# Expressions, Looks and Others’ Minds **Opening (not a real abstract):** We often express our emotions. Indeed, we may often find it very hard to avoid expressing our emotions. We also often find ourselves aware of others' emotions - our friend's anger, their rival's joy. How is it that we become aware of these states? What is the relationship between our emotions, their expression, and others’ knowledge of how we feel? Certainly we sometimes have to infer how people are feeling - from the tear-stained letter or the unexpected hanging up of the phone. We may find ourselves reflecting on what these signs mean; find ourselves piecing together various strands of what we know of the person. But that is not always how things unfold. Our sensitivity to each other’s mental lives often lacks that cerebral or effortful character of conscious reasoning. Our awareness may be psychologically **Authors:** [[William E. S. McNeill]]