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The Emotional Brain
Book

The Emotional Brain

The Mysterious Underpinnings of Emotional Life

Joseph LeDoux
Simon & Schuster, 1996

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Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Analytical
  • Innovative
  • Background

Recommendation

Joseph LeDoux works very hard in this book, but in many ways, his fairness and ambition get in his way. He sets out not only to explain how emotions work in the brain but also to review the neurological, philosophical, evolutionary and psychological theories that explain the emotions. LeDoux makes sure he is fair to each theory, but that means that he takes entire chapters to discuss ideas that he ultimately dismisses as stepping stones. This tactic is informative if you're interested in history, but it will only slow you down if you're looking for a practical discussion of how emotions work. In addition, despite LeDoux's careful explanations, analogies and diagrams, the theories are complex and therefore challenging. getAbstract recommends this book to patient readers seeking a strong overall background on the emotional functioning of the brain. Human resource managers and others seeking insight into people's feelings and responses will find it especially useful.

Take-Aways

  • Emotions are products of human evolution.
  • Emotional responses transcend the boundaries of culture – and even species.
  • Most emotional processing happens below the level of consciousness.

About the Author

Joseph LeDoux is a professor at New York University's Center for Neural Science and author of Synaptic Self as well as numerous academic articles on neuroscience.

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