Book description
We are attracted, whether we know it or not, to the hidden aspects of
things and people.
Some teenagers enjoy cutting themselves with razors. Some men pay
good money to be spanked by prostitutes. The average Briton spends
over a day a week watching television. The thought of sex with a
virgin is intensely arousing to many men. Artwork can sell for
millions of pounds. Food and alcohol are so compelling that they can
come to dominate one's life. People slow their cars to look at gory
accidents and go to sentimental movies that make them cry.
In this revealing and witty account, Paul Bloom examines the science
behind these curious desires, attractions and tastes, exploring one of
the most fascinating and fundamental engines of human behaviour.
Drawing on insights from child development, philosophy, neuroscience
and behavioural economics, How Pleasure Works shows how certain
universal habits of the human mind explain what we like and why we
like it.
Paul Bloom is a Professor of Psychology at Yale University. His
research explores how children and adults understand the physical and
social world, with special focus on morality, religion, fiction, and
art. He has won numerous awards for his research and teaching. He is
past-president of the Society for Philosophy and Psychology, and
co-editor of
Behavioural and Brain
. Bloom has written for scientific journals such as
Nature
and
Science
, and for popular outlets such as
The New York Times
, the
Guardian
, and the
Atlantic
. He is the author or editor of four books, including
How Children
Learn the Meanings of Words
, and, most recently,
Descartes' Baby: How the Science of Child
Development Explains What Makes Us Human
.
