I've been reading Between Us: How Cultures Create Emotions, which is an outstanding exploration of the nature of emotions and how they differ across cultures. The book relies heavily on anthropological research, which is inescapably subjective, but I find the general gist of the book very convincing—especially in how it reflects and supports Wittgenstein's later philosophy of language...which I also find tremendously convincing.

Philosophical and psychological echo chambers aside, though, as I've been working my way through the book, I've been amusing myself by imagining the various types and roles of emotions as representative of (what else?) Hogwarts Houses. Knowing me, this is gonna get a little long, so ( follow me inside the cut, if you're interested.... )