David Brooks: The social animal

In his recent entertaining TED talk, author and New York Times columnist David Brooks talks about new insights into human nature from the cognitive sciences. He makes a case for why we need to pay more attention to and acknowledge our emotions, our instincts, and our intuitive life. This is in some contrast to the prevailing view of man as primarily a rational being. His ideas have implications for learning, for interpersonal relations, and for self-knowledge, as well as for the broader spheres of business, economics, and politics. It’s an interesting perspective in terms of thinking about human motivation, and the whys, hows and whats of motivating people.