The Making Of Emotions, From Pleasurable Fear To Bittersweet Relief
Since ancient times, philosophers and scientists have viewed emotions as innate. In the latest Invisibilia, a psychologist argues that emotions spring from the sum of our experiences, not just wiring.
Emotions, the classic thinking goes, are innate, basic parts of our humanity. We are born with them, and when things happen to us, our emotions wash over us.
"They happen to us, almost," says Lisa Feldman Barrett, a professor of psychology at Northeastern University and a researcher at Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts General Hospital.
She's also the author of a book called How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain.In it, she argues for a new theory of emotions which is featured in the latest episode of NPR's program and podcast .
