The most basic emotions, those least amenable to conscious control, seem to bubble up inside us. They include fear and anger, surprise and disgust, and also, perhaps, a sense of joy. They predispose us to react in certain ways and send the chemical signals that prepare our bodies to run or focus, to attack or hug.18 Emotions drive decision-making in all animals with large brains, and some emotions, like fear, are probably present in all vertebrates and maybe in some invertebrates, particularly the most intelligent ones such as the octopi. The preferences emotions create for particular outcomes
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