Lisa Barrett

'A brilliant and original book on the science of emotion, by the deepest thinker about this topic since Darwin' Daniel Gilbert, author of the bestseller Stumbling on Happiness When you feel anxious, angry, happy, or surprised, what's really going on inside you? Most scientists would agree that emotions come from specific parts of the brain, and that we feel them whenever they're triggered by the world around us. The thrill of seeing an old friend, the sadness of a tear-jerker movie, the fear of losing someone you love - each of these sensations arises automatically and uncontrollably within us, finding expression on our faces and in our behaviour, and carrying us away with the experience. This understanding of emotion has been around since Aristotle. But what if it's wrong? In How Your Emotions Are Made, pioneering psychologist Lisa Feldman Barrett draws on the latest scientific evidence to reveal that our ideas about emotion are dramatically, even dangerously, out of date - and that we have been paying the price. Emotions don't exist objectively in nature, Barrett explains, and they aren't pre-programmed in our brains and bodies; rather, they are psychological experiences that each of us constructs based on our unique personal history, physiology and environment. This new view of emotions has serious implications: when judges issue lesser sentences for crimes of passion, when police officers fire at threatening suspects, or when doctors choose between one diagnosis and another, they're all, in some way, relying on the ancient assumption that emotions are hardwired into our brains and bodies. Revising that conception of emotion isn't just good science, Barrett shows; it's vital to our wellbeing and the health of society itself.

Have you ever wondered why you have a brain? Let renowned neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett demystify that big gray blob between your ears. In seven short essays (plus a bite-sized story about how brains evolved), this slim, entertaining, and accessible collection reveals mind-expanding lessons from the front lines of neuroscience research. You'll learn where brains came from, how they're structured (and why it matters), and how yours works in tandem with other brains to create everything you experience. Along the way, you'll also learn to dismiss popular myths such as the idea of a "lizard brain" and the alleged battle between thoughts and emotions, or even between nature and nurture, to determine your behavior. Sure to intrigue casual readers and scientific veterans alike, Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain is full of surprises, humor, and important implications for human nature-a gift of a book that you will want to savor again and again.

'"I thought it might be fun for people to be able to a read a neuroscience book on the beach," Barrett explains. But be warned: you may find your world turned upside down before it is time for cocktails.' - Guardian 'Each lesson will enlighten and unsettle you. It's like lifting up the hood of a car to see an engine, except that the car is you and you find an engine that doesn't work at all like you thought it did.' - GQ In seven short chapters (plus a brief history of how brains evolved), this slim, entertaining, and accessible collection reveals mind-expanding lessons from the front lines of neuroscience research. You'll learn where brains came from, how they're structured (and why it matters), and how yours works in tandem with other brains to create everything you experience. Along the way, you'll also learn to dismiss popular myths such as the idea of a 'lizard brain' and the alleged battle between thoughts and emotions, or even between nature and nurture, to determine your behaviour. Sure to intrigue casual readers and scientific veterans alike, Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain is full of surprises, humour, and important implications for human - a gift of a book about our mot complex and crucial organ that you will want to savour again and again.

Zamysleli ste sa už niekedy nad tým, načo máte mozog? Pravdepodobne áno, ale správna odpoveď vás asi aj tak prekvapí: na to, aby hospodáril s vašou telesnou energiou. Renomovaná neurovedkyňa Lisa Feldman Barrett patrí vďaka svojmu revolučnému výskumu medzi percento najčastejšie citovaných vedcov na svete a vo svojej najnovšej publikácii poodhaľuje, ako funguje najzložitejší orgán ľudského tela. Dozviete sa, ako mozog vznikol, akú má stavbu a ako ten váš spolu s mozgami iných ľudí vytvára všetko, čo zažívate. Zistíte, že ak chcete lepšie riadiť svoj život, mali by ste zabudnúť na rozšírené mýty ako predstava o jašterom mozgu či údajný spor medzi myslením a emóciami, ba aj medzi prírodou a výchovou. Kniha Sedem a pol kapitoly o mozgu prináša najnovšie neurovedecké poznatky, ktoré oslovia mozgy nezasvätených čitateľov, ale aj vedeckých veteránov.