How Emotions Are Made

The Secret Life of the Brain

De: Lisa Feldman Barrett

Narrado por: Cassandra Campbell

“Fascinating... A thought-provoking journey into emotion science.” - Wall Street Journal

“A singular book, remarkable for the freshness of its ideas and the boldness and clarity with which they are presented.” - Scientific American

“A brilliant and original book on the science of emotion, by the deepest thinker about this topic since Darwin.” - Daniel Gilbert, best-selling author of Stumbling on Happiness

The science of emotion is in the midst of a revolution on par with the discovery of relativity in physics and natural selection in biology. Leading the charge is psychologist and neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett, whose research overturns the long-standing belief that emotions are automatic, universal, and hardwired in different brain regions. Instead, Barrett shows, we construct each instance of emotion through a unique interplay of brain, body, and culture. A lucid report from the cutting edge of emotion science, How Emotions Are Made reveals the profound real-world consequences of this breakthrough for everything from neuroscience and medicine to the legal system and even national security, laying bare the immense implications of our latest and most intimate scientific revolution.

“Mind-blowing.” - Elle

“Chock-full of startling, science-backed findings... An entertaining and engaging read.” - Forbes

©2017 by Lisa Feldman Barrett. (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

was a Solid 5 and then quickly dropped down to a 3

I really enjoyed this book until I got to the chapter on The Law... and then she took a knee. it quickly became apparent that she was a social justice Warrior and was going to use this work for social justice. that totally turn me off and made me question everything that I had listened to up to that point. she talked about getting rid of the jury system the Second Amendment and all kinds of other social leftist ideas. why can't the author's just stay with the science and leave their opinions out of it? I will most probably go back and review the beginning of the book now that I know the authors social and political bent.

A great book on human emotions and how our brain works creating them

One of the best books I ever read, the author seemed very engaging and objective and her style of writing was very riveting and very well laid out and the narration was awesome too. Overall this is a great book and I strongly recommend it for anyone trying to understand more about emotions and the general workings of our human brain.

be curious about emotions

things I liked: that we should be curious and in some cases challenge our assumptions about emotions, both our own and others. really interesting info on how little we know about emotions, what they look like, what facial expressions mean, etc.interesting and disturbing info about the justice system. relating emotions to making bread in different locations around the country and even in your own home, differences in humidity, force, temperature etc. interesting info and that there is no standard of emotions via Facial recognition...except happiness..maybe. you think, what's the big deal abt emotions and why should we care how they're interpreted? then you realize how wars can start, cops/military can kill innocent people because they misinterpreted movement or objects (not discounting racial motivations). w o w.
wow. at the idea that we shouldn't make assumptions that we know what others are feelings, would help change the world and our every day life in it, so much. it's interesting information. the suggestions others, such as doctors, put into your head, all while trying to "diagnose" you, that steer you towards a treatment that may not be applicable bc of their suggested diagnosis and improper analysis.
things I didn’t like: all the terms were sometimes hard to follow throughout the book.
I doubt this is the end all be all but it sure does give you lots of things to think about and make you check some of your assumptions and others assumptions about you. all healthy stuff.

Fascinating science

Pleasant narration about a fascinating topic that impacts all of our lives all the time. Thanks for the research, writing, and funding, U were a good investment for sociey's grants & scholarships & trickle-down transcendence to cultivate. Ev

Important but hard to get through

I think the information presented in this book is important but I found the first half very difficult to get through. I don't know if it was the performer's voice or the content but I just found my mind drifting off frequently (which is not common for me when listening to audio books). The second half was a bit more interesting when the research was applied to everyday life.

Highly Recommend

Thoroughly enjoyed the brain gymnastics. Made me think lots. Hard to get into but need to perceiver to get the ‘concepts’

There's a New Neuroscientist Sheriff in Town

Even though 'How Emotions Are Made' hit the bookshelves only a few months ago (March 2018), this scientific masterpiece already altered the course of humanity; the world simply hasn't begun to feel the full weight of its impact yet. It's so rich it's unsettling. Step aside Socrates, Aristotle, Descartes, Nietzche, Hume, Freud, Darwin, and my all-time favorites William James and Daniel Kahneman. Boys, there's a new sheriff in town and her name is Lisa Feldman Barrett.

Relevant and convincing

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would (and have) recommend this audiobook to friends.Do you know how, when you hear or learn of something new, you suddenly start hearing about it all over? That’s the way it was for me with this book and the ideas contained within. Some specific examples include an interview with the author on one of the podcasts I follow, this book referenced in another, and another interview with the author on YouTube.

The author presents the case that emotions are constructed and not hardwired, and that no universal “fingerprint” exists for an emotion. She does so in a clear, comprehensive, and convincing manner with plenty of evidence and examples to illustrate. At first I was confused that she repeatedly indicated some controversy over the theory, which seemed to be common sense to me, until she systematically recounted and disproved the ways that older theories on emotion have been accepted and are prevalent in our culture. She even cites specific experiments and how those experiments were flawed. In this age of emojis and emoticons, I came to realize just how far-reaching the implications of her ideas could be.

The entire book was interesting and relevant, but my favorite part was a discussion of how emotion concepts vary widely from culture to culture. The author lists a number of words from other cultures that have no direct equivalent in English, but seem like they should. She also notes what kind of ramifications there could be if we were to adopt these words as we have the German “schadenfreude”.

This book was longer than I expected, but was well worth the time. I was repeatedly surprised (and pleased) as each new chapter revealed another facet of emotions that I had not considered. I actually decided to listen to this book in the hope I could learn to control my own emotions better, and the author covers that as well. I found myself considering her ideas and their implications long after I had finished the book, and I have recommended it to many friends.

What does Cassandra Campbell bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

This is not one of those books that is clearly better in the audio form, but Cassandra Campbell's reading was clear and appropriate, and I would not have had the time or inclination to read this book in the printed format.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I did not have an extreme reaction, but the book was certainly thought-provoking. I had to laugh at the list of words from other cultures that describe complex emotional concepts since many of the concepts resonate in our culture. For example, the Japanese “ageotori” which is defined as “the feeling of looking worse after a haircut”. Who hasn't experience that?

Brilliant.

Content isn't the usual rehashing of old studies by other people. This is new information, from the person who did the work. Every page is thought provoking; it's definitely not like a lot of others that could be wrapped up in 1 chapter. This auther is an amazing writer. Easy to understand, doesn't read like a textbook or term paper, and zero mind numbing filler. As a bonus it has practical information that I'm using immediately. Brilliant.

Insightful and worth the contemplation

This book will at bare minimum open your mind if you allow yourself to grapple with the concepts presented. It may be a more useful worldview for accountability of the self than most philosophy I have encountered. Granted this is supposed to be a scientific book not a philosophical book but I do correlate thought patterns presented herein with philosophical thought.