Perspectives: Forget Survival of the Fittest: It Is Kindness That Counts; September / October 2009; Scientific American Mind; by Interview by David DiSalvo; 2 Page(s)

Why do people do good things? Is kindness hardwired into the brain, or does this tendency arise via experience? Dacher Keltner, director of the Social Interaction Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, investigates these questions from multiple angles and often generates results that are both surprising and challenging. In his recent book, Born to Be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life (W. W. Norton, 2009), Keltner weaves together scientific findings with personal narrative to uncover human emotion's innate power to connect people with one another, which he argues is the path to living the good life. Here Keltner discusses altruism, neurobiology and the practical applications of his findings with David DiSalvo.

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MIND: What, in a nutshell, does the term "born to be good" mean to you?