From the Fossil Record: The Adaptive Role of Emotions
Excavating a post.
Hi All,
Since nobody flamed us for re-posting an old article a few weeks ago—Rob’s article on Awe—we figured it was okay to do so again. Below is one of Josh’s first Living Fossils articles. Enjoy!
The Adaptive Role of Emotions
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While there is some debate about which emotions, if any, are universal, few deny that humans are equipped with emotional systems, distinguished by their experiential, physiological, and behavioral aspects. For example, if someone cuts us off on the highway, we feel anger, our blood pressure rises, and we might even flip them the bird. Although what caus…
The adaptive role of emotions is such a crucial topic, especially when so much of modern self-help focuses on ‘controlling’ emotions rather than understanding why they exist.