Reviews
Destructive Emotions: A Scientific Dialogue with the Dalai Lama by Daniel Goleman, Dalai Lama XIV
villavaalberu's review against another edition
4.0
Excelente libro de cómo manejar nuestras emociones. Contiene tanto los últimos descubrimientos de la psicología y las neurocienciqas como las ancestrales técnicas de los lamas tibetanos y otros budistas. Lo recomiendo ampliamente aunque no he encontrado otro ejemplar para regalerlo.
liantener's review against another edition
4.0
El libro tiene ideas muy padres, habla de investigaciones bastante interesantes, y las partes con el Dalai Lama son muy agradables. El único problema es que tiene mucha paja, y el libro se hace más extenso de lo que debería.
starkcontrast's review against another edition
5.0
By now, this book is twenty years old, so some of its core ideas have since seeped into mainstream psychology and do not look as radical today as they must have back then. Social-emotional learning is a well-known idea, even if implementation is slow; putting experienced meditators, monks etc. into brain MRTs to see the changes in their brain function as they meditate or pray is not an esoteric idea anymore; and practices like mindfulness are considered fairly standard fare in modern psychological treatment.
This change is at least in part due to the efforts of the participants of the Mind and Life symposiums who worked to bring Buddhist practices and ideas into the view of Western psychology and validating these ideas and the efficacy of these practices under modern scientific scrutiny. in "Destructive Emotions," some of the most respected contemporary psychologists and neuroscientists work with the Dalai Lama and a delegation of Buddhist monks and philosophers to answer one core question: How can the methods of either of these schools of thought be employed to resolve destructive emotions in people all over the world--emotions which lead to bad mental health, interpersonal conflict, bigotry, and even violence. It's a true dialogue, and thus makes for an extremely interesting read.
If I have one criticism about this book, it is in the overall form. Daniel Goleman (the inventor of the idea of emotional intelligence) chose to structure it as a fairly close retelling of the symposium, sometimes slipping into a descriptive prose that has nothing to do with ideas or science and instead describes the weather or certain people's facial expressions. There is also an entire chapter that is simply a biography / glowing endorsement of the Dalai Lama, which seems out of place.
However, this is not enough reason for me not to consider this a five-star-book. The overview of two different, yet often surprisingly similar understandings of the human mind and two philosophies of emotion makes for a fascinating read.
This change is at least in part due to the efforts of the participants of the Mind and Life symposiums who worked to bring Buddhist practices and ideas into the view of Western psychology and validating these ideas and the efficacy of these practices under modern scientific scrutiny. in "Destructive Emotions," some of the most respected contemporary psychologists and neuroscientists work with the Dalai Lama and a delegation of Buddhist monks and philosophers to answer one core question: How can the methods of either of these schools of thought be employed to resolve destructive emotions in people all over the world--emotions which lead to bad mental health, interpersonal conflict, bigotry, and even violence. It's a true dialogue, and thus makes for an extremely interesting read.
If I have one criticism about this book, it is in the overall form. Daniel Goleman (the inventor of the idea of emotional intelligence) chose to structure it as a fairly close retelling of the symposium, sometimes slipping into a descriptive prose that has nothing to do with ideas or science and instead describes the weather or certain people's facial expressions. There is also an entire chapter that is simply a biography / glowing endorsement of the Dalai Lama, which seems out of place.
However, this is not enough reason for me not to consider this a five-star-book. The overview of two different, yet often surprisingly similar understandings of the human mind and two philosophies of emotion makes for a fascinating read.
bibliostatic's review
4.0
Some fascinating research on the brain activity and emotions initiated by the Dalai Lama with some top researchers.
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