Quotes

I agree with those who define a human emotion as an interpretation of a change in bodily feeling. A change in brain state, without any interpretation, either because it was not detected or because it was ignored, should be given a different name. There is no agreement on what to call these unrecognized brain states. But we should distinguish between a man who detected a rise in heart rate and muscle tightness as he entered a room full of strangers and thought, "I am anxious," and a woman who failed to detect the same reactions, even though her behavior might have been affected by the altered bodily state.


source: Jerome Kagan, An Argument for Mind, 207 tags: Emotions, Neuroscience

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