You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
After a long and learned introduction in which Mr. S. C. Mitra reviews the work done by various modern authorities on the subject of the emotions, he passes on to his own new theory. He assumes that 'mind is at first a vast store of potential energy in a state of perfectly stable equilibrium quite content and at harmony with itself'. This harmony is disturbed by the act of birth. 'Unpleasantness' is experienced by this disturbance of the first state of harmony. Unpleasantness is therefore a later phenomena than pleasantness. The increasing complexity of the means by which harmony is disturbed leads to an increasing complexity of the means of defence against disturbance. Suppression, repression, introjection and projection are some of the means used for the purpose of maintaining equilibrium. The yearning for harmony is at the root of the death instinct, while Eros is occupied with the maintenance of harmony. The normal mind is a balanced mind. The author thinks that this view may 'reconcile many a conflict both among the academic psychologists and among the psycho-analysts'. This fundamental yearning for harmony may be identified with the 'w' factor of Spearman.