David Brooks: The social animal

I am really captured by this quote: “Emotions are the foundations of reason, because they tell us what to value.” - David Brooks

Simply put, your gut feeling drives your reasoning. When we are trying to have an open mind to reason, it’s actually very difficult until we can change our feeling/perspective toward the subject. That means in an open minded discussion, conveying the underlying feeling is the primary goal.

Brooks also talks about many other things. Don’t miss out on this video!

Tapping into the findings of his latest book, NYTimes columnist David Brooks unpacks new insights into human nature from the cognitive sciences – insights with massive implications for economics and politics as well as our own self-knowledge. In a talk full of humor, he shows how you can’t hope to understand humans as separate individuals making choices based on their conscious awareness.

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David Brooks: The social animal http://www.ted.com/talks/david_brooks_the_social_animal.html