Chapter Introduction

Leonardo is 5 years old and cute as a button. He can do many of the things that other 5-year-olds can do: solve puzzles, build towers of blocks, and play guessing games with grown-ups. But unlike other 5-year-olds, Leonardo has never been proud of his abilities, angry at his mother, or bored with his lessons. That’s because Leonardo has a condition that makes him unable to experience emotions of any kind. He has never felt joy or sorrow, delight or despair, shame, envy, annoyance, excitement, gratitude, or regret. He has never laughed or cried.

Leonardo’s condition has had a profound impact on his life. For example, because he doesn’t experience emotions, he isn’t motivated to do things that bring most children pleasure, such as eating cookies or playing hide-and-seek or watching Saturday morning cartoons. And because he doesn’t feel, he doesn’t have any intuitions about what others are feeling, which can make social interaction a challenge. His mother has spent years teaching him how to make the facial expressions that indicate emotions such as surprise and sadness, and how to detect those facial expressions in others. Leonardo now knows that he should smile when someone says something nice to him and that he should raise his eyebrow once in a while to show interest in what people are saying. Leonardo is a quick learner, and he’s gotten so good at this that when strangers interact with him they find it hard to believe that deep down inside he is feeling nothing at all.

So when Leonardo’s mother smiles at him, he always smiles back. And yet, she is keenly aware that Leonardo is merely making the faces he was taught to make and that he doesn’t really love her.

A typical 5-year-old can experience emotions such as pride, anger, and boredom.

ALEX CAO/JUPITERIMAGES

Leonardo and his “mom,” MIT Professor Cynthia Breazeal.

SAM OGDEN/SCIENCE SOURCE
SAM OGDEN/SCIENCE SOURCE

But that’s okay. Although Leonardo cannot return her affection, Dr. Cynthia Breazeal still considers him one of the greatest robots she’s ever designed (Breazeal, 2009).

© THE NEW YORKER COLLECTION 1989 WARREN MILLER FROM CARTOONBANK.COM

YES, LEONARDO IS A MACHINE. HE CAN SEE AND HEAR, he can remember and reason. But despite his adorable smile and knowing wink, he can’t feel a thing, and that makes him infinitely different than us. Our ability to love and to hate, to be amused and annoyed, to feel elated and devastated, is an essential element of our humanity, and a person who could not feel these things would seem a lot like a robot to the rest of us. But what exactly are these things we call emotions and why are they so essential? In this chapter we will explore these questions. We’ll start by discussing the nature of emotions and seeing how they relate to the states of our bodies and our brains. Next we’ll see how people express their emotions, and how they use those expressions to communicate with each other. Finally, we’ll examine the essential role that emotions play in motivation–how they inform us, and how they compel us do everything from making war to making love.