Emotions of Suffering

Abstract

This chapter goes into more detail on the connection between culture, cognition, and emotion, according to the theoretical framework of ecological rationality (Sundararajan, Understanding emotion in Chinese culture: Thinking through psychology. New York, NY: Springer, 2015). It reports the results from psycho-linguistic analysis of the emotional expressions of suffering. Consistent with the ecological rationality hypothesis, which predicted that forms of emotion expression would differ across religious communities, and also consistent with the cognitive differences between the two groups reported in previous chapters, Yi-Christians were found to use relatively more emotional words, whereas Yi-Bimo dwelt relatively more on details of emotion-laden events. Informed by Peircean semiotics, the authors interpret these results in terms of the health implications of religion as a sign system. More specifically, to the extent that their religion capitalizes on external resources (rituals, religious experts, clan, etc.) for the maintenance of its integrity as a sign, the Yi-Bimo are more vulnerable to rapid urbanization, which is destructive of community and inimical to traditional religious symbols—now branded “superstitions” (mi xin). These factors may have contributed to the Yi-Bimo’s relative susceptibility to the pernicious consequences of globalization, such as AIDS and drug addiction.