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Feeling Good: The Science of Well-Being By C. Robert Cloninger ( Oxford University Press, USA )
Release Date: 2004-05-06
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List Price: $42.50
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Product Description
All human beings have spontaneous needs for happiness, self-understanding, and love. In Feeling Good: The Science of Well Being, psychiatrist Robert Cloninger describes a way to coherent living that satisfies these strong basic needs through growth in the uniquely human gift of self-awareness. The scientific findings that led Dr. Cloninger to expand his own views in a stepwise manner during 30 years of research and clinical experience are clearly presented so that readers can consider the validity of his viewpoint for themselves. The principles of well-being are based on a non-reductive scientific paradigm that integrates findings from all the biomedical and psychosocial sciences. Reliable methods are described for measuring human thought and social relationships at each step along the path of self-aware consciousness. Practical mental exercises for stimulating the growth of self-awareness are also provided. The methods are supported by data from brain imaging, genetics of personality, and longitudinal biopsychosocial studies.
Feeling Good: The Science of Well-Being will be of value to anyone involved in the sciences of the mind or the treatment of mental disorders. It will also interest theologians, philosophers, social scientists, and lay readers because it provides contemporary scientific concepts and language for addressing the perennial human questions about being, knowledge, and conduct.
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 Could have been far better if he stayed with what he knows and minimized the "philosophy" and quantum and modern physics ( reader-1z2z3z )
Given the title and subtitle of the book, the positive reviews, and the credentials of Dr. Cloninger, I was surprised by his many references to quantum physics, non-causal and non-local phenomenon, and his attempt to use these to explain consciousness and mental states. I was also surprised by the polemical nature of it.
Readers with a background in quantum physics may be put off by his extensive reliance on quantum physics. He seems unaware of the concept of decoherence; of the smallness of Heisenberg's number; of conditions required for certain phenomenon (e.g., non-locality) to be observable. That he can find physicists to quote does not indicate that these quotes are consistent with the views of a majority of physicists, or that his use of terms is appropriate. A second edition may be improved if Cloninger reads "Decoherence and the Appearance of a Classical World in Quantum Theory," by E. Joos, et al. (2003). However, omitting the references to quantum physics and instead focusing on the psychological problems would help more.
Cloninger's book has many statements with a flavor such as (p. 197), "Such phenomenon as noncausality and nonlocality were so contrary to everyday experience that physicists . . . were forced to undergo a revolution in their thinking . . . Now these phenomenon are firmly established experimentally in physics. Nevertheless, many conservative psychologists, neuroscientists, and philosophers of mind continue to think in terms of classical physics." He seems to think such statements free him to apply terminology of quantum physics to the brain in an imaginative and poetic fashion.
Cloninger recognizes the importance of experiences that may be termed "oceanic feelings." He includes useful discussions of meditation. A problem for many with a scientific-historical orientation is a lack of a way to think about "oceanic" experiences that does not conflict with their views of reality. This problem appears to be a source of Cloninger's feeling a need to mix quantum physics and psychology. A far better discussion of similar topics is in the last half of Herbert Fingarette's, The Self in Transformation: Psychoanalysis, Philosophy, and the Life of the Spirit (Harper, 1963). His chapters 7 and 8 are brilliant in his discussion of the "ontological status of reincarnation," etc. For poetry of oceanic feelings, T.S. Eliot's Four Quartets is far better than Cloninger's poetical use of quantum physics. Jesus said, "the kingdom of God is within you," (Luke 17:21). Using concepts of quantum physics to understand that experience seems misguided.
This book would be more intelligible, persuasive and to-the-point if he were to stay closer to the experiences and not dwell on philosophy and physics. His emphasis on distractions calls to mind Buddha's, "Bear always in mind what it is that I have elucidated and what it is that I have not elucidated. . . . I have not elucidated that the soul and the body are identical. I have not elucidated that the monk who has attained (the arahat) does exist after death. . . . . I have not elucidated that the arahat both exists and does not exist after death. . . . And why have I not elucidated this? Because this profits not . . And what have I elucidated? Misery have I elucidated; the origin of misery have I elucidated; the cessation of misery have I elucidated; and the path leading to the cessation of misery have I elucidated. And why have I elucidated this? Because this does profit ... tends to absence of passion, to knowledge, supreme wisdom and Nirvana." (quoted in D.S. Noss and J.S. Noss, History of the Worlds Religions, 9th ed., p. 187-188.
