Compassionate Instinct The Science of Human Goodness

In these pages you will hear from Steven Pinker, who asks, "Why is there peace?"; Robert Sapolsky, who examines violence among primates; Paul Ekman, who talks with the Dalai Lama about global compassion; Daniel Goleman, who proposes "constructive anger"; and many others. Led by renowned psychologist Dacher Keltner, the Greater Good Science Center, based at the University of California in Berkeley, has been at the forefront of the positive psychology movement, making discoveries about how and why people do good. Four times a year the center publishes its findings with essays on forgiveness, moral inspiration, and everyday ethics in magazine. The best of these writings are collected here for the first time. A collection of personal stories and empirical research, will make you think not only about what it means to be happy and fulfilled but also about what it means to lead an ethical and compassionate life.

[T]his collection stimulates serious reflection. --Booklist

"The short, accessible essays...underscore empathy, forgiveness, gratitude, happiness, trust, and apology.... A readable digest of current work in positive psychology for a general audience." E. James Lieberman

A collection of personal stories and empirical research, The Compassionate Instinct will make you think not only about what it means to be happy and fulfilled but also about what it means to lead an ethical and compassionate life.

Leading scientists and science writers reflect on the life-changing, perspective-changing, new science of human goodness.

Dacher Keltner is 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 21 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 Distinguished Mentoring Award at UC Berkeley. 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.Jason Marsh is an editor of Greater Good magazine. He lives in Berkeley, CA.Jeremy Adam Smith is the senior editor of Greater Good magazine and the author of The Daddy Shift. He lives in San Francisco.