On Tue, 23 Mar 1999, David wrote:
>
> as an
> undergraduate, I used to take the beta-blocker propranolol before I
> made class presentations. The effect was interesting--my fear
> remained as intense as ever, but it was unable to manifest itself in
> any peripheral symptoms of fight-or-flight. No pounding heart, no
> trembling hands, no bulging eyes, no shaking voice. With that extra
> bit of control over my body, I had more control over my performance.
> <snip>
"What kind of an emotion of fear would be left if the feeling neither
of quickened heart-beats nor of shallow breathing, neither of
trembling lips nor of weakened limbs, neither of goose-flesh nor of
visceral stirrings were present, it is quite impossible for me to
think...The more closely I scrutinize my states, the more persuaded I
become that whatever moods, affections, and passions I have are in
very truth constituted by, and made up of these bodily changes...and
the more it seems to me that if I were to become corporeally
anaesthetic, I should be excluded from the life of the affections".
"My fear remained as intense as ever"?
James would not be pleased.
-Stephen
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Stephen Black, Ph.D. tel: (819) 822-9600 ext 2470
Department of Psychology fax: (819) 822-9661
Bishop's University e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Lennoxville, QC
J1M 1Z7
Canada Department web page at http://www.ubishops.ca/ccc/div/soc/psy
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