Origin of Emotions

by Carmen

"When you maximize your happiness, you do what is best for the species."

I am in complete accord with this statement, offered by Mark Devon, a Harvard educated student of evolutionary theory, whose book The Origin of Emotions claims to identify "each emotion's purpose, trigger and effect." That every emotion or reaction of human expression is rooted in evolutionary necessity is not a new concept, and his assertions, such as the correlation between the pursuit of individual happiness and human evolution, would no doubt be blessed by Charles Darwin and Ayn Rand.

Here are a few of Devon's assertions:

• Mothers only love their children for 33 months.

• Men only love a woman for 42 months.

• Only women feel infatuation and heartbreak.

• Only men feel jealousy.

• You feel revenge when a rule breaker harms you.

• You stop feeling revenge when you retaliate.
  

The book is available on Amazon.com, but you can download the whole book in PDF format for free from his website.

| 02/06/08 | Book Club