Chapter 14
Heartbreak
People Affected: women feeling infatuation
Type of Emotion: conceptual punishment
Conceptual Trigger: “ the man I am infatuated with wants to make another woman happy ”
Mental Effect: negative
Key Feature: the stronger the infatuation, the stronger the effect
Type of Emotion: conceptual punishment
Conceptual Trigger: “ the man I am infatuated with wants to make another woman happy ”
Mental Effect: negative
Key Feature: the stronger the infatuation, the stronger the effect
Purpose
Heartbreak encourages women to avoid lotharios. Lotharios are men who pretend to fall in love to have sex. Afterwards, they leave women to raise children without paternal support, a worst case scenario for a woman’s genes.
Male heartbreak did not evolve. Female lotharios do not exist. Maternal love ensures that mothers care for a man’s child.
Men may stop feeling love or start feeling jealousy or loneliness if a woman leaves. These reductions in happiness are mistakenly believed to be male heartbreak.
Men will stop feeling monogynic love if they were still in love when a woman leaves. Without contact with the woman, a man cannot conclude that she is happy.
Men feel jealousy if they were in love and the woman leaves for another man.
Men feel loneliness if the woman was an important source of affection before she left.
Conceptual Trigger
Heartbreak is only triggered if a woman is still infatuated with a man. If a woman started feeling infatuation more than 8 months ago, she will not feel heartbreak if her man courts another woman. If she has not activated his monogynic love after 8 months, she probably never will and should move on to a new man. Consequently, women are not punished for losing a man they should have left.
Heartbreak is triggered by making another woman happy, not by having sex with her. Women do not feel heartbreak if their man has sex with another woman. Women do feel heartbreak if their man buys another woman presents. Men have sex to make themselves happy. Men buy a woman presents to make her happy. If a man wants to make another woman happy, he is in love with her. If a man is in love with another woman, he cannot be in love with the heartbroken woman.
Imaginary heartbreak is more important than actual heartbreak. Actual heartbreak is triggered after a woman has been fooled by a lothario. Imaginary heartbreak is triggered before a woman is fooled by a lothario. It is easier for women to imagine heartbreak when they have felt it before. Lotharios target naive women for this reason.
Mental Effect
Heartbreak encourages women to avoid lotharios. Lotharios are men who pretend to fall in love to have sex. Afterwards, they leave women to raise children without paternal support, a worst case scenario for a woman’s genes.
Male heartbreak did not evolve. Female lotharios do not exist. Maternal love ensures that mothers care for a man’s child.
Men may stop feeling love or start feeling jealousy or loneliness if a woman leaves. These reductions in happiness are mistakenly believed to be male heartbreak.
Men will stop feeling monogynic love if they were still in love when a woman leaves. Without contact with the woman, a man cannot conclude that she is happy.
Men feel jealousy if they were in love and the woman leaves for another man.
Men feel loneliness if the woman was an important source of affection before she left.
Conceptual Trigger
Heartbreak is only triggered if a woman is still infatuated with a man. If a woman started feeling infatuation more than 8 months ago, she will not feel heartbreak if her man courts another woman. If she has not activated his monogynic love after 8 months, she probably never will and should move on to a new man. Consequently, women are not punished for losing a man they should have left.
Heartbreak is triggered by making another woman happy, not by having sex with her. Women do not feel heartbreak if their man has sex with another woman. Women do feel heartbreak if their man buys another woman presents. Men have sex to make themselves happy. Men buy a woman presents to make her happy. If a man wants to make another woman happy, he is in love with her. If a man is in love with another woman, he cannot be in love with the heartbroken woman.
Imaginary heartbreak is more important than actual heartbreak. Actual heartbreak is triggered after a woman has been fooled by a lothario. Imaginary heartbreak is triggered before a woman is fooled by a lothario. It is easier for women to imagine heartbreak when they have felt it before. Lotharios target naive women for this reason.
Mental Effect
Heartbreak varies with a woman’s infatuation. The stronger a woman’s infatuation, the stronger the negative effect. Being heartbroken during the 4 month plateau triggers the strongest heartbreak. Being heartbroken after the plateau has ended triggers no effect.
Heartbreak varies with the risk of pregnancy, which is greatest during the 4 months that vaginal pleasure is elevated.
Heartbreak varies with the risk of pregnancy, which is greatest during the 4 months that vaginal pleasure is elevated.
Happiness Dissected is a more practical version of The Origin of Emotions.