INTRODUCTION - EMOTIONS, WORDS AND CULTURES

The author examines the meaning, and the cultural history, of the Germ an word Angst (roughly a cross between 'anxiety' and 'fear' but with a touch of mystery or existential insecurity), which is much more commo n, and culturally more salient, than the word Furcht (roughly 'fear'). She shows that from a German point of view 'Angst' seems a far more ' basic' emotion than 'fear', and she investigates the possible roots of the concept of 'Angst' in Luther's language, inner struggles and theo logy. The author seeks to demonstrate that by studying the semantic sy stem of a language in a rigorous way and within a coherent methodologi cal framework, one can both reveal and document the cultural underpinn ings of emotions-even the most elusive and unfathomable ones such as A ngst.