Dictionary

proto-emotion en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈpɹoʊ̯.toʊ̯.ɪˌmoʊ̯.ʃən/ (Canada, General-American)
• /ˈpɹoʊ̯.toʊ̯.iˌmoʊ̯.ʃən/ (Canada, General-American)
• /ˈpɹəw.təw.ɪˌməw.ʃən/ (British, Southern, Standard)

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *per-der.? Proto-Indo-European *per-der.? Proto-Indo-European *pér Proto-Indo-European *-o Proto-Indo-European *próder. Ancient Greek πρό (pró) Ancient Greek -ᾰτος (-ătos) Ancient Greek πρῶτος (prôtos) Ancient Greek πρωτο- (prōto-)lbor. English proto- Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰ Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰs Proto-Italic *eks Latin ex Latin ex- Proto-Indo-European *m(y)ewh₁- Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti Proto-Indo-European *m(y)owh₁éyeti Proto-Italic *moweō Latin moveō Latin ēmoveō Vulgar Latin *exmovēre Old French esmovoir Middle French esmouvoir Middle French emotionbor. English emotion English proto-emotion From proto- + emotion.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) An impression that could evolve into an emotion in the course of personality development.
   • Wiley argues that cognitive and emotional theories of the self are partially correct and complementary, that “the self is constituted in a cognitively reflexive manner, but in addition it is powered by a kind of emotion, itself also reflexive” (1994, p. 114). In this regard, he contends that “the James-Cooley self-feeling, particularly at its core, is not an emotion in the ordinary sense but rather an energy or force (or ‘proto-emotion’), similar to Durkheim’s semiotic solidarity. 2010 April 26, Neil J. MacKinnon, David R. Heise, “Seven: Theories of Identities and Selves”, in Self, Identity, and Social Institutions, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, →DOI, page 184:
   • For clients they can often be quite alarmed if they are experiencing these emotions and will compare themselves to other people and say: “there’s something wrong with me, why are my emotions like this, when other people report their emotions like this, they’re amazing,” so you know I will have them pump the brakes and say like you're experiencing proto-emotion and we have to go through those steps before it can feel more handleable. 2025 February 1, Kirk Honda, 1:29:33 from the start, in HealthyGamerGG, director, Avoidant Personality Disorder Deep Dive:
   • Emotions and feelings, on Scrutton’s account, are represented by a plethora of words in Latin, none of which convey what modern accounts of emotion seek to convey. However, Augustine’s account of the nature of feelings (what can generally be described as emotions), is important for moving forward in the philosophy of love and emotions. Love, for Augustine, is not an emotion at all, and neither is it a proto-emotion. 2021 May 5, Patricia L. Grosse, “When the Love Is Bad”, in Claude-Hélène Mayer, Elisabeth Vanderheiden, editors, International Handbook of Love, Berlin: Springer, →DOI, page 724:

Forms

Relateds

alexithymia · schizoid personality disorder · primary affect