How Do Emotions Signify? Social Relations and Psychological Functions in the Dramatic Constitution of Subjects

Abstract

In this article, we discuss contributions from contemporary authors toward understanding a complex topic: human emotions. We comment on these authors' ideas and describe their ways of talking about emotions in relation to language, consciousness, meaning, and psychological instruments. After considering the distinct contributions of these authors, we inquire how Vygotsky's ideas deepen our understanding of human emotions and we argue the need for further exploration into the interrelations between emotions and signification. In his search to explain how social relations become internalized psychological functions, Vygotsky utilized the notions of sign and semiotic mediation to highlight the role of verbal language and meaning in making specific forms of communication and generalization possible, such as planning and self-regulation. Vygotsky claimed that human emotions develop, but he did not explicitly state how this happens. Assuming that emotions are also affected by sign production and (trans)formed by signification and language, we argue that the ways of conceiving of signification, sign, and sense production make a difference for how we explain historical-cultural development, psychicological functioning, personality formation, and the dramatic constitution of subjects. We offer two empirical excerpts to make particular aspects of signifying emotions visible.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This article was supported by FAPESP – Fundação De Amparo À Pesquisa Do Estado De São Paulo; CNPQ - Conselho Nacional De Desenvolvimento Científico E Tecnológico.