Inmotionalism vs. Emotionalism

There are many philosophical systems that already deal with movement, such as Tai-Chi, Tao, Panta Rhei, Life Energy, and also art movements, such as Fluxus, Vorticism, Expressionism.

When I presented the name in a coaching session, the coach understood Emotio.org, which is a German website/service dealing with guidance for people with:

• Borderline personality disorder
• Trauma-related disorders
• DIS (dissociative identity disorder)

Until that day [insert date and time], I didn’t realize the connection between these words, and that they sound similar, but was more pondering on the notion that InMotio and ImMotio might be two sides of the same coin, or like Chinese YingYang, Animus-Anima, Light Dark, etc., a dualism. In literary studies, more specific, this is called binary method:

“In structuralism, the “binary method” refers to the analysis of language and culture based on binary oppositions, where pairs of contrasting concepts are identified and analyzed for their relationship to each other and their role in shaping meaning. These pairs, such as “good/evil,” “light/dark,” or “male/female,” are not seen as isolated entities but as interconnected elements that define each other and create meaning within a larger system.” [Reference: https://www.google.com/search?q=binary+method+destructuralism, 07.06.2025]

From a critical viewpoint, of course, a non-binary approach is also possible, which would link to systems that all emanate/s from one, life source, e.g. Plotin (Neoplatonism), teological systems, concepts etc., or/and Gender Studies, Gender Fluid theories, transhuman theories, Sci-Fi scenarios with non-binary consciousness, etc..

As T.E. Hulme said, all human concepts are structures laid upon cinder, chaos, and InMotionalism, as I hereby coin it, [German: Inmotionalismus] is, for me, the concept of the universe in movement, as a fundemental state of coping with this movement, reflecting it, and being an expression of becoming transition.

From the perspective of artistic expression, one could say that “letting go” or giving in to a “release”, is actually a form of liberation.

There are, as I would put it, positive, optimistic, constructive currents, and the opposites, as there is Licht und Schatten, shaddow and light, and feeling them, letting them move through you, while calm at mind, is for me part of wisdom, or as the Greeks said: phantasiai and aretai. [ref.: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantasiai]

I do think that emotions, strong emotions, often occur from a various set of reasons, and resolving such emotions often means “finding peace” with some sort of conflict, be it an inner or outer one, maybe to reach compromise, or simply let go, detach. So, out of curiosity, I looked up Emotionalism:

• Appearance emotionalism, a philosophical concept that inanimate objects and phenomena may convey emotions to people by their appearances resembling emotional expressions
• Emotionalism (disorder) a historical synonym for pseudobulbar affect, a neurological disorder manifested in uncontrollable displays of emotions (laughter, crying, etc.)
  [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotionalism, 07.06.2025]

The reason for me to develop a philosophy on movement is actually my experience in art, and expression, which liberates, as opposed to a certain feeling of inertia, when alienated to something, your surroundings, or even just a feeling.

I found that movement helps you tackle this inertia, which might sometimes be nostalgia, Weltschmerz, or more depressive, tragic modes.

This is not a new phenomena, and there is a brilliant quote by Dr. Edith Eger:

“The opposite of depression is expression. What comes out of our body doesn’t make us ill, what stays in there does.”

Dr. Edith Eger

I found this quote very enlightening, and the author Natalie described it best:

“This quote hit me in the gut all over again this evening. Dr. Edith Eger is a clinical psychologist, author of the books The Gift and The Choice, and a holocaust survivor. Brené Brown interviewed her for her Unlocking Us podcast. It’s worth a listen.” [https://lifeisaboutcreatingyourself.com/the-opposite-of-depression/, 07.06.2025]

So I researched more thoroughly into this quote and found a smiliar one, because I had heard Jim Carrey quote it similarly, and then I found this written by @twoplatesandaglass:

[https://medium.com/@twoplatesandaglass/the-opposite-of-depression-is-not-joy-it-is-expression-cb6e57a81c96, 07.06.2025]

Another similar post is going through social media, author unknown:

[Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/Healthygamergg/comments/1gfirj4/i_have_been_seeing_this_quote_on_social_media_for/, 07.06.2025]

I will dive more deeply into this topic, also looking at Method Acting and Psychodrama, for now, I have only surfaced the topic.

/Dorian J.V. Bøyesen
Leipzig, 07.06.2025