Why Humans Like to Cry: Tragedy, Evolution, and the Brain

by Michael Trimble and Michael R. Trimble

Book Overview

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...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0199693188
• ISBN13: 9780199693184
• Release Date: December 2012
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.4" x 8.8"