Antiquity

  1. Plato - "Phaedrus" (ca. 370 BC)
    • Plato describes the heart as a source of passion and a central part of the human soul.
  2. Aristotle - "De Anima" (ca. 350 BC)
    • Aristotle considers the heart to be the centre of life and emotions.

Middle Ages

  1. St Augustine of Hippo - "Confessiones" (397-400 AD)
    • The heart as a place where God works and where people experience the presence of God in silence.
  2. Rumi - "Mathnawi" (13th century)
    • For the Sufi poet Rumi, the heart is the centre of divine love and spiritual experience.
  3. Bernhard von Clairvaux - "On the love of God" (12th century)
    • The heart is described as the place of mystical union with God.

Early modern times

  1. Meister Eckhart - "Sermons and treatises" (13th/14th century)
    • Eckhart describes the heart as a place of divine presence.
  2. Blaise Pascal - "Pensées" (1670)
    • Pascal describes the heart as the source of intuitive wisdom: "The heart has its reasons, which the mind does not know."

Romanticism

  1. Jean-Jacques Rousseau - "Julie or The New Heloise" (1761)
    • Rousseau sees the heart as the seat of natural emotions and moral integrity.
  2. Novalis - "Hymns to the Night" (1800)
    • Novalis sees the heart as the connection between man and the cosmos and the place of love.

19th century

  1. Leo Tolstoy - "War and Peace" (1869)
    • Tolstoy describes the heart as the source of compassion and humanity.
  2. Friedrich Nietzsche - "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" (1883-1885)
    • Nietzsche describes the heart as a symbol of courage and strength.

20th century

  1. Rainer Maria Rilke - "The Duino Elegies" (1922)
    • Rilke sees the heart as a place of human depth and spiritual longing.
  2. C.G. Jung - "The archetypes and the collective unconscious" (1954)
    • The heart as an archetypal symbol for the connection between the conscious and the unconscious.
  3. Khalil Gibran - "The Prophet" (1923)
    • The heart as a central symbol for the spiritual connection and the ability to empathise.
  4. Martin Buber - "I and You" (1923)
    • Buber describes the heart as a place of genuine encounter and human connection.

21st century

  1. Pema Chödrön - "The Places That Scare You" (2001)
    • The heart as a source of compassion practice and as a key to spiritual development.
  2. Eckhart Tolle - "A new earth" (2005)
    • The heart as a place of presence and transformation of consciousness.
  3. Brené Brown - "The power of vulnerability" (2012)
    • The heart as a place of vulnerability, courage and emotional strength.
  4. Thich Nhat Hanh - "Love is for everyone" (2013)
    • The heart as a place of mindfulness, peace and loving connection.
  5. Dr Joe Dispenza - "Become supernatural" (2017)
    • Dispenza describes the heart as an energetic centre that enables higher states of consciousness.

Modern neuroscience, psychology and medicine

  1. Antonio Damasio - "Descartes' Error: Feeling, Thinking and the Human Brain" (1994)
    • Damasio describes the role of the body, including the heart, in the development of emotions. He emphasises that the heart, in interaction with the brain, forms the basis for feeling and decision-making.
  2. Candace Pert - "Molecules of Emotion" (1997)
    • Pert describes the connection between the brain, heart and immune system and how the heart plays an important role in communication throughout the body. Emotions arise through biochemical signals that are transmitted between the brain and the heart.
  3. Stephen Porges - "The Polyvagal Theory" (2011)
    • Porges' polyvagal theory emphasises the importance of the vagus nerve, which connects the heart, the brain and the digestive organs. The heart plays a central role in emotional regulation and social engagement.
  4. HeartMath Institute - "The HeartMath Solution" (1999)
    • The HeartMath Institute describes the concept of heart coherence. The heart, brain and body work together to achieve optimal mental and physical health. Heart rate variability and heart breathing techniques can improve emotional well-being.
  5. Gabor Maté - "When the Body Says No: The Cost of Hidden Stress" (2003)
    • Maté describes how chronic stress and suppressed emotions can affect the heart and the immune system. A healthy emotional life that comes from the heart protects against illness and improves resilience.
  6. Bessel van der Kolk - "The Body Keeps the Score" (2014)
    • Van der Kolk describes the effects of trauma on the entire nervous system, including the heart. The heart is part of the autonomic nervous system and responds to stress by beating faster or slowing down. Returning to cardiac coherence plays an important role in healing from trauma.
  7. Sarah Garfinkel - "Interoception and Heart-Brain Connection" (Article in Nature, 2016)
    • Garfinkel describes the role of interoception, i.e. the inner perception of bodily processes, which also includes the heart. The connection between the heart and the brain influences how emotions are perceived and regulated.
  8. Dr Joel Kahn - "The Plant-Based Solution" (2018)
    • Kahn, a cardiologist, describes the heart not only as a biological organ, but also as an emotional centre. He emphasises that a heart-healthy lifestyle also supports emotional health, as positive emotions and a healthy lifestyle are closely linked.
  9. Dr Joe Dispenza - "Becoming Supernatural" (2017)
    • Dispenza describes how the heart can be used as an energetic centre to change states of consciousness. He emphasises the power of the heart to bring about a positive neurological and biochemical change in the brain.
  10. Richard Davidson - "The Emotional Life of Your Brain" (2012)
    • Davidson describes the links between heart activity and emotional response. Positive emotions and meditation influence heart rate variability, which in turn improves emotional health.

Summary

The role of the heart is a deeply rooted and significant theme in literature throughout the ages. From ancient philosophy to modern neuroscience, the heart plays a central role as the metaphysical centre of the human being, as the source of love and as a symbol of the connection between body, mind and soul. While early mystical and philosophical works described the heart as a metaphor for spiritual experiences and emotions, modern neuroscience and psychology have begun to explore the biochemical and neural basis of these connections.

Today, we understand the heart not only as a physical organ, but also as an emotional centre that plays a crucial role in our well-being. There is a strong interaction between the heart, brain and gut that significantly influences our mental and physical well-being. Literary and scientific works show that the heart is an essential link between body and mind - a symbol and a physiological centre that encompasses the human experience in all its depth.

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