Emotions as neurophysiological constructs - The Secret Life of the Brain

Scuttlebutt
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Emotions as neurophysiological constructs - This post at Understanding Society is some tough sledding. But in the past I’ve found that book discussed here are far less dense than a short post.

So I’m reading How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain

Just came across this line:

You might believe that your are a rational creature, weighing the pros and cons before deciding how to act, but the structure of your cortex makes this an implausible fiction.

The book is technical in a few places but analogies and example make it understandable.

Good read, how a person “state of mind” alters decision making.

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It’s interesting that people who don’t have emotional reactions to choices get trapped and can’t make up their minds.

I’ve heard it suggested that all our rational “thinking through” is really justifying the choice we already made at the beginning. I feel as though that’s overstating the case somewhat, but it’s interesting.