Emotional

How Feelings Shape Our Thinking

By: Leonard Mlodinow

Narrated by: Dan John Miller

Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

We’ve all been told that thinking rationally is the key to success. But at the cutting edge of science, researchers are discovering that feeling is every bit as important as thinking.

You make hundreds of decisions every day, from what to eat for breakfast to how you should invest, and not one of those decisions would be possible without emotion. It has long been said that thinking and feeling are separate and opposing forces in our behavior. But as Leonard Mlodinow, the best-selling author of Subliminal, tells us, extraordinary advances in psychology and neuroscience have proven that emotions are as critical to our well-being as thinking.

How can you connect better with others? How can you make sense of your frustration, fear, and anxiety? What can you do to live a happier life? The answers lie in understanding your emotions. 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.

Using deep insights into our evolution and biology, Mlodinow gives us the tools to understand our emotions better and to maximize their benefits. Told with his characteristic clarity and fascinating stories, Emotional explores the new science of feelings and offers us an essential guide to making the most of one of nature’s greatest gifts.

*Includes a downloadable PDF of emotional profile questionnaires from the book

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2022 Leonard Mlodinow (P)2022 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Those interested in understanding how feelings unconsciously steer thought ... are in for a stimulating read. Mlodinow handles this topic astutely with compelling examples and attention to the latest research, which is quite spectacular. . . . A lively exposé of the growing consensus about the limited power of rationality and decision-making."—The New York Times Book Review

"Compelling. . . . This exploration of the interplay of emotion and thought is fascinating. . . . Emotional shows that rather than being counterproductive, emotions enrich our lives."—Financial Times

"Leonard Mlodinow ... offers a crash course, one that feels less like cramming than like a colorful tour of the behavior of humans—and the rest of the animal kingdom. Most of this smart, trim volume is about the science of emotion rather than how to use it, but he doesn’t miss the opportunity to dole out advice and provide opportunities for self-reflection. . . . Not only astounding but touching."—The Wall Street Journal

loved it

what an amazing story great way to look at life. very inspiring. I couldn't put it down.

Bang! Crack! Watershed science delivered-Audiophi

Fearlessly defining life as that which "takes action to avoid destruction." Cleanly bringing the Reticular to the prominence other book producer's have missed. Redefining Emotion while encompassing the newest science. If Leo Mlodinow is to be believed, and I believe him and science, Core Affect, Core Affect left out of the last 100 Neuro science books is the most significant predictor of our behaver. Leo is a Swashbuckler! This is the cutting edge book for Science Audiophiles of the BRAIN. We can't know it, if insightful talented guys miss a turn. Leo doesn't miss. This is one of those conceptions that takes a while for BRAIN self to accept. There is more new science for the science audiophiles in this neat audiobook.

Confuses many concepts of emotions

This book attempts to use many studies to prove points, but tends to confuse so many concepts that (as someone who has been studying this subject for 10 years), I can't recommend it.

There is strong pushes to accept emotions as physical causes (despite only correlative studies), to make it sound like instinct and emotion are the same thing, to acknowledge psychosomatic illnesses but try to conflate them with emotion (The Body Keeps the Score is a better read on that topic)

good insights

this book has good insights and I believe it is worth the second read. I was a little disappointed of the author's critique of the emotional intelligence book but perhaps there have been research findings over the past 20 years that further refine the emotional mechanisms presented in emotional intelligence.

Listen to Your Emotions

This was an excellent update on the latest neuroscience on emotional control, motivation, and determination.
It was entertaining while informative. The reader’s was pleasant and appropriate for the material. I highly recommend.

Easy to follow and good info!

This book is easy to follow and provides very good examples of how emotions impact us.
Insightful

to much science

Might be great for some but wasn't what I expected. To many case studies. Not enough solutions

Widely misleading

I almost never write negative reviews for books but this one I couldn't even finish. There is nothing actionable in the book. It just repeats that all understanding about emotions were wrong until recently but fails to point out what exactly was wrong. Many things out of context and poorly researched (for example stating as a fact that Coronary stents work as same as placebo?!).So in general it is a general common sense fluff about emotions and cherry picked common stories used in many non-fiction books (flights crashes, etc.) I haven't read other books from the author, maybe in his field he is outstanding but in Emotions I would have expected more depth and specific insights.