{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.026018099547511313, 'fraction_numerical': 0.0, 'mean_word_length': 4.822368421052632, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
“I hear you clearly, yet your voice sounds far away—distant and unreal”

What are emotions? What do they do to us, and in what ways do they contribute to our lives? By discussing real-life examples of individuals either who have lost the ability to experience certain emotions or who have an attenuated capacity to experience or recognize emotions, the chapter offers an accessible presentation into the character and function of human emotions. Three main claims about emotions are presented and defended. First, emotions are powerful and transformative: they change our world and ourselves. Second, emotions reveal to us what matters to us and what does not. Third, emotions do not just allow us to experience the world and others, but they also help us to navigate it. Ultimately, the chapter argues that people need emotions—not just to survive, but to live well and successfully.