Angers Past and Present

Abstract

Thomas Dixon makes the important point that modern anger is nothing like the seemingly parallel phenomena (ira, mênis and so on) of the past. He proposes to show how different it is by employing what he calls an anatomical-genealogical approach – tracing components of the present idea of anger to their antecedents. He criticises my own work on anger as ahistorical because I use the singular term rather than the plurals that the subject demands. I find his critique unconvincing and his approach problematic. I suggest that we explore past notions of anger (and other emotions as well) in their own lived contexts rather than by separate components.