This commentary presents an extension and further elaboration of Wierzbicka' (1995) semantic perspective on emotions. It discusses three dimensions along which universals can be ordered: technical vs experiential universals, static vs dynamic universals, and, finally, universals as entities or dimensions. It is argued that universals, such as universal emotions, are usually placed in one specific corner of the taxonomic space, and are seen as experiential, static and entity-defined. The paper goes on to discuss another conceptualization of universals, based on a dynamic and transformational view. It is argued that some of the semantic problems that Wierzbicka has raised can be solved by employing this dynamic perspective on universality.
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