Born to Be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life

an instinct to care: Taylor, The Tending Instinct.

When parents look at pictures of their new babies: J. B. Nitschke et al., “Orbitofrontal Cortex Tracks Positive Mood in Mothers Viewing Pictures of Their Newborn Infants,” Neuroimage 21, no. 2 (2004): 583–92.

the evocative power of the baby: Diane Berry and Leslie Zebrowtiz-McArthur have done terrific work on “neotony,” or baby-faced appearance, which relates to all kinds of trustworthy perceptions and forgiving behaviors in others. D. Berry, and L. Z. McArthur, “Perceiving Character in Faces: The Impact of Age-Related Craniofacial Changes on Social Perception,” Psychological Bulletin 100 (1986): 3–18.

the victory goes to the kind: Miller, The Mating Mind, chap. 9.

the largest study of mate preferences ever undertaken: D. M. Buss, “Sex Differences in Human Mate Preference: Evolutionary Hypothesis Tested in 37 Cultures,” Behavioral and Brain Sciences 12 (1989): 1–49.

Darwin long ago surmised: Darwin, Descent, 130.

groups fare better when comprised of kind individuals: In support of this claim we have found that groups tend to select outgoing individuals who advance the interests of other group members as leaders. Group members also systematically identify unkind, Machiavellian types in gossip, to keep track of who poses threats to the interests of other group members. D. Keltner et al., “A Reciprocal Influence Model of Social Power: Emerging Principles and Lines of Inquiry,” in Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, vol. 40, ed. M. Zanna (New York: Academic Press, 2008), 151–92.

In a study that explored this reasoning: C. Oveis et al., “Vagal Tone, Trust, and Generosity,” unpublished manuscript.

what unites the ethics of the world’s religions: Armstrong, The Great Transformation, chap. 7.

evolutionists would converge on a similar answer: Robert Trivers, Robert Frank, and Elliot Sober and David Sloan-Wilson have all argued how moral emotions like gratitude, compassion, and love bind individuals into cooperative bonds. Trivers, “The Evolution of Reciprocal Altruism,” Quarterly Review of Biology 46 (1971): 35–57. See also Frank, Passions Within Reason; E. Sober and D. S. Wilson, Unto Others.

“My pedagogy is hard”: Alice Miller, For Your Own Good: The Roots of Violence in Child-Rearing, trans. Hildegarde Hannum and Hunter Hannum (London: Virago, 1987).

When Richie and Jon Kabat-Zinn and colleagues: R. J. Davidson et al., “Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation,” Psychosomatic Medicine 65 (2003): 564–70.

the kinds of environments that cultivate compassion: Nancy Eisenberg has written an excellent summary of the kinds of environmental factors that cultivate compassion. N. Eisenberg, “Empathy-Related Emotional Responses, Altruism, and their Socialization,” in Visions of Compassion, 131–64.

Even visually presented concepts: M. Mikulincer et al., “Attachment, Caregiving, and Altruism: Boosting Attachment Security Increases Compassion and Helping,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 89 (2005): 817–39.

In the words of the Dalai Lama: For a terrific statement about compassion, see His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Ethics for the New Millennium.

AWE

 

He wrote almost daily entries about these first experiences: John Muir, My First Summer in the Sierras (San Francisco, CA: Sierra Club Books, 1988).

finds in her research that adding trees and lawns to housing projects in Chicago: Frances Kuo has done several studies documenting that making urban settings greener brings about all sorts of benefits for individuals and communities. It is work that has important policy implications. Frances E. Kuo, “Coping with Poverty: Impacts of Environment and Attention in the Inner City,” Environment and Behavior 33 (2001): 5–34.

“The way that can be spoken of:” Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching (New York: Penguin Books).