TSS: “Only emotion, only passion, either emotion or passion, both emotion and passion, emotion changing to passion, passion changing to emotion, between emotion and passion, neither emotion nor passion, beyond emotion and passion…”
Flexor Metastabilian’s Synopsis: “The squiggle emotion~passion is subtle and rich. It deals with intensities of feeling, their grounding in life, and their transformations…”
Dynamical Mode 1: Only emotion
Definition: Emotion is the broad spectrum of human affect — transient, diverse, sometimes soft, sometimes stormy. Gentle, passing states of feeling without escalation into passion.
Examples: Feeling sadness at a film scene, a moment of delight at music, brief anxiety before a conversation.
Notes: Here, feelings remain in the everyday register, shifting and dissolving with circumstance.
Dynamical Mode 2: Only passion
Definition: Passion is emotion amplified, focused, and given enduring force — a sustained fire rather than a flicker. Burning intensity without the subtle play of lighter emotions.
Examples: A revolutionary’s unwavering drive; romantic obsession; unrelenting artistic devotion.
Notes: Passion overwhelms smaller feelings, becoming an enduring force that shapes action and identity.
Dynamical Mode 3: Either emotion or passion
Definition: The psyche alternates — sometimes dwelling in passing feelings, sometimes seized by passion, but not both at once.
Examples: A scholar at times calmly reflecting (emotion), at other times fiercely pursuing a discovery (passion).
Notes: Life shifts between softness and fire, but never in the same moment.
Dynamical Mode 4: Both emotion and passion
Definition: Simultaneous presence of fleeting feelings and enduring drives.
Examples: A parent passionately committed to their child’s wellbeing, while at the same time experiencing everyday joys and frustrations.
Notes: The spectrum interweaves — passing moods circulate within the steady flame of passion.
Dynamical Mode 5: Emotion → Passion
Definition: The escalation of a simple feeling into a sustained drive.
Examples: Attraction becoming love; indignation swelling into political activism.
Notes: Passion is often born from the seed of an emotion, given depth, repetition, or focus.
Dynamical Mode 6: Passion → Emotion
Definition: The dissolution of passion back into lighter feelings.
Examples: The cooling of romantic intensity into affection; artistic obsession settling into quiet enjoyment.
Notes: What once burned as fire subsides into sparks of feeling, still alive but less consuming.
Dynamical Mode 7: Between emotion and passion
Definition: An intermediate zone where feeling hovers on the edge of intensity.
Examples: A performer on stage whose nerves balance between mild excitement and passionate immersion.
Notes: This liminal zone is often the most fertile, where emotion strains toward passion without fully igniting.
Dynamical Mode 8: Neither emotion nor passion
Definition: A state of affective neutrality, absence, or suppression.
Examples: Emotional numbness after trauma; meditative equanimity beyond feeling.
Notes: The psyche rests without the play of moods or the flame of intensity.
Dynamical Mode 9: Beyond emotion and passion
Definition: A transfigured state in which both emotion and passion are surpassed.
Examples: Mystical union described in spiritual traditions; a philosopher’s state of serene clarity untouched by affect.
Notes: Beyond both flicker and flame lies a different ground of being — one not driven by affect at all.