Is there an evolutionary purpose for human emotions?
Evolution does not act on “purpose.” It is teleologically better to look at the function of something that evolved rather than a purpose behind it appearing, though the function served can maybe be thought of as a “reason” why that trait stayed around. Emotions affect the response of the individual, generally moving it away from bad things and toward good things (like females).
Every emotion evolved for a different purpose. About half of the emotions encourage you to reproduce, such as infatuation and love. The other half evolved to encourage you to help your group, such as compassion or pride. The evolutionary purpose of each emotion is identified in The Origin of Emotions.
