Download or read book How Pleasure Works The New Science of Why We Like What We Like written by Paul Bloom and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2010-06-14 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Engaging, evocative. . . . [Bloom] is a supple, clear writer, and his parade of counterintuitive claims about pleasure is beguiling.”—NPR Why is an artistic masterpiece worth millions more than a convincing forgery? Pleasure works in mysterious ways, as Paul Bloom reveals in this investigation of what we desire and why. Drawing on a wealth of surprising studies, Bloom investigates pleasures noble and seamy, lofty and mundane, to reveal that our enjoyment of a given thing is determined not by what we can see and touch but by our beliefs about that thing’s history, origin, and deeper nature.
Download or read book The Compass of Pleasure written by David J. Linden and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2012-04-24 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the New York Times bestselling author comes a "hugely entertaining" (NPR.org) look at vice and virtue through cutting-edge science As he did in his award-winning book The Accidental Mind, David J. Linden—highly regarded neuroscientist, professor, and writer—weaves empirical science with entertaining anecdotes to explain how the gamut of behaviors that give us a buzz actually operates. The Compass of Pleasure makes clear why drugs like nicotine and heroin are addictive while LSD is not, how fast food restaurants ensure that diners will eat more, why some people cannot resist the appeal of a new sexual encounter, and much more. Provocative and illuminating, this is a radically new and thorough look at the desires that define us.
Download or read book The Science of Pleasure written by Harvie Ferguson and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2005-09-29 with total page 604 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this rich and original work, the author argues that science is the highest expression of bourgeois thought and whilst it may have liberated mankind, it has also devised new forms of repression, discipline and control.
Download or read book Happiness written by Daniel Nettle and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2005-05-12 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What exactly is happiness? Can we measure it? Why are some people happy and others not? And is there a drug that could eliminate all unhappiness? People all over the world, and throughout the ages, have thought about happiness, argued about its nature, and, most of all, desired it. But why do we have such a strong instinct to pursue happiness? And if happiness is good in itself, why haven't we simply evolved to be happier? Daniel Nettle uses the results of the latest psychological studies to ask what makes people happy and unhappy, what happiness really is, and to examine our urge to achieve it. Along the way we look at brain systems, at mind-altering drugs, and how happiness is now marketed to us as a commodity. Nettle concludes that while it may be unrealistic to expect lasting happiness, our evolved tendency to seek happiness drives us to achieve much that is worthwhile in itself. What is more, it seems to be not your particular circumstances that define whether you are happy so much as your attitude towards life. Happiness gives us the latest scientific insights into the nature of our feelings of well-being, and what these imply for how we might live our lives.
Download or read book Stumbling on Happiness written by Daniel Gilbert and published by Vintage Canada. This book was released on 2009-02-24 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A smart and funny book by a prominent Harvard psychologist, which uses groundbreaking research and (often hilarious) anecdotes to show us why we’re so lousy at predicting what will make us happy – and what we can do about it. Most of us spend our lives steering ourselves toward the best of all possible futures, only to find that tomorrow rarely turns out as we had expected. Why? As Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert explains, when people try to imagine what the future will hold, they make some basic and consistent mistakes. Just as memory plays tricks on us when we try to look backward in time, so does imagination play tricks when we try to look forward. Using cutting-edge research, much of it original, Gilbert shakes, cajoles, persuades, tricks and jokes us into accepting the fact that happiness is not really what or where we thought it was. Among the unexpected questions he poses: Why are conjoined twins no less happy than the general population? When you go out to eat, is it better to order your favourite dish every time, or to try something new? If Ingrid Bergman hadn’t gotten on the plane at the end of Casablanca, would she and Bogey have been better off? Smart, witty, accessible and laugh-out-loud funny, Stumbling on Happiness brilliantly describes all that science has to tell us about the uniquely human ability to envision the future, and how likely we are to enjoy it when we get there.
Download or read book Hardwiring Happiness written by Rick Hanson, PhD and published by Harmony. This book was released on 2016-12-27 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With New York Times bestselling author, Dr. Hanson's four steps, you can counterbalance your brain's negativity bias and learn to hardwire happiness in only a few minutes each day. Why is it easier to ruminate over hurt feelings than it is to bask in the warmth of being appreciated? Because your brain evolved to learn quickly from bad experiences and slowly from good ones, but you can change this. Life isn’t easy, and having a brain wired to take in the bad and ignore the good makes us worried, irritated, and stressed, instead of confident, secure, and happy. But each day is filled with opportunities to build inner strengths and Dr. Rick Hanson, an acclaimed clinical psychologist, shows what you can do to override the brain’s default pessimism. Hardwiring Happiness lays out a simple method that uses the hidden power of everyday experiences to build new neural structures full of happiness, love, confidence, and peace. You’ll learn to see through the lies your brain tells you. Dr. Hanson’s four steps build strengths into your brain to make contentment and a powerful sense of resilience the new normal. In just minutes a day, you can transform your brain into a refuge and power center of calm and happiness.
