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A Brief History of Anger

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International Handbook of Anger

Abstract

Stories, myths, and religious beliefs reveal the powerful role that anger has played in human affairs since the beginning of recorded history. The projections of anger into the supernatural by ancient and pre-literate societies trying to account for the terrifying vagaries of nature testify to their experience with, and appreciation of, the baleful influence of anger in the human sphere. It has served as an instrument of the moral order, as cast in religious narratives and works of art, literature, and drama, and as legitimized in social rules. Various philosophies of human nature, moral conduct, and the search for perfection in human behavior have struggled to determine the essentials of anger. It is fundamentally linked to our representations of personal and societal order and disorder.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Michael Potegal

  2. University of California, Irvine, CA, USA

    Raymond W. Novaco

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  1. Michael Potegal
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Correspondence to Michael Potegal .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Pediatrics, Div. Pediatric Clinical Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Delaware St. SE., 420, Minneapolis, 55455, Minnesota, USA

    Michael Potegal

  2. FB Psychologie, Universität Marburg, Gutenbergstr. 18, Marburg, 35032, Germany

    Gerhard Stemmler

  3. University of South Florida, 7th Ave. South 140, St. Petersburg, 33701, Florida, USA

    Charles Spielberger

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Potegal, M., Novaco, R.W. (2010). A Brief History of Anger. In: Potegal, M., Stemmler, G., Spielberger, C. (eds) International Handbook of Anger. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-89676-2_2

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