The Emotional Mind : The Affective Roots of Culture and Cognition

**Tracing the leading role of emotions in the evolution of the mind, a****philosopher and a psychologist pair up to reveal how thought and culture owe less to our faculty for reason than to our capacity to feel.**Many accounts of the human mind concentrate on the brain's computational power. Yet, in evolutionary terms, rational cognition emerged only the day before yesterday. For nearly 200 million years before humans developed a capacity to reason, the emotional centers of the brain were hard at work. If we want to properly understand the evolution of the mind, we must explore this more primal capability that we share with other animals: the power to feel.Emotions saturate every thought and perception with the weight of feelings.__The Emotional Mind__reveals that many of the distinctive behaviors and social structures of our species are best discerned through the lens of emotions. Even the roots of so much that makes us uniquely human--art, mythology, religion--can be traced to feelings of caring, longing, fear, loneliness, awe, rage, lust, playfulness, and more.From prehistoric cave art to the songs of Hank Williams, Stephen T. Asma and Rami Gabriel explore how the evolution of the emotional mind stimulated our species' cultural expression in all its rich variety. Bringing together insights and data from philosophy, biology, anthropology, neuroscience, and psychology,__The Emotional Mind__offers a new paradigm for research into the complex origins of human uniqueness. Tracing the leading role of emotions in the evolution of the mind, a philosopher and a psychologist pair up to reveal how thought and culture owe less to our faculty for reason than to our capacity to feel. Many accounts of the human mind concentrate on the brain's computational power. Yet, in evolutionary terms, rational cognition emerged only the day before yesterday. For nearly 200 million years before humans developed a capacity to reason, the emotional centers of the brain were hard at work. If we want to properly understand the evolution of the mind, we must explore this more primal capability that we share with other animals: the power to feel. Emotions saturate every thought and perception with the weight of feelings. The Emotional Mind reveals that many of the distinctive behaviors and social structures of our species are best discerned through the lens of emotions. Even the roots of so much that makes us uniquely human--art, mythology, religion--can be traced to feelings of caring, longing, fear, loneliness, awe, rage, lust, playfulness, and more. From prehistoric cave art to the songs of Hank Williams, Stephen T. Asma and Rami Gabriel explore how the evolution of the emotional mind stimulated our species' cultural expression in all its rich variety. Bringing together insights and data from philosophy, biology, anthropology, neuroscience, and psychology, The Emotional Mind offers a new paradigm for research into the complex origins of human uniqueness. Tracing the leading role of emotions in the evolution of the mind, a philosopher and a psychologist pair up to reveal how thought and culture owe less to our faculty for reason than to our capacity to feel.Many accounts of the human mind concentrate on the brain's computational power. Yet, in evolutionary terms, rational cognition emerged only the day before yesterday. For nearly 200 million years before humans developed a capacity to reason, the emotional centers of the brain were hard at work. If we want to properly understand the evolution of the mind, we must explore this more primal capability that we share with other animals: the power to feel.Emotions saturate every thought and perception with the weight of feelings. The Emotional Mind reveals that many of the distinctive behaviors and social structures of our species are best discerned through the lens of emotions. Even the roots of so much that makes us uniquely human—art, mythology, religion—can be traced to feelings of caring, longing, fear, loneliness, awe, rage, lust, playfulness, and more.From prehistoric cave art to the songs of Hank Williams, Stephen T. Asma and Rami Gabriel explore how the evolution of the emotional mind stimulated our species'cultural expression in all its rich variety. Bringing together insights and data from philosophy, biology, anthropology, neuroscience, and psychology, The Emotional Mind offers a new paradigm for understanding what it is that makes us so unique. Many accounts of the human mind concentrate on the brain's computational power. Yet, in evolutionary terms, rational cognition emerged only the day before yesterday. For nearly 200 million years before humans developed a capacity to reason, the emotional centers of the brain were hard at work. If we want to properly understand the evolution of the mind, we must explore this more primal capability that we share with other animals: the power to feel. Emotions saturate every thought and perception with the weight of feelings. The Emotional Mind reveals that many of the distinctive behaviors and social structures of our species are best discerned through the lens of emotions. Even the roots of so much that makes us uniquely human-art, mythology, religion-can be traced to feelings of caring, longing, fear, loneliness, awe, rage, lust, playfulness, and more. From prehistoric cave art to the songs of Hank Williams, Stephen T. Asma and Rami Gabriel explore how the evolution of the emotional mind stimulated our species' cultural expression in all its rich variety. Bringing together insights and data from philosophy, biology, anthropology, neuroscience, and psychology, The Emotional Mind offers a new paradigm for understanding what it is that makes us so unique The Emotional Mind Argues For The Centrality Of Emotions In The Evolution Of The Human Mind (and Our Primate Cousins). The Authors Triangulate Insights And Data From Philosophy, Biology, And Psychology To Shape A New Research Program. While Impressive Research Has Been Emerging In Disparate Fields Like Neuroethology, Ecological Psychology, Evolution Of Culture, Enactive Psychology, And Philosophy Of Biology, No One Has Yet Characterized An Affective Paradigm That Draws Together These Data And Projects A Fruitful Way Forward. The Emotional Mind Attempts To Provide Such A Conceptual Roadmap.-- Why A New Paradigm? -- Biological Aboutness: Reassessing Teleology -- Social Intelligence From The Ground Up -- Emotional Flexibility And The Evolution Of Bioculture -- The Ontogeny Of Social Intelligence -- Representation And Imagination -- Language And Concepts -- Affect In Cultural Evolution: The Social Structure Of Civilization -- Religion, Mythology, And Art. Stephen T. Asma, Rami Gabriel. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Cover -1 Title Page 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Introduction: The Affective Roots of Culture and Cognition 12 1. Why a New Paradigm? 32 2. Biological Aboutness: Reassessing Teleology 54 3. Social Intelligence from the Ground Up 85 4. Emotional Flexibility and the Evolution of Bioculture 102 5. The Ontogeny of Social Intelligence 133 6. Representation and Imagination 164 7. Language and Concepts 195 8. Affect in Cultural Evolution: The Social Structure of Civilization 215 9. Religion, Mythology, and Art 275 Notes 328 References 376 Acknowledgments 424 Index 428 A 428 B 429 C 430 D 431 E 432 F 433 G 433 H 434 I 434 J 435 K 435 L 435 M 435 N 436 O 436 P 437 R 438 S 438 T 439 U 440 V 440 W 440 X 440 Y 440 Z 440 The Emotional Mind argues for the centrality of emotions in the evolution of the human mind (and our primate cousins). The authors triangulate insights and data from philosophy, biology, and psychology to shape a new research program. While impressive research has been emerging in disparate fields like neuroethology, ecological psychology, evolution of culture, enactive psychology, and philosophy of biology, no one has yet characterized an affective paradigm that draws together these data and projects a fruitful way forward. The Emotional Mind attempts to provide such a conceptual roadmap.-- Provided by publisher For 200 million years before humans developed a capacity to reason, the emotional centers of the brain were hard at work. Stephen Asma and Rami Gabriel help us understand the evolution of the mind by exploring this more primal capability that we share with other animals: the power to feel, which is the root of so much that makes us uniquely human.