Born to Be Good by Dacher Keltner
May 31st, 2009Title: Born to Be Good
Author: Dacher Keltner
Publisher: W.W. Norton (2009)
This is a really interesting topic, much of which is currently being publicized on the super awesome TV show Lie to Me. Now, this book isn’t only about catching liars…in fact it’s not about catching liars at all. But there is a lot of information about about emotions and how we display them. Of course, the book is really an argument the we humans were intended to be good. He discusses our evolution of emotions like gratitude, compassion, and other optimistic. The book is a seemingly odd combination of scientific process and Eastern philosophy. Keltner is a professor of psychology at UC Berkley, so that kind of explains that.
Born to Be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life by Dacher Keltner is a pretty interesting book. The aspect I enjoyed most about it, apart from the discussions of micro expressions, was the optimism. There’s an awful lot of negative stuff out in various forms of media…so it’s nice to read something teeming with optimism.
The arguments made by Keltner seem to be pretty sound. I have almost no scientific experience to qualify that statement…but it all seemed OK to me. Plus there are pictures, and that makes every book better!
If you like psychology or sociology you would probably be interested in what this book has to say. If for nothing else, it might make you feel better about people in general!
Rating: 3 out of 5
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June 1st, 2009 at 10:43 am
I think the Bible, properly understood, has better answers as to why people are a blend of good and bad. Scientific exporation is a good thing but it will be difficult and very questionable for soft sciences like sociology or even psychology to find precise answers as to why people are good and bad becuase the answer is spiritual, not physiolgical. Most science doesn’t take spiritual causes into account.
July 14th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
How can we justify the claim that a collection of ancient writings collected, edited, rewritten and redacted across centuries has better answers than the latest findings of neuro-science? Substitute the word “good and bad” with “medicine,” “astronomy,” or “chemistry” and you can clearly see the fallacy in the argument. There is no reason the same rigorous, scientific process should not apply to the scientific study of morality.
We can’t simply cover up any subject we deem scientifically off limits with the blanket of spirituality. If something is observable in the real world — and the moral behavior of humans certainly qualifies — then it is the valid function of scientific exploration. “Most science doesn’t take spiritual causes into account,” because spiritual experiences are conjured up by our minds and can’t be objectified since the person having the spiritual experience can simply change the ground rules at any time.
July 7th, 2011 at 1:49 am
@Mountain Humanist: I understand the argument that you are trying to make and your claim that we ought to explore those things that are observable is valid. What confuses me is that people who support your view somehow think that scientific theories somehow become fact. As I look back through the sweep of scientific history, there are many instances where established fact at the time was shattered by a new fact. The flat world of Columbus’ age would be a glaring example of this.
So as much as some discredit the Bible, science can be discredited just as well.
There are many passages in Scripture that nail emotion because its universal nature rings true. It crosses culture, time, gender, race, and language and connects to our story through our heart.