

There is indeed an appearance of synchronous empathy, but I wonder
how simultaneous it actually is?

diane

"Every tool is a weapon if you hold it right." Ani Difranco
*********************************************
diane celia hodges
faculty of education, centre for the study of curriculum and
instruction,
university of british columbia
vancouver, bc canada

tel: (604)-874-4807
mail:
3519 Hull Street

Vancouver, BC, Canada V5N 4R8