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Heaven and Hell: The Psychology of the Emotions

Today more than ever, the education doled out in classrooms is cold and cognitive. But, once outside, it is our uneducated emotions that move us, hold us back, and lead us astray. It is, at first and at last, our emotions that determine our choice of profession, partner, and politics, and our relation to money, sex, and religion. Nothing can make us feel more alive, or more human, than our emotions, or hurt us more. Yet many people lumber through life without giving full consideration to their emotions, partly because our empirical, materialistic culture does not encourage it or even make it seem possible, and partly because it requires unusual strength to gaze into the abyss of our deepest drives, needs, and fears. This book proposes to do just that, examining over 25 emotions ranging from lust to love and humility to humiliation, and drawing some useful and surprising conclusions along the way.

Reviews

Burton is never short of an interesting and sharp judgment. —Prof Peter Toohey, Psychology Today

Each of us spends maybe 15 years or more in formal education. We are taught mathematics, chemistry, geography, history, and so on, but at no point are we taught anything about the emotions. ‘Heaven and Hell’ helps to redress the balance by educating our emotions… The book reminds us of the power and significance of our emotions, and that their influence is all-too-often overlooked. Each of the 29 chapters focuses on a particular emotion and discusses its origin, historical aspects and philosophy. The impact of each emotion, both negative and positive, is then addressed. Essentially, in relatively few pages, the reader’s existing perception of an emotion is challenged as he or she develops further insight and understanding. The book does what it sets out to do: it makes you stop and think… ‘Heaven and Hell’ focuses on a subject that is relevant to all. It enables and encourages us to think differently and challenges our understanding of emotions we experience but do not really think about… a fascinating read. —British Medical Association Book Awards