Evolution has given the human brain a vast prefrontal cortex, a ball of neural tissue that enables us to engage in abstract reasoning, reflect on the past, and make predictions about the future.
It also allows us to wander a mental landscape filled with emotional minefields, says Richard Davidson, a professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin.
“It allows us to screw up our emotions far more than other animals,” he said during a visit to the University of Utah this week. “It allows us to persist in emotional responses beyond which they are still useful.”