Readers may be amazed by Cloninger's treatment of William James and David Hume. They are listed as examples of "negative philosophers," along with Machiavelli and Rand. He states that an assumption of "negative" philosophers regarding conduct is, "Freedom is the opportunity for individuals to strive to maximize their self interests and desires for which fulfillment." His contrast of Hume and James' views with views he attributes to "positive philosophers" is a case of a blind man looking at two elephants. He compares the leg of Hume's elephant with the ear of the "positive philosopher's" elephant. He appears aware of modern studies of the evolution of altruism, e.g., E. Sober and D. S. Wilson's, Unto Others: the Evolution and Psychology of Unselfish Behavior (Harvard: 1998). These authors discuss evolutionary altruism, psychological altruism, proximal causes, and ultimate causes. Mixing these in comparisons can lead to confusion.
He writes, "Hume suggested that people might be happy to act benevolently on some occasions because, he suggested, such sympathy was a natural emotional predisposition or moral sentiment that we share with other animals, such as dogs. In other words, Hume claimed that kindness was an emotion like aggression, rather than a virtue that transcends conflict-based emotions." I tend to like people who have a natural emotional predisposition to kindness, empathy, and fairness, and who have a natural sense of pleasure in helping people who need it. Does Cloninger prefer with people who cogitate on "virtue that transcends conflict-based emotions"? What is the relevance of "conflict-based"? How does he know that a dog's feeling of kindness is less than a human's?
From what I know about James and Hume, I would be very pleased to have them as neighbors. I think they tried to be fair. James' "Varieties of Religious Experience" is an all-time classic and is wonderful in illustrating "oceanic" experiences. Cloninger emphasizes love and acceptance, but does not appear fair with writers he disagrees with. Damascio's discussions of James make far more sense than Cloninger's.
I'm wondering if Cloninger makes parapsychological claims in his mixing of quantum non-locality, etc., with "oceanic" experiences. I have the sense that he does. But he doesn't write clearly enough for me to understand what he is saying. Other brilliant scientists have fallen for parapsychology (see, Ray Hyman, "Parapsychological Research: A Tutorial Review and Critical Appraisal," Proceedings of the IEEE, 74, 823-849 (1986)).
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 Inspiring
'Feeling Good' by Dr. C. Robert Cloninger makes a profound, courageous and exhilarating contribution to modern day understandings of the disciplines of Psychiatry and Psychology.
Integrating state of the art ideas from the fields of psychology, psychopathology, philosophy, psychophysiology, quantum physics, genetics, developmental theory, and communication technology, Dr. Cloninger makes a conceptual leap in the science of Well-Being, moving the science of the Mind into the 21st century.
This prophetic book not only educates the reader about the necessary paradigm shift for the proper practise of psychiatry but also inspires and challenges each of us to contemplate our own consciousness, happiness and life in a new and essential way.
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Reviewers misunderstand ( budzboy )
Most reviewers of this book have misunderstood its intent, which is clearly to provoke and stir discussion and controversy rather than to present a clear, logically powerful and empirically grounded argument for a new paradigm in psychiatry.
Not that the book has no clearly argued and well documented sections. The author has a well argued case to make against the vaunted "five factor" model of personality which dominates academic psychology's view of that vexed topic.
His account of personality as rooted in temperament, character, and levels of intuitive perceptions of salient episodes in one's personal history may not fare well when judged against the fetishes of factor analysis, but there is a massive amount of empirical evidence supporting the reliability and utility of the Temperament and Character Inventory based on his view. Each of his seven dimensions has a clear meaning rooted in solid biopsychosocial consensus about the basic processes of human learning and memory. This is truly an excellent foundation on which to build.
