
Born to Be Good
The Science of a Meaningful Life
Dacher Keltner(Author)
WW Norton & Co (Publisher)
Published on 10. February 2009
Book
Hardback
352 pages
978-0-393-06512-1 (ISBN)
Description
In Born to Be Good, Dacher Keltner demonstrates that humans are not hardwired to lead lives that are "nasty, brutish, and short"-we are in fact born to be good. He investigates an old mystery of human evolution: why have we evolved positive emotions like gratitude, amusement, awe, and compassion that promote ethical action and are the fabric of cooperative societies?By combining stories of scientific discovery, personal narrative, and Eastern philosophy, Keltner illustrates his discussions with more than fifty photographs of human emotions. Born to Be Good is a profound study of how emotion is the key to living the good life and how the path to happiness goes through human emotions that connect people to one another.
Reviews / Votes
"Starred Review. A landmark book in the science of emotion and its implications for ethics and human universals, this is essential for all libraries." -- Library JournalMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Illustrations
60 photographs
Dimensions
Height: 244 mm
Width: 165 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
614 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-393-06512-1 (9780393065121)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
10/2009
W. W. Norton & Company
€15.49
Available for download
Person
Dacher Keltner is the Thomas and Ruth Ann Hornaday professor of psychology and the director of the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley. He has taught social psychology for the past 18 years and is the recipient of the Distinguished Teaching Award for Letters and Sciences. His research focuses on the prosocial emotions (such as love, sympathy, and gratitude), morality, and power. Other awards include the Western Psychological Association's award for outstanding contribution to research, the Positive Psychology Prize for excellence in research, and the Ed and Carol Diener mid-career award for research excellence in social psychology. He is a fellow of the American Psychological Association, the American Psychological Society, and the Society for Personality and Social Psychology. In 2008, the Utne Reader listed Dacher as one of the 50 visionaries changing the world.