TedTest

From the Ted Talk by Courtney Stephens: A brief history of melancholy

Unscramble the Blue Letters

Sadness is part of the hmuan eeepxcirne, but for ceuientrs there has been vast disagreement over what exactly it is and what, if anything, to do about it. In its simplest temrs, sadness is often thought of as the natural roaietcn to a difficult stioatiun. You feel sad when a friend moves away or when a pet dies. When a friend says, "I'm sad," you often respond by asking, "What happened?" But your assumption that sadness has an external cause outside the self is a relatively new idea. Ancient Greek doctors didn't view sadness that way. They believed it was a dark fluid inside the body. According to their humoral system, the human body and soul were conlletrod by four fluids, known as humors, and their balance directly influenced a person's haelth and temperament. Melancholia comes from melaina kole, the word for black bile, the humor believed to cause sadness. By changing your diet and through medical practices, you could binrg your humors into balance. Even though we now know much more about the stmseys that govern the human body, these Greek ideas about sadness resonate with current views, not on the sadness we all occasionally feel, but on clinical depression. Doctors believe that certain kinds of long-term, unlxpeaneid emotional states are at least partially related to brain chemistry, the balance of various chemicals present inside the brain. Like the Greek system, cinganhg the balance of these ceiacmhls can deeply atler how we respond to even extremely difficult cincaremcsuts. There's also a long tradition of attempting to discern the value of sadness, and in that discussion, you'll find a strong argument that sadness is not only an inevitable part of life but an essential one. If you've never felt melancholy, you've missed out on part of what it means to be human. Many thinkers contend that melancholy is necessary in gaining wisdom. Robert Burton, born in 1577, snpet his life studying the causes and experience of sadness. In his masterpiece "The Anatomy of Melancholy," Burton wrote, "He that increaseth wisdom itcsreenah sorrow." The rtamionc poets of the early 19th century believed melancholy allows us to more deeply understand other proofund eimtnoos, like beauty and joy. To unrsedantd the sadness of the trees losing their leevas in the fall is to more fully understand the cycle of life that brings frwloes in the spring. But wisdom and emotional intelligence seem pretty high on the hreachriy of needs. Does ssdneas have value on a more basic, tangible, maybe even evolutionary level? sisetincts think that crying and feeling withdrawn is what oanlrilgiy helped our ancestors secure social bonds and helped them get the support they needed. Sadness, as oeosppd to anger or violence, was an expression of suffering that could immediately bring people closer to the suffering person, and this helped both the person and the larger community to thrive. Perhaps sadness helped generate the unity we ndeeed to svviure, but many have wondered whether the sifeunfrg felt by others is anything like the suffering we experience ourselves. The poet Emily Dickinson wrote, "I measure every Grief I meet With narrow, probing Eyes - I wonder if it weighs like MIne - Or has an Easier size." And in the 20th century, medical anthropologists, like Arthur Kleinman, gathered eicndeve from the way people talk about pain to suggest that emotions aren't universal at all, and that culture, particularly the way we use language, can ifunecnle how we feel. When we talk about heartbreak, the feeling of brokenness becomes part of our experience, where as in a culture that talks about a bruised heart, there actually seems to be a different subjective experience. Some contemporary thinkers aren't interested in sadness' subjectivity versus usteaiirlnvy, and would rather use tchnelgooy to etnaimlie suffering in all its forms. David Pearce has sgsgetued that geteinc egrinenneig and other contemporary processes cannot only alter the way humans experience emotional and physical pain, but that world ecosystems ought to be redesigned so that animals don't suffer in the wild. He calls his project "paradise engineering." But is there something sad about a world without sadness? Our cavemen anocersts and favorite poets might not want any part of such a paradise. In fact, the only things about sadness that seem universally areegd upon are that it has been felt by most people throughout time, and that for thousands of years, one of the best ways we have to deal with this difficult emotion is to autitalcre it, to try to express what feels inexpressable. In the words of elmiy Dickinson, "'Hope' is the thing with featrhes - That perches in the soul - "And sings the tune without the words - And never stpos - at all -"

