This is actually supported by cannon. In Star Trek Voyager we get the impression from a few episodes where Tuvok talks in some detail about Vulcan mental practices and makes clear, for example, that they have a large number of highly specific categories of emotions that we don’t have words for in English or, presumable, any Earth language. Things that we would lump under a single emotion have fine distinctions in Vulcan.
There is some precedent for this here on Earth. Within some Buddhist traditions, abhidharma texts are important and give detailed categorizations of mental phenomena, including emotions. These are meant, at least in part, to help practitioners better understand the nature of their suffering so that they may find liberation from it.
This is actually supported by cannon. In Star Trek Voyager we get the impression from a few episodes where Tuvok talks in some detail about Vulcan mental practices and makes clear, for example, that they have a large number of highly specific categories of emotions that we don’t have words for in English or, presumable, any Earth language. Things that we would lump under a single emotion have fine distinctions in Vulcan.
There is some precedent for this here on Earth. Within some Buddhist traditions, abhidharma texts are important and give detailed categorizations of mental phenomena, including emotions. These are meant, at least in part, to help practitioners better understand the nature of their suffering so that they may find liberation from it.
Detailed categorizations of mental phenomena sounds useful. Is there a way for me to learn that without reading religious texts?
Qualia Research institute is working on building a catalogue of qualia iirc.