Are We Wired For Good?

Author and Professor of Psychology at UC Berkley Dacher Keltner kindly joined me in conversation this month on Heart Beat to discuss his new book “Born to Be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life”. We had a very compelling and enjoyable conversation about the science behind living a meaningful life (you can listen to it below).

On an intuitive level you may feel your innate goodness and know your capacity to share more of it.  You may also feel that we are all made to be good however deep inside the potential is.  Thanks to Dacher Keltner’s work, now there is scientific evidence to support your hunch and knowing, and research that suggests we are more than motivated  by self-interest and competition, according to Dacher Keltner, we are wired for good. In fact Keltner suggests our survival depends on who is the kindest.  You can listen below to find out how.

In this conversation you’ll hear about Dacher’s remarkable work  and personal experience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the importance of touch (“touching triggers trust and generosity”), laughter, prosocial emotions (love, compassion, gratitude, awe etc..) valuable and fascinating research on the importance of our vagus nerve , “which is centrally involved in compassion” (along with recommendations of how to cultivate it) and simply, how we are born to be good. I highly recommend reading “Born to Be Good”. It is personal, extremely informative, insightful and it is  research rich with a lot of heart. Keltner’s continuation of Darwin’s little known work on human emotions shows that survival is actually a matter of who is the kindest. Have a listen and find out for yourself.  Enjoy your goodness!

Dacher Keltner on Laughter (from ” Born to be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life p.145):

” Laughter may just be the first step to Nirvana. When people laugh, they are enjoying a vacation from the conflicts of social living. They are exhaling, blowing out, and their bodies are moving towards a peaceful state, incapable of fight  or flight. People see their lives from a different point of view, with new perspective and detachment. Their laughter spreads to others in milliseconds, through the firing of networks of mirror neurons. In shared laughter people touch, they make eye contact, their breathing and muscle actions are in sync, they enjoy the realm of intimate play. Conflicts are softened, and often resolved. Hierarchies negotiated. Attraction and intimacy are created. …people move closer to one another in peaceful ways“.

You can find out more about Dacher Keltner’s work at the Greater Good Science Center here