Feeling Good: The Science of Well-Being

by C. Robert Cloninger M.D.

Overview

All human beings have spontaneous needs for happiness, self-understanding, and love. In Feeling Good: The Science of Well Being, psychiatrist Robert Cloninger describes a way to coherent living that satisfies these strong basic needs through growth in the uniquely human gift of self-awareness. The scientific findings that led Dr. Cloninger to expand his own views in a stepwise manner during 30 years of research and clinical experience are clearly presented so that readers can consider the validity of his viewpoint for themselves. The principles of well-being are based on a non-reductive scientific paradigm that integrates findings from all the biomedical and psychosocial sciences. Reliable methods are described for measuring human thought and social relationships at each step along the path of self-aware consciousness. Practical mental exercises for stimulating the growth of self-awareness are also provided. The methods are supported by data from brain imaging, genetics of personality, and longitudinal biopsychosocial studies. Feeling Good: The Science of Well-Being will be of value to anyone involved in the sciences of the mind or the treatment of mental disorders. It will also interest theologians, philosophers, social scientists, and lay readers because it provides contemporary scientific concepts and language for addressing the perennial human questions about being, knowledge, and conduct.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199315000
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	05/06/2004
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Washington University School of Medicine

Table of Contents

	Introduction	xv
1.	A Brief Philosophy of Well-Being	1
	The Basic Triad of Human Needs	1
	How Can We Be Happy?	4
	Aristotle's Errors	6
	The Way of Positive Philosophers	9
	The Way of Negative Philosophers	13
	The Way of Humanists	19
	What Makes Life Stressful?	26
2.	The Search for an Adequate Psychology	35
	The Essential Questions of Psychology	35
	Human Personality as Temperament	39
	Human Personality as Self	44
	Human Personality as Coherence of Being	50
	The Transcendental Phenomena of Development	60
3.	The Measurement and Movement of Human Thought	79
	The Path of the Psyche	79
	Experiencing the Stages of Self-Aware Consciousness	84
	Description and Measurement of Thought	95
	Movement of Thought in Time	114
	Brain Regulation of Attention and Affect	119
	The Spiral Path of Consciousness	122
4.	The Social Psychology of Transcendentalism	137
	The Cultural Atmosphere of Early America	137
	Emerson and the American Transcendentalist Movement	143
	Measuring Emerson's Thoughts	151
	Reliability and Validity of Measuring Thought	154
	Measuring Emerson's Social Relations	157
	The Development of Thoreau	175
	The Significance of the Transcendentalists	184
	Conclusions about Thought and Social Relations	186
5.	Psychophysical Theories of Contemplation	189
	The Prevalence of Contemplative Thought	189
	The Stages of Understanding Causality and Consciousness	191
	Explanatory Level of Causal Theories	198
	Facilitating Contemplative Experience	200
	Description of Contemplative Thought	202
	Quantum-like Nature of Insight and Giftedness	208
6.	Psychophysiology of Awareness	231
	The Biopsychosocial Approach	231
	Testing the Stepwise Nature of Development	234
	The Psychophysiology of the Steps in Thought	239
	The Global Brain Energy State	247
	Psychophysiology of the Stages of Consciousness	249
	Psychosomatic Effects of Meditation	254
	Degeneracy of Reductive Paradigms	260
7.	The Epigenetic Revolution	269
	The Significance for Psychobiology	269
	Early Theories of Development and Evolution	272
	Epigenetic Mechanisms of Molecular Memory	278
	The Inheritance of Epigenetic Effects	283
	Comparative Genomics and Evolution	286
	The Epigenetics of Personality	290
	Evolution of Creativity in Modern Human Beings	303
8.	The Irreducible Triad of Well-Being	313
	The Hierarchy of Life Systems	313
	The Dynamics of Biopsychosocial Systems	319
	The Topology and Functions of the Human Psyche	321
	The Noncausal Nature of Human Creativity	329
	Implications for the Future	343
Appendix	The Quantitative Measurement of Thought	353
	Index	359

