Emma Seppälä, Ph.D., is the science director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University, the founder of the popular news site FulfillmentDaily.com, and a[…]
To describe humans as innately selfish creatures (a) misunderstands some of our most important scientific and evolutionary theories and (b) is empirically false. A person’s first impulse is generally toward generosity, not meanness.
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From social applications of Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution to Richard Dawkin’s book The Selfish Gene, human beings have been misunderstood as purely, or at least primarily, self-interested creatures. During Emma Seppälä’s time as science director of Stanford’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, she has observed behavior that challenges much of this received wisdom. Her book is The Happiness Track: How to Apply the Science of Happiness to Accelerate Your Success.