Paul Ekman
psychology · 1934- · United States
Paul Ekman is the modern face of the claim that some emotions are universal — a small set of discrete kinds, given by evolution, written on the face the same way in every culture. His cross-cultural recognition studies and his Facial Action Coding System shaped a generation of affective science and a popular picture of emotion that still holds wide currency.
What Vela reads them for
Ekman is the position Vela's constructionist frame reads against — and presenting his account at full strength is the point, not a hedge. The disagreement between basic-emotions theory and Barrett's constructionism is the field's central debate, and the emotion lens is built to keep both in view. His concept page is basic emotions theory.
Concepts they originated
Honest framing
The universality claims have been seriously contested, with critics arguing the recognition studies built in their answer through method. Vela gives Ekman's view its strongest form alongside its strongest critics.