Emotional Ignorance

'I find their illogic and foolish emotions a constant irritant.' - Mr Spock, on humans (Star Trek S3E7)

Emotions. They're a pain, aren't they? If only we were all a little less emotional and a lot more rational, we wouldn't get ourselves into half the scrapes we do.

But is that a fair synopsis? Are emotions really some form of cognitive appendix that we'd be better off without? Or do they serve a deeper purpose? For them to take up so much of our brain's precious resources, emotions must have evolved for a reason. What is that reason?

And how do they work in the brain? Are they innate, wired in from the word go, allowing a baby to cry with distress mere seconds after exiting the womb? Or are they learned, over time and through our experiences of dealing with others?

In The Emotional Brain, Dean Burnett investigates all these questions - and many more besides. Combining in-depth research with expert analysis, the end result is a fascinating and endlessly entertaining account of the science underlying our emotional lives.