Born to Be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: jen science, antiphonal laughter, hominid predecessors, New Guinea, Paul Ekman, Charles Darwin (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

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 Journal )

Product Description

A new examination of the surprising origins of human goodness. 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.

60 photographs.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co. (January 12, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 039306512X
• ISBN-13: 978-0393065121
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #150,259 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Hold the Botox, March 14, 2009

By	Jay C. Smith (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Born to Be Good
Born to Be Good is something less than the subtitle (The Science of a Meaningful Life) suggests. More accurately, it covers the science of certain selected emotions and, more narrowly still, primarily the research of certain psychologists, bolstered by a bit of neuroscience. Most specifically, it focuses in large part (although not exclusively) on the work of Paul Ekman (the author's mentor) and the research of Keltner himself (along with his students).

Ekman was a pioneer in developing a technique to match facial expressions to associated emotions. He found that several basic emotions -- such as anger, disgust, fear, sadness, surprise, and happiness -- register in the same facial muscle actions across cultures. Keltner has carried on in this tradition.

Following Jonathan Haidt and others, Keltner's larger thesis is that evolution has honed moral intuitions into embodied emotions that abet the development of morality and communal cooperation. For instance, one can easily see the social benefits of compassion, and the research shows it to correlate to activity in the vagus nerve, a bodily system which developed deep in our mammalian past.

So far, so good. However, Keltner stretches the point to claim that we have evolved a set of emotions that enable us to live a meaningful life, and that, "The key to happiness is to let these emotions arise, to see them fully in oneself and others, and to train the eye and mind in that practice." He proposes what he calls a "jen ratio" to reflect the balance between the "good and uplifting" and the "bad and cynical."

The problem is that he pretty much drops these more ambitious propositions after raising them in Chapter 1. There is no discussion of what a "meaningful life" might be other than one filled with positive emotions. Is meaningfulness simply just happiness? Nor is there a further explication of the "jen ratio," of how the positive emotions might be weighed against the negative ones, for instance. And there is little more on what practices, Zen or otherwise, might contribute to a more favorable jen. If the emotions are biologically established, how can we do much to alter the ratio of their expression in our lives?

Keltner's argument is impaired by the relative lack of attention he gives to the negative emotions. Are these too not also rooted in evolution? There is a case to be made for how anger and the retributive impulse, for instance, might also contribute to social bonding. How would that play out in a jen ratio? Keltner seems to be suggesting we would be better off without the negative emotions. But, if so, why did they evolve?

On the other hand, Born to Be Good has a great deal of merit in what it does cover. Depending on your starting point, if you read it you may learn a lot about how faces and, in some cases, touch or other body language communicate individuals' emotions, attitudes, and intent. Keltner offers informative chapters on embarrassment, smiles, laughter, teasing, and awe, for instance. The many illustrations are very helpful, especially those picturing different facial expressions.

I found the pages covering Duchenne and non-Duchenne smiles especially interesting. You probably cannot fake a Duchenne smile, so you should not think you have fooled your hostess that you are enjoying her party when you are not. And if you are considering Botox treatments you may want to think twice. You may believe you will look prettier but, as Keltner points out, your partner(s) will receive fewer clues to your joy, love, and devotion.

I am giving this book three stars because I came to it expecting a more developed presentation of a "science of a meaningful life." If it had not promised quite so much I would have rated it higher (perhaps the subtitle is a tease, a behavior Keltner devotes a chapter to).

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Quick, fluffy, puffy, and fun read..., February 7, 2009

By	psychoBOBlogy "Bob" (USA) - See all my reviews

The entire book can be summarized in just a few words: Darwin and evolutionary psychology are good; positive emotions are good; helping others experience positive emotions is good; the face and other non-verbals are good indicators of emotions; Dr. Paul Ekman is good; HHDL is good; jen is really good; and we can all be good if we choose to be.

If you enjoy reading positive psychology, this is not a bad book. I enjoyed it as a leisurely read over a few nights. I do wish the author had used a traditional list of references and notes to summarize his sources. I suspect there are better books on the horizon for Dr. Keltner...

27 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Is There a Natural Tendency to Be Good? Quite Possibly., January 20, 2009

By	Sacramento Book Review "SacramentoBookReview.com" (Sacramento, CA) - See all my reviews

In a time when this world seems a bleak place with suffering and death across the continents, economies plummeting, societies approaching collapse, and a general despair in the air, one has little else to turn to. But then there's /Born to Be Good/. Dacher Keltner, professor of psychology at UC Berkeley and director of the Greater Good Science Center, presents a book that offers hope in humanity to those who feel there is none. The first part of the book is spent on the Confucian concept of /jen/, "which refers to kindness, humanity, and reverence," as well as Keltner's thoughts on the Eastern Religions and what they offer in "being good." The second part of /Born to Be Good/ is spent researching and delving into the anthropological reasoning behind being a good person, and how it exists intrinsically in our DNA and our species, proving examples in other animals, as well as Homo sapiens. The last part of the book combines these two spheres of thought into a cohesive whole using what Keltner terms the jen ratio. Keltner fully believes there is absolute goodness in humanity, and /Born to Be Good/ is an uplifting and enlightening read in these dark and dour times.


Reviewed by: Alex C. Telander