Was love invented by European poets in the Middle Ages or is it part of human nature? Will winning the lottery really make you happy? Is it possible to build robots that have feelings? In this Very Sort Introduction Dylan Evans explores these and many other intriguing questions in this guide to the latest thinking about the emotions. Drawing on a wide range of scientific research, from anthropology and psychology to neuroscience and artificial intelligence, Evans takes the reader on a fascinating journey into the human heart, discussing the evolution of emotions and their biological basis, the science of happiness, and the role that emotions play in memory and decision making. Greeted by critics as a pop science classic when it was first published in 2001, the book has now been thoroughly revised and updated to incorporate new developments in our understanding of emotions, including new sections addressing the neural basis of empathy and the emotional impact of films. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Dylan Evans received his PhD in Philosophy from the London School of Economics in 2000. He has taught at various universities around the world and written nine books, including The Utopia Experiment (Picador, 2015) and Atheism: All That Matters (Hodder 2014). In 2006-7 he ran the Utopia Experiment, an extended simulation of what life might be like if civilisation collapsed. He has also spent extended periods of time training horses in Guatemala, living with the Bedouins in the Sahara, and learning to play dead-goat polo in Kazakhstan.