The Compassionate Instinct: The Science of Human Goodness

The Compassionate Instinct: The Science of Human Goodness PDF Author: Dacher Keltner
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 9780393076851
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 336

Get Book

Book Description
Leading scientists and science writers reflect on the life-changing, perspective-changing, new science of human goodness. In these pages you will hear from Steven Pinker, who asks, “Why is there peace?”; Robert Sapolsky, who examines violence among primates; Paul Ekman, who talks with the Dalai Lama about global compassion; Daniel Goleman, who proposes “constructive anger”; and many others. Led by renowned psychologist Dacher Keltner, the Greater Good Science Center, based at the University of California in Berkeley, has been at the forefront of the positive psychology movement, making discoveries about how and why people do good. Four times a year the center publishes its findings with essays on forgiveness, moral inspiration, and everyday ethics in Greater Good magazine. The best of these writings are collected here for the first time. A collection of personal stories and empirical research, The Compassionate Instinct will make you think not only about what it means to be happy and fulfilled but also about what it means to lead an ethical and compassionate life.

The Compassionate Instinct: The Science of Human Goodness

The Compassionate Instinct: The Science of Human Goodness PDF Author: Dacher Keltner
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 9780393076851
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 336

Get Book

Book Description
Leading scientists and science writers reflect on the life-changing, perspective-changing, new science of human goodness. In these pages you will hear from Steven Pinker, who asks, “Why is there peace?”; Robert Sapolsky, who examines violence among primates; Paul Ekman, who talks with the Dalai Lama about global compassion; Daniel Goleman, who proposes “constructive anger”; and many others. Led by renowned psychologist Dacher Keltner, the Greater Good Science Center, based at the University of California in Berkeley, has been at the forefront of the positive psychology movement, making discoveries about how and why people do good. Four times a year the center publishes its findings with essays on forgiveness, moral inspiration, and everyday ethics in Greater Good magazine. The best of these writings are collected here for the first time. A collection of personal stories and empirical research, The Compassionate Instinct will make you think not only about what it means to be happy and fulfilled but also about what it means to lead an ethical and compassionate life.

Born to Be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life

Born to Be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life PDF Author: Dacher Keltner
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393073351
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 352

Get Book

Book Description
“A landmark book in the science of emotions and its implications for ethics and human universals.”—Library Journal, starred review In this startling study of human emotion, Dacher Keltner investigates an unanswered question of human evolution: If humans are hardwired to lead lives that are “nasty, brutish, and short,” why have we evolved with positive emotions like gratitude, amusement, awe, and compassion that promote ethical action and cooperative societies? Illustrated with more than fifty photographs of human emotions, Born to Be Good takes us on a journey through scientific discovery, personal narrative, and Eastern philosophy. Positive emotions, Keltner finds, lie at the core of human nature and shape our everyday behavior—and they just may be the key to understanding how we can live our lives better. Some images in this ebook are not displayed owing to permissions issues.

The Power Paradox

The Power Paradox PDF Author: Dacher Keltner
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0698195590
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 208

Get Book

Book Description
A revolutionary and timely reconsideration of everything we know about power. Celebrated UC Berkeley psychologist Dr. Dacher Keltner argues that compassion and selflessness enable us to have the most influence over others and the result is power as a force for good in the world. Power is ubiquitous—but totally misunderstood. Turning conventional wisdom on its head, Dr. Dacher Keltner presents the very idea of power in a whole new light, demonstrating not just how it is a force for good in the world, but how—via compassion and selflessness—it is attainable for each and every one of us. It is taken for granted that power corrupts. This is reinforced culturally by everything from Machiavelli to contemporary politics. But how do we get power? And how does it change our behavior? So often, in spite of our best intentions, we lose our hard-won power. Enduring power comes from empathy and giving. Above all, power is given to us by other people. This is what we all too often forget, and it is the crux of the power paradox: by misunderstanding the behaviors that helped us to gain power in the first place we set ourselves up to fall from power. We abuse and lose our power, at work, in our family life, with our friends, because we've never understood it correctly—until now. Power isn't the capacity to act in cruel and uncaring ways; it is the ability to do good for others, expressed in daily life, and in and of itself a good thing. Dr. Keltner lays out exactly—in twenty original "Power Principles"—how to retain power; why power can be a demonstrably good thing; when we are likely to abuse power; and the terrible consequences of letting those around us languish in powerlessness.

Born to be Good

Born to be Good PDF Author: Dacher Keltner
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 9780393065121
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 360

Get Book

Book Description
A new examination of the surprising origins of human goodness.

Better Ways to Better Relationships in the Church

Better Ways to Better Relationships in the Church PDF Author: Thomas G. Kirkpatrick
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 172529995X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 104

Get Book

Book Description
Most congregations and faith communities are eager to help people transform their relationships for the better--especially in these controversial and divisive times. This book targets six topics to create healthier relationships and repair relationship breakdowns: practicing humility, experiencing empathy, feeling compassion, showing kindness, expressing appreciation, and doing justice. You will find chapters on each of these topics with teaser quotes, real-life scenarios, sensible guidelines, and practical applications. Its goal is to provide some practical guidelines that can go a long way in helping people be more effective in how they transform relationships for the better in their congregations and everyday lives. In short, you will find practical wisdom in each of these six areas that will strengthen your relationships at home, at work, in congregations, and in society. Insights are drawn from the latest research by relationship and social scientists on each topic. Wisdom gleaned from this research is translated into practical guidelines for transforming relationships gone awry, into relationships that flourish.

