Satisfaction: The Science of Finding True Fulfillment

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Macmillan, 2005 - Psychology - 284 pages
“A discussion that is meaty, contemporary and expansive . . . Berns artfully blends social critique with technical expertise.”—The Washington Post Book World
In a riveting narrative look at the brain and the power of novelty to satisfy it, Dr. Gregory Berns plumbs fields as diverse as neuroscience, economics, and evolutionary psychology to find answers to the fundamental question of how we can find a more satisfying way to think and live.
We join Berns as he follows ultramarathoners across the Sierra Nevadas, enters a suburban S&M club to explore the deeper connection between pleasure and pain, partakes of a truly transporting meal, and ultimately returns home to face the challenge of incorporating novelty into a long-term relationship.
In a narrative as compelling as its insights are trenchant, Satisfaction will convince you that the more complicated and even downright challenging a life you pursue, the more likely it is that you will be satisfied.
 

Selected pages

Contents

The Slave in the Brain
xvii
For the Love of Money
16
Puzzling Gratifications
45
The Sushi Problem
69
The Electric Pleasuredome
97
It Hurts So Good
118
Running High
144
Iceland The Experience
173
Sex Love and the Crucible of Satisfaction
208
Epilogue
241
Notes
245
Acknowledgments
269
Index
273
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About the author (2005)

Gregory Berns, M.D., Ph.D., is an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Emory University. Profiled twice in the Science section of The New York Times, Berns and his research have been featured in Forbes, the Los Angeles Times, Nature, Money, New Scientist, Psychology Today, and on CNN, NPR, ABC, and the BBC. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

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