Emotional inteligence

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the family unit and the long-term commitment to childrearing
that makes human development possible. (Species
that have no neocortex, such as reptiles, lack maternal
affection; when their young hatch, the newborns
must hide to avoid being cannibalized.) In humans the
protective bond between parent and child allows much
of maturation to go on over the course of a long childhood—during
which the brain continues to develop.
As we proceed up the phylogenetic scale from reptile
to rhesus to human, the sheer mass of the neocortex increases;
with that increase comes a geometric rise in the
interconnections in brain circuitry. The larger the number
of such connections, the greater the range of possible
responses. The neocortex allows for the subtlety
and complexity of emotional life, such as the ability to
have feelings about our feelings. There is more
neocortex-to-limbic system in primates than in other
species—and vastly more in humans—suggesting why
we are able to display a far greater range of reactions to
our emotions, and more nuance. While a rabbit or
rhesus has a restricted set of typical responses to fear,
the larger human neocortex allows a far more nimble
repertoire—including calling 999. The more complex the
social system, the more essential is such flexibility—and
there is no more complex social world than our own. 12