Download or read book How Pleasure Works written by Paul Bloom and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2010-05-25 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this fascinating and witty account, Yale psychologist Paul Bloom examines the science behind our curious desires, attractions, and tastes, covering everything from the animal instincts of sex and food to the uniquely human taste for art, music, and stories.
Download or read book More Orgasms Please written by The Hotbed Collective and published by Random House. This book was released on 2019-07-04 with total page 213 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A FRANK, FUNNY AND EMPOWERING CELEBRATION OF FEMALE PLEASURE An orgasm will help you sleep and keep you looking younger, it doesn’t cost money and isn’t a scarce resource. So why is it that, like the pay gap, there is an ‘orgasm gap’ between women and men? The Hotbed Collective began life as a podcast with a mission ‘to make life better one orgasm at a time’. Their debut book, More Orgasms Please is an open, honest and at moments hilarious dive into all aspects of sex for women. It covers feminist porn, body image, menopause and much more. Like the podcast that inspired it, More Orgasms Please is like the best sort of chat between friends: punchy and playful, normalising and educating. It is an eye-opening read that puts women’s bodies and our right to pleasure firmly on the map. Think of it as ‘Couch to 5k’ ... for orgasms.
Download or read book Reclaiming Erotic Pleasure written by Jesse Caffyn and published by . This book was released on 2016-10 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Science of A Happy Brain written by Dr. Jay Kumar and published by Page Publishing Inc. This book was released on 2020-01-13 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is happiness? Is happiness even realistic for you to achieve in today's world of rising anger, anxiety, and addiction? It's the fundamental question Dr. Jay Kumar (your Happiness professor) yearned to discover in the wake of a life-transforming family tragedy as a young adult that led him to the halls of academia and holy ashrams to explore the science and spirituality of happiness. Science of a Happy Brain is adapted upon actual lessons from Dr. Jay's popular university Happiness course that he has been coteaching for the past seven years. From millennials suffering from anxiety to folks in Middle America struggling with addiction, from veterans battling PTSD to parents coping to raise children hooked on technology, from the spike in suicides to the tribalism and hate in today's world, Dr. Jay guides you on a personalized and proven strategy for building a Happy Brain—for you and society. More research in brain science points to one undeniable truth—to socialize is to survive, to tribe is to thrive. Science of a Happy Brain uncovers a long-forgotten aspect of humanity by exposing a shared element of human biology—your social brain. Only recently has science affirmed what religions knew all along—you are a social being with a social brain that is nourished and strengthened by community and connection. But the marvels of society's Age of Digitalization can unwittingly bring you into the malaise of today's Age of Disconnection, which presently sabotages your health, weakens our society, and hijacks your Happy Brain. Your happiness demands tribe. Creating tribe in your life creates balance, longevity, and resilience—the foundation required for generating your Happy Brain. Science of a Happy Brain is equally a self-help course and a social commentary whose time has come that brings hope to a world in crisis, a nation in a happiness deficit, and a generation discovering where enduring happiness resides. It is a powerful work that is vital for the crossroads at which society finds itself by presenting a platform for public discourse to explore today's crucial social, cultural, and health issues. Dr. Jay reveals how you can achieve a Happy Brain by learning to experience happiness the way your brain evolved—biologically, psychologically, socially, and spiritually. A Happy Brain creates happy people. Happy people make a happy world. Now more than ever, the future needs you. Happy. For more information about Dr. Jay Kumar, visit: https://www.drjaykumar.com Follow @docjaykumar on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
Download or read book Why Good Sex Matters written by Nan Wise and published by Houghton Mifflin. This book was released on 2020-01-28 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A sex therapist and neuroscientist describes anhedonia, the inability to feel a satisfactory amount of pleasure--and provides the pathway back to fully enjoying sex, food, time with family and friends, and other pastimes, while also staving off depression, anxiety, and addiction.
Download or read book Pleasures of the Brain written by Morten L. Kringelbach and published by Affective Science. This book was released on 2010 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pleasure is fundamental to well-being and the quality of life, but until recently, was barely explored by science. Current research on pleasure has brought about ground-breaking developments on several fronts, and new data on pleasure and the brain have begun to converge from many disparate fields. The time is ripe to present these important findings in a single volume, and so Morten Kringelbach and Kent Berridge have brought together the leading researchers to provides a comprehensive review of our current scientific understanding of pleasure. The authors present their latest neuroscientific research into pleasure, describing studies on the brain's role in pleasure and reward in animals and humans, including brain mechanisms, neuroimaging data, and psychological analyses, as well as how their findings have been applied to clinical problems, such as depression and other disorders of hedonic well-being. To clarify the differences between their views, the researchers also provide short answers to a set of fundamental questions about pleasure and its relation to the brain. This book is intended to serve as both a starting point for readers new to the field, and as a reference for more experienced graduate students and scientists from fields such as neuroscience, psychology, psychiatry, neurology, and neurosurgery.
