Alchemies of the Mind Rationality and the Emotions

"The alchemies referred to are the processes that transform shameful or dysfunctional emotions into others deemed more acceptable. We transform envy into desire for justice; we learn to dislike what we have not got, and take pride in what we have or sometimes the reverse. We are good at sour grapes and sweet lemons. We are also good at putting on masks and veils, sometimes strategically, sometimes in the process of deceiving ourselves. ALCHEMIES conducts a wide and fascinating trawl through history and literature in search of the mechanisms of emotional suppression, self-deception and transmutation."Elster, Jon is the author of 'Alchemies of the Mind Rationality and the Emotions', published 1999 under ISBN 9780521644877 and ISBN 0521644879.