Dacher Keltner - Born to Be Good

Excellent discussion of what seems to be an excellent book (Born to Be Good). I agree completely with the premise. Although, it must be stated, there are innumerable things that can go wrong between birth and adulthood to make people less than good.

First Congregational Church of Berkeley
Berkeley, CA
Jan 21st, 2009

Dacher Keltner, professor of psychology at UC Berkeley and director of the Greater Good Science Center, 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 are the fabric of cooperative societies?

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.

Michael Lewis is without peer in his understanding of market forces and human foibles. He is now our jungle guide through five of the most violent and costly upheavals in recent financial history: the crash of '87, the Russian default (and the subsequent collapse of Long-Term Capital Management), the Asian currency crisis of 1999, the Internet bubble, and the current sub-prime mortgage (and more) disaster.

With his trademark humor, Lewis paints the moods and market factors and, with the luxury of hindsight, analyzes what actually happened and what we should have learned from experience - First Congregational Church of Berkeley.

Tags: Dacher Keltner, Born to Be Good, Michael Lewis, Psychology, books, humanity, FORA.tv