Born to be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life

[@fanaticatheist]

Please dont mis-interperet my rant : 1. We are social beings - we need each other 2. Being good does trump being bad. It is only his "wrong-headed" statement I despute. What does he mean by good trumping bad (?) - he is speaking of the REWARD of being good to others. Reward = self gratification. Without the reward or reciprication the good gets re-directed.

[@hyperlocavore]

WOW that was totally fascinating. What we do is very much based on encouraging pro-social interactions that have somewhat disappeared in cookie cutter suburbia. We do it through creating yard sharing groups in neighborhoods so people can share seeds, space equitment - harvests! the hope is to bring back some of the positive aspects of seasonal group dynamics...at the neighborhood level..and to reintegrate the generations in mutually beneficial activities...

[@Mylenka]

Thanks to share this video :)

[@fanaticatheist]

Hey I agree that we are social animals and that compassion is a basic underlying principle in SOCIETY but what about SELF PRESERVATION ? My observation is that it is easier to feel compassion for the less fortunate than it is to feel compassion for the MORE fortunate. I submit that compassion can be FELT while self-preservation is EMPLOYED !

[@carmenwallace7380]

If U hve Downloaded This Song….Then Start respecting Urself…coz its a awesome song

[@fanaticatheist]

The old "I'll scratch your back IF you scratch mine" Is our basic hard wiring.

[@jamesembrey3100]

Mentally physically Spiritually Strong people WANT to scratch others backs for free. altruism is a natural outgrowth of health.

[@simianrobot]

This is a call to any one that might think this is kind of creepy. What I mean by that is I'm pro science and the exploration of the mind and our development as a species is fascinating. However that fact that Google is asking these questions, for what reasons? This is for anyone that has stumbled upon this video. Notice the speaker keeps saying you may want to explore this. I feel the whole point is how do we use this information to "manipulate" people.

[@jamesembrey3100]

Or they can afford to spend money broadening the knowledge base of their employees, which is good for everyone involved

[@part2themovie]

i agree. I realize that coincidence is part of a higher science that we have yet to derive qualitative or quantitative values for. they're disarming humans on all fronts. your weapons, your mentality, your biology - though i really believe that humans are innately benevolent, there are those who know this and use for their own personal agendas

[@lnplum]

AFAIK there is actually evidence that homo sapiens interbred with neanderthals and other closely related species as well. Of course sexuality does not necessitate bonding (example: rape), but it seems likely there was *some* exchange going on. As has been the case with most "culture clashes" in history, btw. Also note that he's not saying indiscriminate altruism is necessarily an advantage. His only example of that is the behaviour under an oxitocin high ("I love you, take all my money!").

[@lnplum]

Keep in mind that "self-preservation" can be less obvious than it sounds. Mothers may jeopardize their own well-being at the benefit of their children, for example. From a selfish gene perspective this makes sense. Because of how these mechanisms work, however, a person might risk their life for any arbitrary being or thing if there is a sufficiently strong bond with it. Evolutionarily speaking, this is a case of advantageous behaviour that misfires.

[@michalchik]

This talk seems mis-titled, How about the biology of positive emotion and behavior.

[@wklokow]

@bugsduggan Maybe you should listen to what he is saying and forget about the mic.

[@fanaticatheist]

Yes compassion is contagious but so is anger. If I bitch slap someone they must CONTROL their initial reaction... Also have we not proven that the best way to unite two people is for them to have a common enemy ? He has even demonstrated my point that we do nice things for others because it makes US feel good. Therefore self-preservation trumps compassion.

[@lnplum]

You get nowhere in discussing altruism without considering factors like kinship or group dynamics. One point in this talk was that being recognised as "nice" grants you advantages in a group (e.g. trust and sexual attractiveness). This doesn't even require any action (cf. the final experiment). Additionally we can develop social bonds (via oxitocin) that promote altruism. Ultimately altruism has to have evolutionary benefits, yes, but that is not necessarily relevant on a personal level.

[@soylentgreenb]

I have not watched the entire talk(yet), but it's kind of frustrating hearing Keltner speak of self-interest as some kind of diametric opposite of cooperation and sympathy. Humans can do very little on their own. Cooperation is very strongly in our self-interest in any modern society. The emotions of sympathy and vengefulness are very complementary. Toghether they form a near-optimal solution to prisoner's dilemma type problems.

