By Samuel Gugliotta
For Variety

WHAT is anger? In one sense every thinking person knows what anger is; but to express that (intuitive) knowledge in words is another matter.
The word “anger” denotes a psychological condition; and one that is usually classified under the concept of “emotion.” We all have suffered a wide spectrum of emotions: the “passions of the soul.” All people it seems are angry some of the time, and some people are angry all of the time.
The leading philosopher Richard Wollheim, in his book, “On the Emotions” discusses a common distinction which holds for emotions: some are “positive” and some are “negative.” (Hence the title of this article, using the metaphor of electrical polarities.)
The “positive” emotions “are those in which our attitude towards their object is favorable, or we look upon it with pleasure.” Conversely, the “negative” emotions “are those in which our attitude is unfavorable, or we look upon the object of the emotion with unpleasure.” The positive emotions are said to “arise out of” satisfied desire, and conversely, the negative emotions arise out of frustrated desire. The satisfaction or frustration of a desire need not be realized, in that the “prospect” or satisfaction or frustration plays the same role in the formation of emotion as their actualizations.
A partial list of the negative emotions include, according to Wollheim, “hate, anger, loathing, envy, jealousy, resentment, ingratitude, fear, terror, bitterness, scorn, disgust, remorse, sorrow, melancholy, shyness, indifference, despair, and doubtless others.” Thus anger is placed clearly in the negative realm: it is certainly not a pleasant state to experience.
Unlike the symmetry of say, the mathematical number line, where every negative element corresponds to an opposite positive element, Wollheim notes that the negative emotions “conspicuously out number the positive emotions.” Such positive emotions are limited to the following: “love, joy, tenderness, gratitude, admiration, compassion, hope, and perhaps pity and pride.” We look upon the object of such emotions in a favorable light, and often with the anticipation of pleasure.
There are also, by the way of this classification, emotions which are neither positive nor negative, and are associated neither with pleasure nor unpleasure. Examples offered are amazement, surprise, and confusion. (Thus, the “electric” metaphor is rescued, since there are elements such as neutrons in physics, or zero in mathematics, which are neither positive nor negative.)
The tradition in ancient Western wisdom, and especially the Hellenistic philosophers, has been to denounce anger, and also the display of anger. (Seneca says somewhere that a person in the grip of such an unruly passion should see him or herself in a mirror: expressing anger makes you look ugly.) I suppose we could say that none of the negative emotions make one in the least attractive.
Anger is not an emotion appropriate to, say, a Stoic sage. It was considered to be an emotion depending on external objects, and the point of philosophy was to develop a demeanor that was free of any attachment to external conditions. A self-sufficient Stoic sage remains unruffled at all times. Aristotle made a similar point when he said that anger in most people is an “over-reaction” based on ignorance. If a person had a correct perception of a situation, anger would be less intense than it actually is. (Aristotle, however, noted that anger had a pleasurable, or positive component in conjunction with its painful aspect insofar as the thought of taking revenge on the object or cause of one’s anger is a kind a pleasure.)
Others have pointed out the negativity of anger embodied in the ambiguity of the word “mad.” In some contexts “mad” is synonymous with “angry” and in other contexts it is synonymous with “insane.” Thus, the remark was made that “anger” is a kind of temporary “insanity” or “madness.” (Salvator Dali once remarked, “the only difference between me and a madman is that I’m not mad.”
Self-control, knowledge and reflection goes a long way in overcoming the emotional disturbances associated with anger. However, in these post-Freudian times, the situation is not so simple. The repression of emotions is not seen as conducive to mental heath. Thus some psychologists talk of “safe” ways to express one’s anger. For example, it may be recommended that throwing a tantrum privately or in the doctor’s office might have beneficial effects. Punch the pillow or kick the mattress, and let it out. Or when driving alone close the windows and let out a big scream.
Nowadays, the question of anger or “anger management” has it seems come to public attention. Domestic violence or assault and battery is in the news every day. Thus an understanding of such phenomena is the first step towards corrective measures. In this brief article I have glanced at some of the Western interpretations of emotion and anger. However, the West is not the whole world, and I think an appreciation of the Eastern conceptions, in Buddhism, has much to offer to the discussion. I will also be looking at then notion of compassion as it has developed in law and everyday life. In the meantime, may you begin your new year by stepping back from the negative and finding the loving kindness we all pray for.
Puzzle
1. In Plato’s Academy, one-half the students major in philosophy, one-fifth major in music, and one-tenth major astronomy. There are 20 students who are undecided. So how many students are in Plato’s Academy?
Answer to last week’s puzzle
1. 987,652,413