kama muta

Wherever we’ve looked, in myriad contexts and cultures, we’ve found the same pattern: kama muta and its six features are consistently evoked by viewing videos of sudden connection or kindness, confirming that it is one emotion.

Kama muta: a new term for that warm, fuzzy feeling we all get – Alan Fiske | Aeon Ideas Alan Fiske 2023

Even a small unexpected kindness kindles kama muta: a thoughtful gift, a hug, an invitation to join a meal, an appearance at your bedside in the hospital.

Kama muta: a new term for that warm, fuzzy feeling we all get – Alan Fiske | Aeon Ideas Alan Fiske 2023

So we coined a scientific term for it, ‘kama muta’, borrowed from the ancient Sanskrit where it meant ‘moved by love’, written in the beautiful Devanāgarī script as काममूत.

Kama muta: a new term for that warm, fuzzy feeling we all get – Alan Fiske | Aeon Ideas Alan Fiske 2023

After much searching, he settled on kama muta, an old Sanskrit term that means “moved by love”.

Kama muta: the powerful emotion you didn’t know you had David Robson 2024

Kama muta, the researchers argued, is a brief and positive (or bittersweet) feeling that is often described with metaphors depicting motion such as being “moved” or “stirred”.

Kama muta: the powerful emotion you didn’t know you had David Robson 2024