快猫短视频

Emotion by Dylan Evans, Oxford University Press, 拢9.99, ISBN
019285433X

MENFOLK of New Guinea鈥檚 Gururumba people experience an emotion that no one
experiences anywhere else. They describe it as 鈥渂eing a wild pig鈥�. In its grip
they feel an urge to run wild, loot and attack bystanders. Unlike joy, distress,
anger, fear, surprise and disgust, 鈥渂eing a wild pig鈥� is not innate. Emotions
can be culturally acquired, and every one has a purpose.

You鈥檒l have to read Dylan Evans鈥檚 Emotion to find out why Gururumba men need
to 鈥渂e a wild pig鈥�. This book is a charming primer on the up-and-coming science
of emotions. Evans explains how they evolved to help our ancestors survive in a
hostile environment and why 鈥渆motional intelligence鈥� is still essential in the
modern world. This pocket-sized guide is also for those seeking to tame their
emotions through 鈥渢echnologies of mood鈥�, chemical or otherwise. It warns how
emotions can affect reasoning and memory.

As Evans acknowledges, it鈥檚 impossible to cover all the angles in a small
book, and Emotion is light on neurobiology. So it is a pity he devotes so much
valuable space to the development of 鈥渆motional machines鈥�. This is a mistake,
because physiology is intrinsic to the experience of emotions: the beating
heart, the adrenalin rush. He looks forward to the day when computers can tell
if you鈥檙e in a foul mood the moment you boot them up and, instead of asking you
for your password, would tell a few jokes. I fear users of such an emotional PC
might 鈥渂e a wild pig鈥� and punch its lights out.