The Moral Molecule
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  • Published: 6 December 2012
  • ISBN: 9781448160488
  • Imprint: RH AudioGo
  • Format: Audio Download
  • Length: 7 hr 44 min
  • Narrator: Paul J. Zak

The Moral Molecule

the new science of what makes us good or evil

Formats & editions
Audiobook
6 Dec 2012
Paperback
16 Apr 2013
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The Moral Molecule takes an entirely fresh scientific look at one of the biggest questions in life: are we born good or evil and exactly what drives the way we behave?

Is morality universal? Why are men less faithful than women? Why do some businesses succeed while others collapse? If we have a natural impulse to empathise and care for each other, why are there psychopaths?
Neuroscientist and economist Paul Zak has spent 10 years researching to answer these questions and discover the chemical driver of our behaviour. His research has led him from a 'vampire' wedding in Devon to the jungle of Papua New Guinea and from the US military to a Buddhist monastory.

Detective story, adventure and scientific discovery rolled into one, The Moral Molecule is a brilliant read: compulsively entertaining and potentially life-changing.
  • Published: 6 December 2012
  • ISBN: 9781448160488
  • Imprint: RH AudioGo
  • Format: Audio Download
  • Length: 7 hr 44 min
  • Narrator: Paul J. Zak
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About the author

Paul J. Zak

Paul Zak is the founding Director of the Centre for Neuroeconomics Studies and Professor of Economics at Claremont Graduate University. He has degrees in mathematics and economics from San Diego State University, a Ph.D. in economics from University of Pennsylvania, and post-doctoral training in neuroimaging from Harvard. Professor Zak is an expert in neuroeconomics, a field he helped create, and is a recognised expert in oxytocin.

Praise for The Moral Molecule

Paul Zak tells the remarkable story of how he discovered and explored the biochemistry of sympathy, love and trust with the narrative skill of a novelist. Philosophy, economics and biology have rarely been so entertaining

Matt Ridley, author of "Genome"

An ancient mammalian molecule prods us to bond with others. Paul Zak offers a most engaging account of this important discovery, bound to overthrow traditional thinking about human behavior, including economics and morality

Frans de Waal, author of "The Age of Empathy"

Paul Zak's investigations into the best things in life are inspired, rigorous, and tremendous fun. We need more daring economists like him

Tyler Cowen, author of "The Great Stagnation" and "An Economist Gets Lunch"

An engaging read

BBC Focus