Download or read book The Chinese Pleasure Book written by Michael Nylan and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2021-09-14 with total page 317 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book takes up one of the most important themes in Chinese thought: the relation of pleasurable activities to bodily health and to the health of the body politic. Unlike Western theories of pleasure, early Chinese writings contrast pleasure not with pain but with insecurity, assuming that it is right and proper to seek and take pleasure, as well as experience short-term delight. Equally important is the belief that certain long-term relational pleasures are more easily sustained, as well as potentially more satisfying and less damaging. The pleasures that become deeper and more ingrained as the person invests time and effort to their cultivation include friendship and music, sharing with others, developing integrity and greater clarity, reading and classical learning, and going home. Each of these activities is explored through the early sources (mainly fourth century BC to the eleventh century AD), with new translations of both well-known and seldom-cited texts.
Download or read book The Pleasure Gap written by Katherine Rowland and published by Seal Press. This book was released on 2020-02-04 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: American culture is more sexually liberal than ever. But compared to men, women's sexual pleasure has not grown: Up to 40 percent of American women experience the sexual malaise clinically known as low sexual desire. Between this low desire, muted pleasure, and experiencing sex in terms of labor rather than of lust, women by the millions are dissatisfied with their erotic lives. For too long, this deficit has been explained in terms of women's biology, stress, and age. In The Pleasure Gap, Katherine Rowland rejects the idea that women should settle for diminished pleasure; instead, she argues women should take inequality in the bedroom as seriously as we take it in the workplace and understand its causes and effects. Drawing on extensive research and interviews with more than one hundred women and dozens of sexual health professionals, Rowland shows that the pleasure gap is neither medical malady nor psychological condition but rather a result of our culture's troubled relationship with women's sexual expression. This provocative exploration of modern sexuality makes a case for closing the gap for good.
Download or read book The Autonomy of Pleasure written by James A. Steintrager and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2016-02-16 with total page 409 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What would happen if pleasure were made the organizing principle for social relations and sexual pleasure ruled over all? Radical French libertines experimented clandestinely with this idea during the Enlightenment. In explicit novels, dialogues, poems, and engravings, they wrenched pleasure free from religion and morality, from politics, aesthetics, anatomy, and finally reason itself, and imagined how such a world would be desirable, legitimate, rapturous—and potentially horrific. Laying out the logic and willful illogic of radical libertinage, this book ties the Enlightenment engagement with sexual license to the expansion of print, empiricism, the revival of skepticism, the fashionable arts and lifestyles of the Ancien Régime, and the rise and decline of absolutism. It examines the consequences of imagining sexual pleasure as sovereign power and a law unto itself across a range of topics, including sodomy, the science of sexual difference, political philosophy, aesthetics, and race. It also analyzes the roots of radical claims for pleasure in earlier licentious satire and their echoes in appeals for sexual liberation in the 1960s and beyond.
Download or read book The Happy Brain written by Dean Burnett and published by Faber & Faber. This book was released on 2018-05-01 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Funny, wise and absolutely fascinating.' Adam Kay, author of This Is Going to Hurt *** Do you want to be happy? If so - read on. This book has all the answers* In The Happy Brain, neuroscientist Dean Burnett delves deep into the inner workings of our minds to explore some fundamental questions about happiness. What does it actually mean to be happy? Where does it come from? And what, really, is the point of it? Forget searching for the secret of happiness through lifestyle fads or cod philosophy - Burnett reveals the often surprising truth behind what make us tick. From whether happiness really begins at home (spoiler alert: yes - sort of) to what love, sex, friendship, wealth, laughter and success actually do to our brains, this book offers a uniquely entertaining insight into what it means to be human. *Not really. Sorry. But it does have some very interesting questions, and at least the occasional answer.
Download or read book Dopamine Nation written by Dr. Anna Lembke and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2023-01-03 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES and LOS ANGELES TIMES BESTSELLER “Brilliant . . . riveting, scary, cogent, and cleverly argued.”—Beth Macy, author of Dopesick, as heard on Fresh Air This book is about pleasure. It’s also about pain. Most important, it’s about how to find the delicate balance between the two, and why now more than ever finding balance is essential. We’re living in a time of unprecedented access to high-reward, high-dopamine stimuli: drugs, food, news, gambling, shopping, gaming, texting, sexting, Facebooking, Instagramming, YouTubing, tweeting . . . The increased numbers, variety, and potency is staggering. The smartphone is the modern-day hypodermic needle, delivering digital dopamine 24/7 for a wired generation. As such we’ve all become vulnerable to compulsive overconsumption. In Dopamine Nation, Dr. Anna Lembke, psychiatrist and author, explores the exciting new scientific discoveries that explain why the relentless pursuit of pleasure leads to pain . . . and what to do about it. Condensing complex neuroscience into easy-to-understand metaphors, Lembke illustrates how finding contentment and connectedness means keeping dopamine in check. The lived experiences of her patients are the gripping fabric of her narrative. Their riveting stories of suffering and redemption give us all hope for managing our consumption and transforming our lives. In essence, Dopamine Nation shows that the secret to finding balance is combining the science of desire with the wisdom of recovery.
