MARCH 7 2020 LISTENER 35
potential problems. One problem is that
in the Western world, we have a system
of laws founded on the principle that a
person’s intent matters to how culpable
they are if they cause harm. We make a
distinction between harm that’s caused
deliberately, with intent, and harm that’s
caused by accident. That requires a jury or
a judge to make an inference about intent.
And that is always a guess. Is that stony-
faced stare remorse? Is it lack of remorse?
Is it guilt? Is it lack of guilt? That wrong
guess can cost him his liberty, or his life. In
the [Dzhokhar] Tsarnaev case – the Boston
bombing took place a mile from my office
and he was caught less than two miles
away from my house – I’m not in any way
saying that this guy isn’t guilty for what he
did. And I believe he should be punished
with the full force of the law – he harmed a
lot of people and it was a very scary time.
But in the US, according to the Supreme
Court, someone gets a fair trial only when
jurors can know the heart and mind of the
defendant. There’s certainly evidence that
suggests that well before his trial Tsarnaev
wrote letters full of remorse and apology
to his victims and those were not entered
into the record. It’s my place as a scientist
to point out that, in Chechen culture, the
thing that you do basically in defeat to
honour your enemy is be stoic. But he was
given the death penalty. If you listen to
what the jurors reported after they were
interviewed, it is very much in line with
what the research shows, which is that
they believed he didn’t feel remorse. It’s
an issue with judges, too. We all use our
past experiences to make sense of what’s
going on in the present moment. And if
our experiences are very different from
another person’s experiences, then what
we honestly experience in that moment
will be very different. l
Lisa Feldman Barrett will be speaking at the
NZ Festival of the Arts in Wellington on Friday,
March 6, at 8pm.
“In issues of sexual consent
and MeToo, it’s important
to understand that your
brain is guessing about
what a body movement
means. And it can guess
wrong – very easily.”
Emotional lifesavers
Feldman Barrett’s practical tips for
keeping your emotions on an even keel.
Get physical. Each time you
perform a physical act for
your body budget, you’re also
doing something mental with
concepts. Every mental activity
has a physical effect as well.
You can put this connection
to work for you, to master
your emotions, enhance
your resilience, become a
better friend or parent or
lover, and even change your
conception of who you are.Go easy on yourself. The
science is crystal clear on
healthful food, regular exercise,
and sleep as prerequisites
for a balanced body budget
and a healthy emotional
life. A chronically taxed
body budget increases your
chances of developing a
host of different illnesses.Touchy-feely. Human touch
is good for your health – it
improves your body budget
by way of your interoceptive
network. Massage is especially
helpful after vigorous exercise.
It limits inflammation and
promotes faster healing of
the tiny tears in muscle tissue
that result from exercise,
which you might otherwise
experience as unpleasant.Bend over backwards. People
who practise yoga long-
term are able to calm down
more quickly and effectively,
probably as a result of some
combination of physical
activity and the slow-paced
breathing. Yoga also reduceslevels of certain proteins,
called proinflammatory
cytokines, that over the
long term promote harmful
inflammation in your body.Commune with nature.
Try to spend time in spaces
with less noise and crowding,
and more greenery andnatural light. Not many of
us can afford to sculpt our
environment by moving into
a new house or redecorating,
but it is amazing what a
simple houseplant will do.Healthy escapism. Diving
into a compelling novel is
also healthful for your body
budget. This is more than
mere escapism; when you
get involved in someone
else’s story, you aren’t as
involved in your own.Give as good as you get. Set
up regular lunch dates with a
friend and take turns treating
each other. Research shows
that giving and gratitude have
mutual benefits for the body
budgets involved, so when you
take turns, you reap the benefits.Animal magnetism. Adopt
a pet, which gives you
touch and unconditional
adoration at the same time.When you get involved
in someone else’s
story, you aren’t asinvolved in your own.