Paul J. Zak
Auteur de The Moral Molecule: The Source of Love and Prosperity
A propos de l'auteur
Paul J. Zak's proclivity for taking blood samples has earned, him a nickname as the "vampire economist." But his sanguinary habit is backed by his scientific quest: What if there was a master switch for human behavior? On, and people are loving and generous. Off, and they revert to violence and afficher plus greed. By studying thousands of blood samples, Zak has pinpointed just such a switch: a brain chemical called oxytocin. Sprinting around the globe and into the human brain, The Moral Molecule is a dazzling narrative as erudite and entertaining as bestsellers like Flow, Drive, and Why We Love. afficher moins
Crédit image: Evolution of Religion
Œuvres de Paul J. Zak
Moral Markets: The Critical Role of Values in the Economy (2007) — Directeur de publication — 35 exemplaires
Currency crises, monetary union and the conduct of monetary policy : a debate among leading economists (1999) — Directeur de publication — 1 exemplaire
Étiqueté
Partage des connaissances
- Date de naissance
- 1962-02-09
- Sexe
- male
- Nationalité
- USA
- Lieux de résidence
- California, USA
- Professions
- neuroeconomist
Professor of Economics, Psychology and Management - Organisations
- Claremont Graduate University
Membres
Critiques
Moral Markets: The Critical Role of Values in the… par Paul J. Zak
http://pro-libertate.net/20091204/103-read-moral-markets
I enjoyed this book much more than I expected I would. Initially, I was skeptical about how the myriad of human behaviors could be attributed to a few chemicals. But minus that, this book proposes an interesting theory and a good snap shot of evolutionary behaviors. Am happy I picked up this read.
Disappointing. A drop or two of science forms a platform for a pile of rather obvious, even platitudinous, observations about human nature. A shaky crossing of Hume's line between Is and Ought. A few juicy scientific facts, e.g., that oxytocin as an active ingredient in our biochemistry has its own evolutionary predecessors that performed more basic functions. Too much reliance on a reductionist human-lab "Trust Game", (exchanges of trivial cash sums combined with blood-tests) lead the author to form all kinds of conclusions. Life is a lot more complex than this. Daniel Kahneman does this kind of thing much better - or even Steven Levitt in Freakonomics.… (plus d'informations)
What is the Moral Molecule? Is there a Moral Molecule? And if so, how do you test for it? In a unique dialogue, Zak studies and shares his research, spanning everything from a wedding, sex, business, and death - veritably the spectrum of human life!
Read the full review here:
https://ermareads.wordpress.com/noticing-non-fiction/the-moral-molecule/
Read the full review here:
https://ermareads.wordpress.com/noticing-non-fiction/the-moral-molecule/
Listes
Prix et récompenses
Statistiques
- Œuvres
- 7
- Membres
- 160
- Popularité
- #131,702
- Évaluation
- 4.2
- Critiques
- 5
- ISBN
- 25
- Langues
- 1