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Abstract:
I am interested in mathematical and computational modelling of emotions, and in testing theories of emotion experimentally. The perspective that I take is a strategic one, developed primarily in the economic literature. Briefly, theories of emotions tend to be of two sorts. Romantic theories stress the divide between rational thought, which originates in the mind and is the product of civilization, and the irrational emotions, which originate in the body and are a heritage of animal ancestors. Under such a view, the emotions are typically held to be a source of wisdom, creativity or authenticity. Such theories take many guises in psychology: id and superego, right and left brain, limbic system and cortex, and so on.