ishe-journal | The Moral Molecule: the Source of Love and Prosperity presents,
in informal language, the results of neuroeconomist Paul J. Zak’s work
on the effects of the hormone oxytocin on a wide range of human
behavior. It considers the hormone’s reinforcing effects on individuals,
on close personal relationships, and on society as a whole. Chapters
cover the evolution of trust, the pathways by which oxytocin works as a
behavioral reinforcer, how other factors can interfere with oxytocin’s
“good effects,” how the biology of oxytocin intersects religion, why
greed isn’t good for individuals or societies, and how to create a
bottom-up democracy. Zak makes a case for a link from oxytocin to
empathy, to morality, to trust, to love, to economic prosperity…and to
something he calls a virtuous cycle. Testosterone effects are also
described, in particular how they counteract or balance the effects
oxytocin. This book review summarizes these elements and also stresses
the relationship of the hormones oxytocin and testosterone to war.
