Hatred: Understanding Our Most Dangerous Emotion

Berit Brogaard

Jan 2021 · Highbridge Audio · Narrated by Janet Metzger

About this audiobook

Hatred is often considered the opposite of love, but in many ways is much more complicated. It also may be considered one of the dominant emotions of our time, as individuals, groups, and even nations express or enact hatred to varying degrees. What is hatred? Where does it come from and what does it reveal about the hater? And is hatred always a bad thing? Brogaard makes a deep dive into the moral psychology of one of our most complex, and vivid emotions. She explores how hatred arises between people and among groups. She also shows how hate, like anger, can sometimes be appropriate and fitting. Other questions she addresses are, how does hate differ from anger, disgust, fear, and other related emotions? Is fear an essential part of hatred? How does hatred affect what happens inside the brain? How did hate evolve in human history? Is hatred ever morally justified? Can you hate and love at the same time? Can one hate oneself? How do implicit biases trigger hatred of groups? This accessible, timely, and novel look at an underexplored emotion will employ examples from current events as well as art and literature and popular culture.

About the author

Berit Brogaard is professor of philosophy, Cooper fellow, and director of the Brogaard Lab for Multisensory Research at the University of Miami, as well as Professor II at the University of Oslo. Her books include Transient Truths, On Romantic Love, The Superhuman Mind, and Seeing & Saying.

AudioFile Earphones Award winner Janet Metzger brings the experience of nearly four decades of theater, film, and television acting to her work as an audiobook narrator. Janet is also an award-winning documentary narrator and a master teacher at Emory University School of Law.