In my section of recommended books on Emotions and the Social World, there are two books that specifically take down the mistaken idea that the emotions and the intellect are separate.

In Descartes’ Error, neuroscientist Antonio Damasio shows that when the emotional centers of the brain are not working, people are actually incapable of making decisions! And in the book Emotion: The Science of Sentiment, Dylan Evans has a chapter entitled “Why Spock could never have evolved.”

In my section on books on The Brain, Jonah Lehrer in How We Decide picks up on the work of Damasio and Evans and shows that our decisions are primarily emotional, and not merely logical.

Behavioral economists like the wonderful Dan Ariely have been showing us for the past few years that the human brain is Predictably Irrational, and how to become aware of our neurological and behavioral tics!

There are so many cool books out right now about how the brain actually works (and misfires), and how emotions are at the center of thought. Emotions are also at the center of markets and their fluctuations, but don’t tell the Ayn Rand folks!

Thanks for writing!

I work in the area of financial markets where effective decision making is paramount to success.

I hear some traders say, emotions are the enemy to intelligent trading and they wish they could trade (make decisions) without any emotion!

Others suggest, in order to act with objectivity, you need to “Trade Like A Robot” and make decisions like “Vulcan’s From Star Trek.”

In an arena where many individuals fail to achieve consistent results, perhaps this inaccurate view of emotions in relation to decisions, is a significant contributing factor…

Thank you Karla, for sharing your insights!