240. Leonard Mlodinow — Emotional: How Feelings Shape Our Thinking

<p>xtraordinary advances in psychology and neuroscience have proven that emotions are as critical to our well-being as thinking. In this conversation, Shermer and Mlodinow explore the new science of feelings.</p> <p>Journeying from the labs of pioneering scientists to real-world scenarios that have flirted with disaster, Mlodinow shows us how our emotions can help, why they sometimes hurt, and what we can learn in both instances.</p> <p>Shermer and Mlodinow discuss: the difference between emotions and feelings/moods/drives/passions; how the scientific understanding of emotions has changed; thought vs. feeling; system 1 vs. system 2 cognition; mind-body connection: how does our physical state influence what we think & feel?; the neuroscience of emotions: how the brain constructs emotions; Lisa Feldman Barrett challenge to Paul Ekman’s theory of universal emotions; Schachter-Singer theory of emotion; the effects of social context on emotions; and more…</p>