[@fanaticatheist]

Do we not compete to get ahead ? How many of us would give up our playstations to feed the third world ? How many of us quit competing to give someone else the position or prize ? Can I state that collectively we do things to better all humanity BUT what happens when someone tries to take credit for our achievement ? RECOGNITION is the prime motivator and so real altruism does not exist ! (even if it is anonymous 'altruism' there is self-recognition).

[@bugsduggan]

@wklokow Maybe we should never strive for anything better than what we have currently? I agree his words are what is important but it's ok to want to hear them better surely!?!

[@bugsduggan]

Buy a radio mic please!

[@EleonoraGozzini]

@waldoman7 Dignified is not an emotional word, it means with "dignity'. If you do not have enough money to live, you die. If you don't want to die and can't access this money system you can only committ a crime or sell yourself, both are not dignified choices. I used "meaningful" to mock this video, what is meaningful, what does it mean to "be good" when we allow 1 billion people to starve to death every year so we may have more instead of choosing Equality for All ? Equal Money, check it out

[@beta447]

Fascinating: food for thought and a mind obese.

[@part2themovie]

har har, pinky.. i love extending my pinky looking all prim and properrrrrr har har... im sorry

[@LimLux]

Is it really over 1houre speeches?`thumbs up if my english is god :)

[@simianrobot]

Science as understanding is fine but as a tool to manipulate humans I find this reprehensible. Interesting in and of it self in the light of this very discussion. I don't like the idea of my fellow humans being co-opted by some data that the poster of the video has not considered. If the end of science is simply an act in control and manipulation in the service of of industry or government, which is a form of control, what is the ultimate point? Knowledge for knowledge sake is fine.

[@waldoman7]

@egozzini judging from the fact that you didn't really respond to me and you just gave me a speech that was high on sentiment on low on coherent rationality, I'm going to guess you're a fanatic or cult member of some sort.

[@bangthatdrumb]

i marked this video down because of that guys hair

[@simianrobot]

Other then this we should take pause. I'm talking the ethics of the very discussion of the investigation into compassion. It seems to me to be ultimately a "negative" based on the video's use of such knowledge as a form of manipulation. Does anyone else see this hypocrisy? Perhaps I'm just religious in this sense and hence an apologist? Creepy!

[@waldoman7]

@egozzini essentially you suggest communism, if certainly a new take on it. communism sounds good in theory, but hasn't worked out very well in practice.

[@fanaticatheist]

Yes touch feels good to the recipient but also the initiator. I submit that if it caused pain to the initiator it would be used far less. It is a social contract - we are nice to others EXPECTING reciprication - without reciprication we move on... Self-preservation definitely trumps compassion. This guy is wrong !

[@sirvihariramsirvi]

hariramsirvi

[@waldoman7]

nope. "a meaningful life will only happen when everyone has a dignified life" doesn't mean anything. it's like you like throwing emotional words together. You don't specify what a dignified life consists of. You don't explain how you got from political suggestions to vague assertions about what gives life meaning. You don't explain what dignity has to do with delusions and programming. There are no clear connections between your sentimental words and any kind of coherant point.

[@TonyMon16]

waldoman is very negative isnt he? and his sass really dont help cause, awful guy really, im amazed egozzini hasnt gone loco on him yet.

[@EleonoraGozzini]

@hyperlocavore try an equal money system for a meaningful life, the rest is self deception, accepting a system of inequalities is evil so from there there is nowhere to go, if you want a real change in the world we need to allow everyone equal access to the money system, all rest is self interest and excuses to protect our elitarian place within a system of inequalities

[@EleonoraGozzini]

@waldoman7 No, Equal Money is not equal to Communism, because as you state Communism did not work, Equal Money is about rewriting the monetary system into a system of Equality, Communism was an idea about the State taking care of people, but the State would get corrupted by money and end up into en inequality system. To change the world we need to change ourselves into Human beings that understand what Money has become, it takes some Self Honesty to see everything is based on Money

[@EleonoraGozzini]

@waldoman7 I did reply to you stating that NO I'm not suggesting communism. Maybe instead of guessing based on your preconceived and preprogrammed ideas about how to categorize people you do not even know you could investigate an Equal Money System and then make up your own mind, unless you are a fanatic and a cult member of the actual monetary system or just rich enough to buy your peace of mind with "feel good stories' like the above. Just look around " were we born to be good" ?? No comment