Why do we feel? What are emotions? What pushes us to act? And why does time seem to fly when we're having fun, only to drag on when we're anxious? A new manuscript, "Feeling the Heat: A Thermodynamic Perspective on Emotions, Motivation, and Time Perception," presents a comprehensive unified theory that connects these fundamental aspects of our experience through the laws of physics. It suggests that our mental world, much like the physical world, is governed by the principles of energy and entropy.
At its core, this novel model shows that deviations from our bodily or mental equilibrium are experienced as emotion, much like a fever is a deviation from our normal body temperature. This perspective treats our neural system as constantly seeking balance. The mental resting state is a high-entropy balance, full of potential and flexibility. Any stimulus—a sudden noise, a welcome surprise, or a stressful thought—pushes us away from this equilibrium, and that energetic ripple is what we experience as an emotion.
In this view, motivation is regulated by our perception of time. For instance, positive emotions, like joy, can actually reduce our motivation to act, as we are content in our current state. In contrast, stressful emotions like anxiety or anger involve a high level of cognitive processing and create a sense of 'time pressure.' Our sense of misery that negative emotions represent fuels impatience. This impatience creates an urgency to act, to resolve the situation, and to regain balance.
A fascinating aspect of this theory is how the identical slowing down of time perception can create contrasting motivation. The slowed time of contentment allows for relaxation and appreciation, while the slowed time of stress creates a feeling of being trapped, fueling impatience. However, when we do act, our perception of time accelerates to manage fluid performance. This interplay explains how we can enter a 'flow state,' a unique condition at the intersection of contentment and challenge. In this fully absorbed and motivated condition, time flies.
By anchoring psychology in the physical principles of energy and entropy, this manuscript offers a new way to understand how emotions generate motivation. This perspective has significant implications, particularly for mental health. It reframes conditions like depression and anxiety not as chemical imbalances, but as states of thermodynamic dysregulation, where energy-draining loops leave the brain in a low-energy state. This thermodynamic model explains why emotional suppression is ineffective. It shows why meditation and cognitive focus on the present moment boost the mind's natural ability to regulate its energy, to manage stress, and find a healthy mental equilibrium.
