The Moral Molecule
The Source of Love and Prosperity
New York : Dutton, [2012]
Format: Book
Description: xix, 235 pages ; 24 cm
A Revolution in the Science of Good and Evil
Why do some people give freely while others are cold hearted?
Why do some people cheat and steal while others you can trust with your life?
Why are some husbands more faithful than others--and why do women tend to be more generous than men?
Could they key to moral behavior lie with a single molecule?
From the bucolic English countryside to the highlands of Papua New Guinea, from labs in Switzerland to his campus in Souther California, Dr. Paul Zak recounts his extraordinary stories and sets out, for the first time, his revolutionary theory of moral behavior. Accessible and electrifying, The Moral Molecule reveals nothing less than the origins of our most human qualities--empathy, happiness, and the kindness of strangers.
Why do some people give freely while others are cold hearted?
Why do some people cheat and steal while others you can trust with your life?
Why are some husbands more faithful than others--and why do women tend to be more generous than men?
Could they key to moral behavior lie with a single molecule?
From the bucolic English countryside to the highlands of Papua New Guinea, from labs in Switzerland to his campus in Souther California, Dr. Paul Zak recounts his extraordinary stories and sets out, for the first time, his revolutionary theory of moral behavior. Accessible and electrifying, The Moral Molecule reveals nothing less than the origins of our most human qualities--empathy, happiness, and the kindness of strangers.
Contents:
The trust game : from short cons to the wealth of nations -- Lobsters in love : the evolution of trust -- Feeling oxytocin : the circuit that brings us home -- Bad boys : the complications of gender -- The disconnected : victims of abuse, bad genes, and bad ideas -- Where sex touches religion : stepping outside the self -- Moral markets : liquid trust and why greed isn't good -- A long and happy life : mimes creating bottom-up democracy.
ISBN:
9780525952817 (hardcover)
Availability | |||
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Call Number | Location | Shelf Location | Status |
SOCIAL SCI Zak | Main (Downtown) | Third Level, Nonfiction | In |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 213-219) and index.