In Daniel Lieberman and Michael Long\u2019s book entitled, \u201cThe Molecule of More,\u201d the authors take an in-depth view of the chemical dopamine and how it effects human behavior. It is a thin book, but the authors succinctly and successfully cover the wide-ranging effects this single molecule has on individuals and society. Indeed, this book left me astonished at the power and influence that a single molecule in our brains can dictate. Dopamine profoundly effects our creativity, motivation, feelings, and addictions. In effect, all human behavior is influenced to some degree by dopamine. And because society is made up of nothing more than a collection of individuals, the authors spend time describing how dopamine effects society at large. Their discussion on politics and the steady pursuit of scientific advancement was especially interesting. Turns out, it takes a bit of a madman to discover calculus and unravel the intricacies of the time-space continuum. I find great reassurance in this: I was NOT deficient in learning calculus in high school; rather, it was because I am NOT a madman.<\/p>\n
The authors state on page 83, \u201cIt is important to remember that biology is not destiny. People whose control-dopamine systems are at one extreme or the other can change.\u201d It is an important and insightful finding. There are ramifications about nature -vs- nurture arguments with this insight. Are we more than just a mass of chemicals contained in a biological structure destined only to act as the chemicals dictate? Can we transcend our physical impulses and act contrary to our immediate instincts? Scripture is replete with warnings about acting out of our natural impulses: \u201cSin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.\u201d Can the Christian rule over the negative effects of dopamine, while simultaneously taking advantage of the benefits of dopamine?<\/p>\n
Certainly, there are positive effects of dopamine and the authors spill a lot of ink describing how the chemical feeds are desire for learning, goal-achieving, and creativity. They state on page 66, \u201cWe need not only knowledge but also tenacity. Dopamine, the chemical of future success, is there to deliver.\u201d Just as powerful as dopamine are the chemicals that run though our minds that the authors label as \u201cHere and Now,\u201d or H&N for short. These play just as an important part in understanding our behavior and in fact act as a counter-balance to our impulses. It is an intricate dance our minds engage in and a person of faith can see God\u2019s hand at work here: \u201cI am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful\u201d (Psalms 139:14).<\/p>\n
The authors synthesize their findings in the last chapter appropriately entitled, \u201cHarmony.\u201d This last chapter brings the author\u2019s findings into several practical applications. Most interesting\u2014and surprising\u2014is the section on living in the present. The authors state on page 222, \u201cBy spending time in the present, we take in sensory information about the reality we live in, allowing the dopamine system to use that information to develop reward-maximizing plans.\u201d It is fascinating that the research surrounding dopamine teaches us that living our lives fully in the present provides for us a happy, meaningful, and well-balanced life. When scientific findings confirm what we also learn in scripture, a deeper understanding of how God created us and how he wants us to live arises. It becomes faith-affirming.<\/p>\n
After reading this book, I thought of possible follow-up research that could be done along these lines. How does their study of dopamine relate to faith? Of particular interest would be further studies examining dopamine levels before an individual becomes a believer and after an individual becomes a believer. My initial thoughts would be that after a person becomes a Christian, an increase in H&N levels and a decrease in dopamine levels might be characteristic. Also of interest would be an examination of dopamine levels of believers and non-believers at different stages of life. Are there important patterns to uncover? This interplay between faith and our physical, chemical make-up makes for great research possibilities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In Daniel Lieberman and Michael Long\u2019s book entitled, \u201cThe Molecule of More,\u201d the authors take an in-depth view of the chemical dopamine and how it effects human behavior. It is a thin book, but the authors succinctly and successfully cover the wide-ranging effects this single molecule has on individuals and society. Indeed, this book left […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":150,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2156],"class_list":["post-28056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-lieberman","cohort-lgp11"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28056","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/150"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28056"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28056\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28057,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28056\/revisions\/28057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}