The Moral Molecule, Paul J. Zak
The Moral Molecule, Paul J. Zak
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The Moral Molecule
The Source of Love and Prosperity

Author: Paul J. Zak

Narrator: Paul J. Zak

Unabridged: 7 hr 44 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/10/2012


Synopsis

Human beings can be so compassionate—and yet they can also be shockingly cruel. What if there was a hidden master control for human behavior? Switch it on and people are loving and generous. Switch it off and they revert to violence and greed. Pioneering neuroeconomist Paul J. Zak has discovered just such a master switch, a molecule in the human brain.The Moral Molecule is a firsthand account of this discovery, revealing how evolution built the Golden Rule into our biology. From his laboratory in California to the jungles of Papua New Guinea, Zak takes you on an amazing and exciting journey to what it means to be human.Zak’s experiments—what science writer Matt Ridley called “the most revealing in the history of economics”—measure a brain chemical called oxytocin found in the bloodstream. His colleagues sometimes call him the vampire economist. His research team has taken blood from thousands of people as they made decisions with money in the lab, played football out on the field, jumped from an airplane, attended a wedding, and many other situations in which human interactions take place. Ascending from molecules to families to entire societies, Zak’s findings reveal how oxytocin can produce a virtuous cycle of love and prosperity.The Moral Molecule is a journey well beyond common theories about why we make the decisions we do. Zak explains what underlies the great mysteries of human behavior—why some husbands are more faithful than others; why women tend to be more generous than men; why we are sometimes rational and other times irrational. He explores the role of religion in moral behavior, how the moral molecule operates in the marketplace, and—most important, once we understand the moral molecule—how we can consciously use it to make our own lives better.

About Paul J. Zak

Paul J.Zak, Phd, is a professor of economics, management, and psychology at Claremont Graduate University. He is the founding director of Claremont’s Center for Neuroeconomics Studies. His Psychology Today blog is also titled The Moral Molecule. He lives in Southern California.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Brian

You wait years for a book on empathy and two come out within days. But the contrast with Simon Baron-Cohen's book could not be greater. The Moral Molecule is popular science as rumbustious personal story telling - it is a highly enjoyable exploration of Paul Zak's journey from economist to neurobiol......more

Goodreads review by Paige

It feels like it's been forever since I posted a book review... I have been so busy with other things and when I do get a break my focus has been on stuff besides reading. :( Anyway, this book was nothing spectacular. I learned something, which is why it got the stars it did. Apparently this guy writ......more

Goodreads review by Justin

The power of hugs! Well, that’s the short version, anyway. In fact, I got to meet Paul Zak at a panel, and the first thing he did was give me a hug. So, the man definitely walks his talk. This is another entry in the recently hot pop-neuroscience genre of nonfiction. Despite the backlash to neuroscien......more

He intended to draw a correlation between trust, happiness and morality; citing all could be increased with a single hormone - oxytocin. It is highly doubtful though that a moral person can be a happy person, as a psychopath who gets a kick (happiness) from killing but is certainly not moral in the......more