Open Cloze

Sadness is part of the _____ __________, but for _________ there has been vast disagreement over what exactly it is and what, if anything, to do about it. In its simplest _____, sadness is often thought of as the natural ________ to a difficult _________. You feel sad when a friend moves away or when a pet dies. When a friend says, "I'm sad," you often respond by asking, "What happened?" But your assumption that sadness has an external cause outside the self is a relatively new idea. Ancient Greek doctors didn't view sadness that way. They believed it was a dark fluid inside the body. According to their humoral system, the human body and soul were __________ by four fluids, known as humors, and their balance directly influenced a person's ______ and temperament. Melancholia comes from melaina kole, the word for black bile, the humor believed to cause sadness. By changing your diet and through medical practices, you could _____ your humors into balance. Even though we now know much more about the _______ that govern the human body, these Greek ideas about sadness resonate with current views, not on the sadness we all occasionally feel, but on clinical depression. Doctors believe that certain kinds of long-term, ___________ emotional states are at least partially related to brain chemistry, the balance of various chemicals present inside the brain. Like the Greek system, ________ the balance of these _________ can deeply _____ how we respond to even extremely difficult _____________. There's also a long tradition of attempting to discern the value of sadness, and in that discussion, you'll find a strong argument that sadness is not only an inevitable part of life but an essential one. If you've never felt melancholy, you've missed out on part of what it means to be human. Many thinkers contend that melancholy is necessary in gaining wisdom. Robert Burton, born in 1577, _____ his life studying the causes and experience of sadness. In his masterpiece "The Anatomy of Melancholy," Burton wrote, "He that increaseth wisdom __________ sorrow." The ________ poets of the early 19th century believed melancholy allows us to more deeply understand other ________ ________, like beauty and joy. To __________ the sadness of the trees losing their ______ in the fall is to more fully understand the cycle of life that brings _______ in the spring. But wisdom and emotional intelligence seem pretty high on the _________ of needs. Does _______ have value on a more basic, tangible, maybe even evolutionary level? __________ think that crying and feeling withdrawn is what __________ helped our ancestors secure social bonds and helped them get the support they needed. Sadness, as _______ to anger or violence, was an expression of suffering that could immediately bring people closer to the suffering person, and this helped both the person and the larger community to thrive. Perhaps sadness helped generate the unity we ______ to _______, but many have wondered whether the _________ felt by others is anything like the suffering we experience ourselves. The poet Emily Dickinson wrote, "I measure every Grief I meet With narrow, probing Eyes - I wonder if it weighs like MIne - Or has an Easier size." And in the 20th century, medical anthropologists, like Arthur Kleinman, gathered ________ from the way people talk about pain to suggest that emotions aren't universal at all, and that culture, particularly the way we use language, can _________ how we feel. When we talk about heartbreak, the feeling of brokenness becomes part of our experience, where as in a culture that talks about a bruised heart, there actually seems to be a different subjective experience. Some contemporary thinkers aren't interested in sadness' subjectivity versus ____________, and would rather use __________ to _________ suffering in all its forms. David Pearce has _________ that _______ ___________ and other contemporary processes cannot only alter the way humans experience emotional and physical pain, but that world ecosystems ought to be redesigned so that animals don't suffer in the wild. He calls his project "paradise engineering." But is there something sad about a world without sadness? Our cavemen _________ and favorite poets might not want any part of such a paradise. In fact, the only things about sadness that seem universally ______ upon are that it has been felt by most people throughout time, and that for thousands of years, one of the best ways we have to deal with this difficult emotion is to __________ it, to try to express what feels inexpressable. In the words of _____ Dickinson, "'Hope' is the thing with ________ - That perches in the soul - "And sings the tune without the words - And never _____ - at all -"

