Why does Joe Hudson say decision-making is 100% emotional on Modern Wisdom?

Joe Hudson told Chris Williamson that decisions are made by the emotional centre of the brain, citing the book Descartes' Error and patients whose emotional circuitry was damaged: their IQ stayed the same, yet they could spend 15 minutes choosing a pen colour. In his view logic only forecasts how each option will make you feel, and he estimates that around 90% of life's decisions are made to feel loved or valued, or to avoid feeling rejected or like a failure.

• Hudson excepts reflexes, such as jumping away from a snake, which bypass the emotional centre.
• Hudson says that if you are afraid of a feeling, the options that risk it disappear from your solution set.

▸In their words

“So the idea that you're going to make a logical decision is absolute crap.” Joe Hudson · at 6:06 — open in the transcript →

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on Modern Wisdom (2026-11-02). Read the whole episode summary →

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