Editorial Reviews

"Cloninger, a distinguished US psychiatrist, starts this book with the question, 'why is it so difficult to be happy?' He is critical of conventional scientific psychiatry's approach to the answer to this question, and throughout the book invokes concepts which science finds it difficult to grapple with—like 'coherence.' He ranges with profound insight widely over philosophy and history plus many other sciences, including mathematics, to take an intelligent stab at the central problems of well-being." —British Journal of Psychiatry

"Cloninger, a distinguished US psychiatrist, starts this book with the question, 'why is it so difficult to be happy'? He is critical of conventional scientific psychiatry's approach to the answer to this question, and throughout the book invokes concepts which science finds difficult to grapple with—like 'coherence'. He ranges with profound insight widely over philosophy and history plus many other sciences, including mathematics, to take an intelligent stab at the central problems of well-being." —British Journal of Psychiatry

". . . a product of vast erudition . . . radical, comprehensive, audacious, brilliant . . ." —PsycCRITIQUES

"A remarkably ambitious and scholarly masterpiece from a gifted psychiatrist with a deep understanding of human nature. By weaving a fascinating tapestry of philosophy, psychology, mystical experience, the latest neurobiology and genetics, Cloninger has produced fresh and practical insights into the human mind."—Frederick K. Goodwin, M.D., Former Director, National Institute of Mental Health, Host of public radio's The Infinite Mind

"In this audacious new book, Robert Cloninger provides a rare synthesis of the biological, the psychosocial, and the spiritual. The author manages to be comprehensive in scope, scholarly in method, yet accessible in his prose style. He forges a new integrative understanding of what it means to be human in a provocative and imaginative tour de force."—Glen O. Gabbard, M.D., Brown Foundation Chair of Psychoanalysis and Professor of Psychiatry, Baylor College of Medicine

"...a book that demands slow reading, over time, careful chewing and repeated reference."—Nassir Ghaemi, M.D., M.A., M.P.H., Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences; Director, Bipolar Disorders Program, Emory School of Medicine

From the Publisher

4 Stars! from Doody

Reviewer: Diana Marta, BSN, RN (Rush University Medical Center)
Description: In the age-old debate of mind vs. body, which route is the true one to well-being? This is the question posed by the author as he attempts to integrate the disciplines of biomedical and psychosocial theory into a single, though complex, path to self-awareness and ultimately well-being. The work is based on the author's 30 years of research and clinical practice.
Purpose: Although many have attempted to explain how to attain happiness, none have done such a thorough scientific study incorporating psychology, philosophy, biology, sociology, and genetics. In an age where material goods have often failed to bring such happiness, the author gives hope and reinforces the promise that much of what an individual seeks in within him.
Audience: This book will be of interest to a wide variety of professionals including psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers and sociologists, philosophers, and virtually anyone serving mental health clients. However, its complexity will realistically limit that audience to those wanting to delve in great depth into the theory of well-being and the contingent controversy between biomedical and psychosocial approaches. Despite its complexity, the book also shares some of the same goals as today's more simplistic self-help books. For those who can stay with it, it is quite a cleverly presented theory and, clearly, the author has extensive experience as both a researcher and a clinician.
Features: Having expressed his desire to explore all the disciplines that in any way relate to the pursuit of well-being and his strong argument that mind and body cannot be separated, the author welcomes criticism and feedback on his work, which he suggests will guide him in refining his theories. I find this and his acknowledgement that it took him several false starts to complete this book quite refreshing and unusual in the academic arena. The detail and degree to which he examines all the contributing theories may be off-putting to some readers.
Assessment: This is a complex book with a very simple goal: to better integrate the sciences of the mind and body into a path to better self-awareness and well-being. It is a major contribution to the literature and a refreshing approach to the subject. What particularly resonated with me was the issue of intuition and how individuals must know and trust their own instincts before they can find their own path.

Doody's Review Service