Daniel Z. Lieberman, MD

Michael E. Long

Why are we obsessed with the things we want and bored when we get them? Why is addiction “perfectly logical” to an addict? Why does love change so quickly from passion to disinterest? Why are some people diehard liberals and others hardcore conservatives? Why are we always hopeful for solutions even in the darkest times—and so good at figuring them out? The answer is found in a single chemical in your brain: dopamine. Dopamine ensured the survival of early man. Thousands of years later, it is the source of our most basic behaviors and cultural ideas—and progress itself. Dopamine is the chemical of desire that always asks for more—more stuff, more stimulation, and more surprises. In pursuit of these things, it is undeterred by emotion, fear, or morality. Dopamine is the source of our every urge, that little bit of biology that makes an ambitious business professional sacrifice everything in pursuit of success, or that drives a satisfied spouse to risk it all for the thrill of someone new. Simply put, it is why we seek and succeed; it is why we discover and prosper. Yet, at the same time, it’s why we gamble and squander. From dopamine’s point of view, it’s not the having that matters. It’s getting something—anything—that’s new. From this understanding—the difference between possessing something versus anticipating it—we can understand in a revolutionary new way why we behave as we do in love, business, addiction, politics, religion – and we can even predict those behaviors in ourselves and others. In The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity—and will Determine the Fate of the Human Race, George Washington University professor and psychiatrist Daniel Z. Lieberman, MD, and Georgetown University lecturer Michael E. Long present a potentially life-changing proposal: Much of human life has an unconsidered component that explains an array of behaviors previously thought to be unrelated, including why winners cheat, why geniuses often suffer with mental illness, why nearly all diets fail, and why the brains of liberals and conservatives really are different.

How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity—and Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race

The Molecule of More

et al.

Daniel Z. Lieberman

Warum wollen wir wie besessen bestimmte Dinge haben, sind aber gelangweilt, wenn wir sie bekommen? Warum verwandelt sich die Leidenschaft von Verliebten so schnell in Desinteresse? Die Antwort liegt in einem Hormon in unserem Gehirn: Dopamin. Es ist die Quelle unseres Verlangens und lässt uns für einen kurzen Nervenkitzel alles riskieren. Dabei ist es die Aussicht auf etwas Neues, die uns antreibt, nicht die Erfüllung. Dopamin ist der Grund, warum wir forschen und entdecken, aber auch der Ursprung von Verschwendung, Risiko und Sucht. Lieberman und Long entschlüsseln auf völlig neue Weise das menschliche Verhalten, das von Dopamin gesteuert wird, und erklären, warum das Hormon, das uns seit Urzeiten antreibt, das Schicksal der Menschheit bestimmt.

Wie Dopamin unser Verhalten steuert - und das Schicksal der Menschheit bestimmt

Ein Hormon regiert die Welt

dopamina : naturalny dopalacz

Mózg chce więcej

Como essa poderosa substância química em nosso cérebro impulsiona o amor, o sexo e a criatividade - e controla quem somos, o que sentimos e o que fazemos. “Uma leitura fascinante. Depois de descobrir o poder e o perigo da dopamina, você vai entender melhor a própria condição humana.” – Daniel Pink, autor de Motivação 3.0 A dopamina é o neurotransmissor que garantiu a sobrevivência dos nossos antepassados e que, ainda hoje, continua determinando a maioria dos nossos comportamentos. Graças a ela fomos à Lua, encontramos a cura de várias doenças e nos esforçamos para transformar o mundo em um lugar melhor. Mas ela também nos torna suscetíveis a arriscar nosso casamento por uma aventura passageira e é capaz de explicar por que o dependente químico está disposto a fazer qualquer coisa pela próxima dose. A dopamina é a causa de todos os nossos impulsos, o que nos faz querer sempre mais. Sem ela, não estaríamos aqui. Ao mesmo tempo, sua avidez insaciável pode ser uma verdadeira tortura que nos impede de aproveitar o aqui e agora. Com uma abordagem inovadora, este livro revela como essa substância química influencia nossas atitudes em todos os âmbitos da vida – no amor, na carreira, nos hábitos, na religião, na política – e explica o que podemos fazer para encontrar o equilíbrio delicado entre o desejo e a satisfação.

Michael E. Long

About

Books

Join the club