Why Humans Like to Cry: Tragedy, Evolution, and the Brain
Author(s): Michael Trimble (Author)
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Publication Date: 22 Nov. 2012
Edition: 1st
Language: English
Print length: 240 pages
ISBN-10: 0199693188
ISBN-13: 9780199693184
Book Description
Human beings are the only species to have evolved the trait of emotional crying. We weep at tragedies in our lives and in those of others – remarkably even when they are fictional characters in film, opera, music, novels, and theatre. Why have we developed art forms – most powerfully, music – which move us to sadness and tears? This question forms the backdrop to Michael Trimble’s discussion of emotional crying, its physiology, and its evolutionary implications.
His exploration examines the connections with other distinctively human features: the development of language, self-consciousness, religious practices, and empathy. Neuroanatomy and neurophysiology of the brain have uncovered unique human characteristics; mirror neurones, for example, explain why we unconsciously imitate actions and behaviour. Whereas Nietzsche argued that artistic tragedy was born with the ancient Greeks, Trimble places its origins far earlier. His neurophysiological and evolutionary insights shed fascinating light onto this enigmatic part of our humanity.
Editorial Reviews
Review
Trimble ambitiously cracks the surface of a complex human process. (Scientific American)
This is a stimulating adventurous book. (
Daily Telegraph)
Trimble earned my respect for his erudition and ambition … an engaging storyteller. (
Randolph Cornelius, New Scientist)
Fascinating volume … an insightful account … offers a profound glimpse into the human heart as well as deep insight into the role of art in our lives. (
Guardian)
About the Author
Professor Trimble is emeritus professor of Behavioural Neurology at the Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London. His research for many years has been on the behavioural consequences of neurological disorders, especially epilepsy and movement disorders. He has a lifelong research interest in neuroanatomy, hence his ability to explore the neuroanatomical basis of crying. However, he is also a psychiatrist with much clinical experience of mood disorders, and had investigated the latter in patients using neurological techniques, such as brain imaging. He is the author of The Soul in the Brain (Johns Hopkins, 2007).
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