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Scaffolding emotions and evolving language

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 May 2012

Eva Jablonka  and
Simona Ginsburg
Eva Jablonka
Affiliation:
Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel. jablonka@post.tau.ac.il
Simona Ginsburg
Affiliation:
Department of Natural Science, The Open University of Israel, Raanana 43107, Israel. simona@openu.ac.il
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Abstract

We suggest that, in animals, the core-affect system is linked to partially assimilated behavioral dispositions that act as developmental scaffolds for the ontogenetic construction of emotions. We also propose that in humans the evolution of language altered the control of emotions, leading to categories that can be adequately captured only by emotion-words.

Information

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 35 , Issue 3 , June 2012 , pp. 154 - 155
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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References

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