Understanding Emotions

Understanding Emotions PDF Author: Keith Oatley
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
ISBN: 9781557864949
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 480

Get Book

Book Description
This new textbook is the first book to fully span the fast growing field to research on emotions. It ranges across a broad range of disciplines, covering the entire lifespan from infancy to adulthood. Its main theme is that emotions have functions: they set priorities among our concerns and they provide the underlying structure of human friendships, to the excitements of sexuality. Understanding Emotions is designed as a textbook for second- and third-year university courses, and the text itself is fully supported by introductions and summaries, suggestions for further reading, plus a comprehensive bibliography and a glossary.

Philosophy, Science and Religion for Everyone

Philosophy, Science and Religion for Everyone PDF Author: Duncan Pritchard
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351592165
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 273

Get Book

Book Description
Philosophy, Science and Religion for Everyone brings together these great truth-seeking disciplines, and seeks to understand the ways in which they challenge and inform each other. Key topics and their areas of focus include: • Foundational Issues – why should anyone care about the science-and-religion debate? How do scientific claims relate to the truth? Is evolution compatible with design? • Faith and Rationality – can faith ever be rational? Are theism and atheism totally opposed? Is God hidden or does God simply not exist? • Faith and Science - what provides a better explanation for the origin of the universe—science or religion? Faith and physics: can they be reconciled? Does contemporary neuroscience debunk religious belief? Creationism and evolutionary biology - what constitutes science and what constitutes pseudo-science? • Practical Implications – is fundamentalism just a problem for religious people? What are the ethical implications of the science-and-religion debate? Do logic and religion mix? This book is designed to be used in conjunction with the free ‘Philosophy, Science and Religion’ MOOC (massive open online course) created by the University of Edinburgh, and hosted by the Coursera platform (www.coursera.org). This book is also highly recommended for anyone looking for a concise overview of this fascinating discipline.

Becoming a Social Entrepreneur

Becoming a Social Entrepreneur PDF Author: Michael Gordon
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0429516339
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 269

Get Book

Book Description
What’s it like to be a social entrepreneur – not a textbook social entrepreneur but one on the ground? This book offers an explanation. Michael Gordon, leading Social Entrepreneurship expert from the University of Michigan, spoke with more than one hundred social entrepreneurs – from six continents, young and old, just starting out to several decades in, addressing seemingly every societal problem of the day. This book uses their words and experiences to provide a kaleidoscopic description of what it means to become a social entrepreneur. It ranges from the personal and emotional challenges they often face to the grand impact many hope to produce. It touches on the sublime but focuses on the everyday, highlighting the mistakes that have been made, the lessons learned and, especially, what advice they would give to those wanting to start a social venture. This book presents the truth, not the varnish, and is ideal for use in the classroom with students studying social entrepreneurship, and for all new and experienced social entrepreneurs seeking real-life examples of how to overcome challenges. For anyone else, it offers a penetrating portrait of the lives of those committed to changing the world.

Raising a Kid Who Can

Raising a Kid Who Can PDF Author: Catherine McCarthy
Publisher: Workman Publishing Company
ISBN: 1523525487
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 289

Get Book

Book Description
Three mental health professionals cut through the "parenting advice" noise with this accessible, easy-to-skim book filled with actionable strategies and tips to build a child's capacity to thrive where they are planted, in good times and bad. It’s time to parent smarter, not harder. Filled with scientifically based and eminently actionable advice and strategies, Raising a Kid Who Can boils down the ten essential things that every child needs to thrive so that parents can stop drowning in information and get to the business of raising healthier, happier humans. Written by three mental health professionals who work with families, organized for easy skimming, and designed to be useful at any stage in a child’s life, the book devotes one short, impactful chapter per principle, including Resilience, Attention and Self-Control, Psychological Flexibility, Self-Motivation, Compassion and Gratitude. The result is a new approach to a parenting guide, one that takes a wholistic approach to nurturing a child’s development and help parents get right to the information they need, when they need it.

How Compassion Made Us Human

How Compassion Made Us Human PDF Author: Penny Spikins
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1781593108
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 281

Get Book

Book Description
Our capacity to care about the wellbeing of others, whether they are close family or strangers, can appear to be unimportant in today's competitive societies. However, in this volume Penny Spikins argues that compassion lies at the heart of what makes us human. She takes us on a journey from the earliest stone age societies two million years ago to the lives of Neanderthals in Ice Age Europe, using archaeological evidence to illustrate the central role that emotional connections had in human evolution. Simple acts of kindness left to us from millions of years ago provide evidence for how social emotions and morality evolved, and how our capacity to reach out beyond ourselves into the lives of others allowed us to work together for a common good, and form the basis for human success.