A Phenomenological Non-Equilibrium Theory of Emotion, Addiction, and Artistic Creation

We propose a phenomenological, non-equilibrium theory describing emotional response,

addiction, and artistic creation. The theory does not aim to explain what causes emotion, but

rather characterizes what emotion is as a physical phenomenon. Emotion is shown to arise

only when two independent non-equilibria coexist. Addiction is described as a rotational

non-equilibrium sustained by repeated reproduction of stimulus. Artistic creation is shown

to avoid addiction structurally by enforcing temporal non-reproducibility of stimulus.