Product Description

Can the worlds of science and philosophy work together to recognise our destructive emotions such as hatred, craving, and delusion? Bringing together ancient Buddhist wisdom and recent breakthroughs in a variety of fields from neuroscience to child development, Daniel Goleman's extraordinary book offers fresh insights into how we can recognise and transform our destructive emotions. Out of a week-long discussion between the Dalai Lama and small group of eminent psychologists, neuroscientists, and philosophers, Goleman weaves together a compelling narrative account. Where do these destructive emotions (craving, anger and delusion, known in Buddhism as the three poisons) come from? And how can we transform them to prevent them from threatening humanity's collective safety and its future?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #89444 in Books
• Published on: 2004-01-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 432 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Destructive Emotions and How We Can Overcome Them: A Scientific Dialogue with the Dalai Lama forcefully puts to rest the misconception that the realms of science and spirituality are at odds. In this extraordinary book, Daniel Goleman presents dialogues between the Dalai Lama and a small group of eminent psychologists, neuroscientists and philosophers that probe the challenging questions: Can the worlds of science and philosophy work together to recognise destructive emotions such as hatred, craving and delusion? If so, can they transform those feelings for the ultimate improvement of humanity? As the Dalai Lama explains, "With the ever-growing impact of science on our lives, religion and spirituality have a greater role to play in reminding us of our humanity."

The book's subject marks the eighth round in a series of ongoing meetings of the Mind Life Institute. The varied perspectives of science, philosophy and Eastern and Western thought beautifully illustrate the symbiosis among the views that are readily accessible, despite their complexity. Among the book's many strengths is its organisation, which allows readers to enjoy the entire five-day seminar or choose sections that are most relevant to their interests--such as "Cultivating Emotional Balance", "The Neuroscience of Emotion", "Encouraging Compassion", or "The Scientific Study of Consciousness". But the real joy is in gaining an insider's view of these extraordinary minds at work, especially that of the Dalai Lama, whose curiosity, Socratic questioning and humour ultimately serve as the lynchpin for the soaring intellectual discussion in the book. --Silvana Tropea, Amazon.com

Positive Health Magazine
‘This large, masterful and spellbinding work is compelling and awesome in all its aspects … A riveting read’

About the Author
Daniel Goleman, PhD, covers the behavioural and brain sciences for THE NEW YORK TIMES and his articles appear throughout the world in syndication. He has taught at Harvard, where he received his PhD, and was formerly senior editor of PSYCHOLOGY TODAY. His previous books include: VITAL LIES, SIMPLE TRUTHS; THE MEDITATIVE MIND; EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE and WORKING WITH EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE.

Customer Reviews

Wonderful, Inspiring account of East meeting West
This book was recommended by one of the students of a course I teach on Positive Psychology. I hadnt read it, so took a gamble (despite a couple of negative reviews on amazon) and took it on holiday
It's one of the most inspiring books I've read for ages. It really does hammer home what an exciting field this is, and also how east and west can enlighten each other. I can only assume that those readers who wrote negative reviews were expecting a very simple recipe-book.
The book is a detailed and very interesting account of a 4 day seminar featuring Buddhists and western scientists and philosophers. It really was a "think-together" exercise. They didnt always agree, but all learnt from the experience - as we do. Goleman is his lucid and very positive usual self, and we are introduced to many experts on the subject of emotions.
The book begins with two chapters putting the rest into context. The first gives fascinating evidence that meditation actually changes one's brain structure in a very positive way (so learning about buddhist practice may be very helpful even if you dont want to be a Buddhist). The second chapter emphasises the Dalai Lama's lifelong interest in science (so he is a man to take seriously).
The book concludes with a postscript and suggestions for further reading.
If you are at all interested in destructive or negative emotions (especially anger), or in Buddhism, or in neuroscience - then this book is a must.

In defense...
I couldn't help but write a review for this book after I saw what's been said so far in other reviews. I feel that a balance needs to be restored in this particular forum.

In short, the only reason I didn't give this book five stars is because I did get an overall feeling of lack of cohesiveness. I suppose that this is a peril of the format, but nonetheless, I think that true cohesiveness could be reached in this format.

In any event, here's why I gave this book four stars: I'm a strong believer in certain books being particularly important in this stage in the evolution of our species. That is, for people who have reached a level of maturity, intelligence, and relative comfort which allows them to entertain notions like the fate of our species, I think that there are certain books that are invaluable tools. These books should shape our collective future to a strong degree. I think that this is one of these books.

The reason I think that this is one of these books is because it examines and suggests solutions to our current state of crisis that are both feasible and revolutionary. Notions like mindfulness and activities like meditation are increasingly powerful in their ability to make us into more mature human beings. I do strongly believe that at this stage in the evolution of our species, we need these types of solutions. And in addition, this book is not only valuable for those great minds that shape the future of many; it is also a valuable read for any individual that is open-minded enough.

Based on this book, I wouldn't stop with mere prescriptive formulae for 'secular' society either. I would further take Buddhist insights on interdependence and extrapolations of these insights and suggest that they could be prescriptive for society at large, as long as they don't come with the religious baggage. I don't consider myself a Buddhist, but I strongly believe in interdependence and all of its implications. It's interesting to me that some of the greatest Western scientific minds in research on emotions could be carried away by the notion of enlightenment during this conference.

I do hope that readers will realize that while the lofty talk can sometimes be intimidating, working through it will bring rewards both on the individual and collective level.

accessible glimpses of the cutting edge
With a background in both psychology and journalism is it not perhaps surprising that Goleman gives us such an informative and conversational account of this fascinating meeting of minds. Rarely do we find such accessible glimpses into high-level cutting-edge thinking. An inspiring book with messages of potential hope.