Solution

controlled
centuries
systems
terms
romantic
originally
emily
needed
experience
technology
stops
reaction
unexplained
genetic
scientists
understand
health
bring
evidence
emotions
feathers
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circumstances
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suggested
human
universality
profound
eliminate
changing
sadness
ancestors
spent
engineering
hierarchy
chemicals
opposed
leaves
situation
influence
flowers
survive
alter
suffering
articulate

Original Text

Sadness is part of the human experience, but for centuries there has been vast disagreement over what exactly it is and what, if anything, to do about it. In its simplest terms, sadness is often thought of as the natural reaction to a difficult situation. You feel sad when a friend moves away or when a pet dies. When a friend says, "I'm sad," you often respond by asking, "What happened?" But your assumption that sadness has an external cause outside the self is a relatively new idea. Ancient Greek doctors didn't view sadness that way. They believed it was a dark fluid inside the body. According to their humoral system, the human body and soul were controlled by four fluids, known as humors, and their balance directly influenced a person's health and temperament. Melancholia comes from melaina kole, the word for black bile, the humor believed to cause sadness. By changing your diet and through medical practices, you could bring your humors into balance. Even though we now know much more about the systems that govern the human body, these Greek ideas about sadness resonate with current views, not on the sadness we all occasionally feel, but on clinical depression. Doctors believe that certain kinds of long-term, unexplained emotional states are at least partially related to brain chemistry, the balance of various chemicals present inside the brain. Like the Greek system, changing the balance of these chemicals can deeply alter how we respond to even extremely difficult circumstances. There's also a long tradition of attempting to discern the value of sadness, and in that discussion, you'll find a strong argument that sadness is not only an inevitable part of life but an essential one. If you've never felt melancholy, you've missed out on part of what it means to be human. Many thinkers contend that melancholy is necessary in gaining wisdom. Robert Burton, born in 1577, spent his life studying the causes and experience of sadness. In his masterpiece "The Anatomy of Melancholy," Burton wrote, "He that increaseth wisdom increaseth sorrow." The Romantic poets of the early 19th century believed melancholy allows us to more deeply understand other profound emotions, like beauty and joy. To understand the sadness of the trees losing their leaves in the fall is to more fully understand the cycle of life that brings flowers in the spring. But wisdom and emotional intelligence seem pretty high on the hierarchy of needs. Does sadness have value on a more basic, tangible, maybe even evolutionary level? Scientists think that crying and feeling withdrawn is what originally helped our ancestors secure social bonds and helped them get the support they needed. Sadness, as opposed to anger or violence, was an expression of suffering that could immediately bring people closer to the suffering person, and this helped both the person and the larger community to thrive. Perhaps sadness helped generate the unity we needed to survive, but many have wondered whether the suffering felt by others is anything like the suffering we experience ourselves. The poet Emily Dickinson wrote, "I measure every Grief I meet With narrow, probing Eyes - I wonder if it weighs like MIne - Or has an Easier size." And in the 20th century, medical anthropologists, like Arthur Kleinman, gathered evidence from the way people talk about pain to suggest that emotions aren't universal at all, and that culture, particularly the way we use language, can influence how we feel. When we talk about heartbreak, the feeling of brokenness becomes part of our experience, where as in a culture that talks about a bruised heart, there actually seems to be a different subjective experience. Some contemporary thinkers aren't interested in sadness' subjectivity versus universality, and would rather use technology to eliminate suffering in all its forms. David Pearce has suggested that genetic engineering and other contemporary processes cannot only alter the way humans experience emotional and physical pain, but that world ecosystems ought to be redesigned so that animals don't suffer in the wild. He calls his project "paradise engineering." But is there something sad about a world without sadness? Our cavemen ancestors and favorite poets might not want any part of such a paradise. In fact, the only things about sadness that seem universally agreed upon are that it has been felt by most people throughout time, and that for thousands of years, one of the best ways we have to deal with this difficult emotion is to articulate it, to try to express what feels inexpressable. In the words of Emily Dickinson, "'Hope' is the thing with feathers - That perches in the soul - "And sings the tune without the words - And never stops - at all -"

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations

Important Words

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