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How Emotions Are Made

By: Lisa Feldman Barrett
Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
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Publisher's Summary

“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.

What listeners say about How Emotions Are Made

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  • J
  • 14-11-2021

Groundbraking, but useless

It's extremely hard to get another Phd on the classical view of emotions. There are literally hundreds of books on this topic. So what do you do? You take the classical view and say everything completely opposite. And then you just find proofs to supports your theory. Easy.
And if you disagree with the author then in every other chapter you'll be reminded that initially Einstein's theories sounded strange and illogical. And if you are still not convinced after it, you'll get a story how male colleagues wanted to punch her in the face to prove she is wrong. You don't want to be associated with one of these male science chauvinist, right?
In general, it's an interesting theory. Illogical and doesn't make sense in what I see in the day-to-day life, but interesting. Like a theory of flat Earth. Just because it's new and contradictory to the classical theory of round Earth, it's not a reason to accept it and say goodby to the outdated old theory. Even if you've never been to space. So thank you, but I'll stick to the classical view.
Though, my main problem with the book is not that the author does anything to stand out from the science community whether it makes sense or no. My main problem that there is not much information that you can use in real life from it. When I bought the book I hoped to learn what causes emotions from outside (what makes/creates them) and how to deal with them better. And instead I got a book with philosophical discussions of what the word "emotion" means and whether the tree actually falls if nobody sees it. There are just a couple of pages where she discusses how they dealt with their little daughter's emotions. And that's probably the best part of the book. And a reason why I gave 2 stars instead of 1.

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5 people found this helpful

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Informative, fascinating, well-written

Lisa Feldman-Barrett takes a dry and boring subject, gives it flavour, and leaves the reader or listener spellbound. However, the book is quite content-heavy, so you may need to work your way through it slowly. Cassandra Campbell offered clear delivery as the book’s narrator.

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4 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars

Fringe science at best

Arguing that because the phenotypes are different, the underlying neurology must also be different. The book disagrees with prevailing affective neuroscience studies.

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2 people found this helpful

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Essentialism v Constructivism

Thought provoking and challenging. Marries well with The Gut by Giulia Enders. Read this too!

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2 people found this helpful

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Essential reading

Essential reading to help get a better understanding of how you truly are.
I know that I will reread and reference this book multiple times to help clarify what I feel and what is behind it.
The message is communicated so well and the narration drew me in. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute.

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1 person found this helpful

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Must read

Simple, enjoyable concept! Worth the read and the time! Best in this field so far.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

narration makes it hard to listen

The narrator has very loud breathing in pauses, which is extremely irritating. I just can't listen to this.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Eye opening and offers many practical implications

The research and theories presented in this book challenge widespread beliefs eloquently. The authors explanations are clear and back up by peer reviewed research. This book gave me more insight into a constructivist view of how emotion concepts are understood and 'come to be'

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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exceptional

brilliant theory that easily integrates across a range of recent psychological research, and offers an elegant insight into the experience of emotion.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

interesting book, monotonous narration.

Interesting book, monotonous narration. Makes it difficult to actively listen to and enjoy this book. Better off reading the hard copy.

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