Are there organs or cells associated with particular emotions?

I think emotions are anthropomorphic constructs, developed over time to smooth over our integration into a growing community -- civilization.

Some animal species endure infanticide when alpha males lose to challengers. Existing infants are summarily killed for the lactating females to return to fertile status. If emotional responses exist while infanticide is occuring, observers have not reported them as such, lest they be accused of anthropomorphising animal behavior.









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Est modus in rebus sunt certi denique fines quos ultra citraque nequit consistere rectum Goldilocks

We still know little about the sources of or functioning of emotions.

Seems they are an animal response to survival instincts left over from our earliest ancestors.

Love: Protection or establishment of our progeny -protecting our genes.
Hate: Defense against the dilution of our genes.
Like: Bringing allies toward protecting our genes.
Sadness: Loss of a part of our gene pool or allies thereof.
Happiness: Positive emotion when our genes or supporters advance.
Arrogance: Rejecting something that threatens our gene pool.

I'm sure there's more, but I'm tired.....
Chime in!

(Trust me, I'm an anthropologist.)

Impossible is illogical.
Lack of evidence is not proof.
 +  = 

You claim that you are a anthropologist so I ask your opinion. What civilization gave us the best model for modern government.

Well, I'm not a political anthropologist; I'm a cultural anthropologist. So indeed this is merely opinion based on my limited knowledge. I studied Polynesian cultures mainly, and they are certainly NOT the best model for modern government.

IMHO, I look at the governments of Switzerland and Denmark as some of the best examples of modern government. More freedoms, fewer restrictions, more benefits, non-interventionist.

Historically (I'm not a historian, either) I see few examples of good models for modern government. Greece comes to mind, but they have had their ups and downs over time. Greece is considered to be the cradle of Western civilization.

Impossible is illogical.
Lack of evidence is not proof.
 +  = 

To my knowledge, the distinct regions of the cerebral cortex process distinct physical stimuli, but when it comes to the metal phenomena termed "emotions", the way they correspond to regions of the cerebral cortex becomes jaded or at least work in a Venn diagram kind of mutual non-exclusion.

Emotions emerge out of a very complex interplay between different brain structures that are themselves shaped by personal experiences, which include one's culture. For these reasons, they are not quantifiable in the way that color or shape perception are, so you are never going to find a specific brain area that processes a specific emotion the way you can find a specific area that, for instance, processes information about faces.

I think, if we could identify a finite set of things in the cerebral cortex, then we might be able to determine how many "primary" emotions exist and how to precisely define them and composite forms of these things.

For the reasons I just gave, that will never be possible.

I'm sure there's more, but I'm tired..... Um. Thank you.
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For the reasons I just gave, that will never be possible. I'm inclined to agree. I just want for there to be an improved way to define and categorize emotion.

I just want for there to be an improved way to define and categorize emotion.

We're culturally and biologically as good as we are ever going to be at this task, which is fundamentally not something truly quantifiable by the methods of science. Any attempt to be more "refined" would merely draw arbitrary boundaries.