The Political Brain - Chapter 4: "The Emotions Behind the Curtain"

This chapter opens with one of the most memorable moments during the presidential debate of 1988. Bernard Shaw (moderator) asks Governor Dukakis a simple question: “If Kitty [his wife’ were raped and murdered, would you favor an irrevocable death penalty for the killer?”

Dukakis: “No, I don’t Bernard…I don’t see any evidence that it’s a deterrent, and I think there are better and more effective ways to deal with violent crime.”

Thus far, we have been talking about the evolution of the dispassionate mind. On the surface, this answer seems very logical and rational. However, if we look at what it really meant, we would see the flaw in his answer. His opposition to the death penalty reflects a moral stance, but there’s no sign of that in his answer. Most voters would be inclined to say things like, “He doesn’t have a heart.”

Westen proceeds to write about the various emotions that motivate us and make us feel. Wishes, desires, fears, and moralistic, and aesthetically thinking about how things should be or should not be. Additionally, he goes on to cite the works of known psychologists, notably Skinner and Freud. The latter developed an infamously paradoxical theory: emotional processes can be activated and shaped outside of awareness. In the same way, according to recent research, people are more likely to find unlikable a person they have never seen if his image is preceded by an angry face.

This chapter is essentially a continuation of sorts with the previous one in that they both discuss the role of emotion and passion in politics. Unsurprisingly, politics in the Western world today, according to Westen, is in stark contrast to what has been talked about in this chapter and the last. Judgement and decision making have consistently won the battle over emotion even though the latter has helped organisms survive for millions of years. Thus, either you can use facts and figures like we talked about in Chapter 2. Or you can formulate your message to have “maximum appeal…and target the broader neural electorate” (Westen 88).