Neuroscientist Explores Mixed Emotions in the Brain
Do we feel conflicting emotions simultaneously, or do we flip between them really fast?
In our efforts to simplify as much as possible, our species habitually reduces complex subjects into binaries — things are either good or bad, black or white, right or wrong. However, there are two significant problems with this line of thinking. One is that binaries are two ends of a spectrum, and focusing only on the extremes excludes everything in between. The other is that binaries eliminate the possibility of duality.
Emotions are a fantastic example because they are often labeled as either “negative” or “positive” when the Truth is there are no good or bad emotions. Further, we often feel “mixed emotions” when we experience multiple, and sometimes conflicting, emotions simultaneously — or do we? A neuroscientist recently wondered whether we experience conflicting emotions at the same time or if we flip between them independently. So he decided to find out.
Complexity of Emotions
Emotions are peculiar. We all experience them, yet we have much to learn about them. Modern measuring methods treat emotions as binary ends of a positive or negative spectrum.
