The sociology of emotions is a current of study that uses emotional states as a magnifying glass to analyze interactions between individuals and the types of behavior that take shape in social dynamics. In attempting to outline some of its origins and the current state of the art, it seemed useful to begin by introducing the thinking of several authors on the subject.
Simmel and the relationships of metropolitan man
Simmel, like other colleagues, highlights how the advent of modernity, capitalism, and the age of money have erased ancient ways of feeling and expressing one's emotions , making way for a modern intellectualism that will dominate the management of individual actions (Cerulo, 2009). It is important to remember that in Simmel's lexicon, intellect is distinct from reason. The latter is a principle that gives order to empirical knowledge based on questions concerning its meaning. Intellect is a logical-combinatorial faculty oriented toward calculability (Iagulli, 2011).
For Simmel, one of the principal characteristics of modernity is an intensification of nervous life , which produces an intellectualism of consciousness. In metropolises, the intellect dominates daily relationships, leading to the prevalence of an instrumental and calculative attitude in everyday life. To keep pace with the pace imposed by modern experience, individuals act primarily through the intellect to protect their emotionality from the acceleration of experience and constant change . The price paid is high. Human relationships are stripped of their emotional vitality, detachment and indifference become the prevailing emotions, and a sort of emotional shield seems to emerge, characterizing the blasé attitude and personality of the metropolitan man.
“Sentimentalism” of the Simmelian subject
It seems possible to assert that we are dealing with a kind of "sentimentalism," characterized by the protection of one's emotional feelings in the name of a dynamic, fluid, and easily practicable daily life. This seems to impose an artificial, constructed manifestation of feelings or emotional states that are often not the authentic ones experienced by the individual.
The Simmelian subject, torn between the desire to merge with the other and the anxiety of not losing his or her individuality, ends up experiencing a love experience that is not only contradictory but also tragic. Exhilaration and frustration, gratification and disappointment seem to alternate cyclically. In practice, they end up weakening human subjectivity.
Pareto and Parsons: The Limits of the Rational Actor
Vilfredo Pareto deserves credit for considering emotion and reason equally and with equal dignity. He recognizes the complexity of emotional phenomena and proposes a theory of social action in which the relationship between rationality and emotion appears to be mutually dependent . In his approach, the opposition between rational and irrational seems to fade. The author anticipates contemporary sociology of emotions by revealing the limitations of the rational actor model, which is incapable of accounting for the complexity of individual and social action, due to its partiality and abstract nature.
Other important references regarding the emotional dimension can be found in Parsons 's theoretical work . His approach, defined as systemic or structural-functionalist, views society as a social system, a set of interdependent elements organized to form an organic whole. Each of these elements performs a specific function that allows the system to self-regulate and survive, also thanks to the processes of differentiation and specialization to which these elements are subjected over time. In his study of the social system, Parsons identifies five types of structural variables (basic binary choices) that, by characterizing individual action, allow us to distinguish between different societies and cultures.
Affectivity and neutrality
Among these is the pair affectivity/affective neutrality : the difference between the two terms is to be found mainly in the concept of gratification . According to the American sociologist, in fact, the gratification component is more or less present in all social relationships as a source of the interaction itself and, at the same time, as an instrument of social control ,
“No acting subject can exist without gratifications, and at the same time no system of action can be organized or integrated without renouncing some gratifications that can be obtained in a given situation.” (Rutigliano, 1995).
We could say that if gratification represents, in Parsonian AGIL scheme, one of the goals towards which the individual tends, affective neutrality is one of the normative orientations present within the system.
“[…] in a certain sense all normative models involve an element of affective neutrality, since conformity to a model cannot in itself be a source of direct and immediate gratification” (ibid., p. 39).
Strong changes, yes, but without considering the role of the body
It must be remembered, however, that the context in which Parsons' research took place—American society—was rife with contradictions . These would be revealed first by a series of ethnographic sociological studies (think of Mills's research on white-collar workers) and then by the explosion of discontent and dissatisfaction that would culminate first in the artistic expressions of the Beat Generation and then in the pacifist movements.
The theories of classical sociologists , presented thus far, do not seem to show attention or interest in the theme of the body , which is central both to reflections on emotions and to the contemporary social landscape. The irruption of new technologies into the daily lives of individuals has profoundly changed not only their emotional behavior, but has also allowed the material body of individuals to assume new forms and move in a completely innovative context: cyberspace.
Some suggestions for further study
Bibliography
- CERULO M., Controversial Feeling: An Introduction to the Sociology of Emotions Carocci, Rome, 2009.
- IACULLI P., The Sociology of Emotions: An Introduction Franco Angeli, Milan, 2011.
- PARSONS T., the social system, Community Editions, Rome, 1965.
- RUTIGLIANO E., Reason and Sentiment. Vilfredo Pareto and Sociology, Franco Angeli, Milan, 1995.
Lecturer in Communications and HR Management. Journalist with a degree in Sociology (cum laude). Editor-in-Chief of Sociologicamente.it.
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