Emotions seem to be primitive: they are reactions to what happens to us, an internally imprinted code, and something that is shared with all other human beings. When triggered, emotions seem to express themselves in essentially the same way for each of us. The traditional view of emotions affirms this belief: emotions exist within us from birth, they are a distinct and easily recognisable phenomenon, and are communicated by means of facial expressions, voice, and body language.
We have several brain circuits dedicated to emotions, each capable of causing a certain set of bodily variations. In short, according to this theory, every emotion has its own precise "fingerprint": since we feel anger, happiness, surprise, and other emotions, in a clear and identifiable way, it seems reasonable to assume that each single emotion follows a very specific pattern in the brain and body. Furthermore, emotions are believed to be products of evolution, that have continued to survive because they have represented some advantage over the ages, and have now become an integral part of our biological nature. As such, they are therefore thought to be common to the entire species.
This classic view of emotions has existed for millennia, and it had become totally imprinted in our culture: there are books, films, and TV series that explain how to identify emotions according to a person’s body language, and school books for children that show happiness with a smile, and surprise represented by a wide-open mouth, not to mention the stereotypical emojis we all use on social media.
But things aren't always as they seem. There is now a great deal of scientific evidence that disproves this idea, and a blueprint of each individual emotion has never actually been discovered.
What are emotions, then, really? This book aims to demonstrate that they are not universal, but rather, vary from culture to culture. They are not triggered by external agents, but generated by those who feel them. They emerge as a combination of the body’s physical properties, the flexibility of our brains, culture, and past experiences. The classical view of emotions remains convincing despite all the evidence against it, simply because it is what we have always believed, and because it is very intuitive. However, it is essential that emotions are studied from another point of view, because our understanding of emotions significantly influences every aspect of our life.
