Darrin M. McMahon
The History of Emotions has developed in creative, if at times tense, relation to the discipline of intellectual history. Yet the fields clearly have a good deal to learn from—and offer—one another. For that reason enterprising scholars have found interesting ways to combine them. In my brief remarks, I will discuss some of the tensions and points of convergence —both real and potential—between the two fields, illustrating my general remarks with specific reference to happiness, a subject that may be treated fruitfully as either an emotion or as an idea/concept (Begriff), or indeed as a combination of the two. I will try to show that approaching the subject from the vantage point of either method yields different, but ultimately mutually beneficial, insights.