Posted by garry platt on Fri, 07/30/2010 - 05:24
"The next time you feel angry at a friend who has let you down, or grateful toward one whose generosity has surprised you, consider this: you may really be bargaining for better treatment from that person in the future. According to a controversial new theory, our emotions have evolved as tools to manipulate others into cooperating with us." http://www.newscientist.com/mobile/article/dn19232-do-raw-emotions-give-...
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Emotions - What are They Good For?
The precise biological origins and purpose of emotions have always been problematic. Strict Darwinians, as exemplified by the Dawkinsonians, would have it that the only way that emotions could evolve with any purpose (they could, of course, be accidental) is if possession of them results in an adaptive advantage where possessors produce more offspring and so the genes for emotions become more numerous in the population. The New Scientist article advances an argument as to how emotions might be of benefit. Not everyone agrees with this view.