But Cloninger's style of argument sometimes lapses into that 19th century genre an unnecessarily caustic critic of philosopher and historian of science William Whewell dismissed with the jibe, "I suppose he has read the prefaces of a great many books." Far too many laurel wreaths and dunce caps are awarded on the basis of much too little argument.
My most serious reservation in matters essential to the book's basic argument is that its account of personality development, or as Cloninger has it, the "path of the psyche," falls short of the standard he sets for himself in his account of personality's functional architecture.
Here Freud's "phylogenetic fantasy" rides again. "Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny!" even though we are told in Table 3.2 that the temporal sequences (of the development) of the processes of human thought" exactly reverse those exhibited in the phylogeny of cognitiion. Even "exactly" is a stretch, given the paucity of real evidence in this section.
The section on development is also limited by excessive reliance on Cloninger's own clinical experience and his analysis of the thought processes of American transcendentalists. As a result these arguments have no more than heuristic power. They might guide future investigation; they do not command assent.
Finally, on the key point of personality development, there is no indication that Cloninger's clinical experience includes work with children, and the book's otherwise luxurious bibliography gives scant attention to the best current literature on child development.
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A Refreshing Addition to Mental Health Literature
After spending some time reflecting on a statement that would do justice to this work, I realized that nothing I could say would be as well put as what I found in the following reviews:
"A remarkably ambitious and scholarly masterpiece from a gifted psychiatrist with a deep understanding of human nature. By weaving a fascinating tapestry of philosophy, psychology, mystical experience, the latest neurobiology and genetics, Cloninger has produced fresh and practical insights into the human mind."-Frederick K. Goodwin, M.D., Former Director, National Institute of Mental Health, Host of public radio's The Infinite Mind
"In this audacious new book, Robert Cloninger provides a rare synthesis of the biological, the psychosocial, and the spiritual. The author manages to be comprehensive in scope, scholarly in method, yet accessible in his prose style. He forges a new integrative understanding of what it means to be human in a provocative and imaginative tour de force."-Glen O. Gabbard, M.D., Brown Foundation Chair of Psychoanalysis and Professor of Psychiatry, Baylor College of Medicine
"Fasten your mindbelts and get ready for a heady paradigm shift as you accompany Cloninger on his epiphanic and still-evolving voyage toward understanding the human mind. Fearlessly embracing complex adaptive systems as one element in his brilliant synthesis of psychosocial and neuroscience approaches, spiced by Eastern and Western philosophies, and unashamed by religious inspiration, this book will stretch your mind."-I.I. Gottesman, Ph.D., Hon. FRCPsych Bernstein Professor in Adult Psychiatry, University of Minnesota
"Cloninger has written a book of startling originality. His imaginative, integrative, and wide-ranging scholarship offers us a view of human nature and mental health never seen before."-George E. Vaillant, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Author of Aging Well and other books
"An intellectual tour de force by a creative pioneer in the study of personality, this important book lays out for us a comprehensive, thought-provoking proposal for a science of well-being. As such it has broad implications for an exciting integration of the natural and social sciences, the end result of which should be a much needed improvement in our understanding of the human condition in an increasingly complex and challenging world."-Marcus E. Raichle, M.D., Professor of Radiology, Neurology, and Neurobiology, Washington University School of Medicine
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a landmark on the path of well-being ( debeatavita )
This book was exceedingly enjoyable to read. Right from the beginning, readers of Feeling Good: The Science of Well-Being are whisked away on an unprecedented philosophical and scientific oddysey. Beginning with a brief overview of philosophy, Dr. Cloninger shows how certain beliefs on the nature of being, knowledge, and conduct, which provide the basis for his science of well-being, are confirmed by current scientific thought. Examining the ideas of those that he calls "positive philosophers," Dr. Cloninger points to how modern science is beginning to validate the worldviews held by these thinkers, and suggests that what allowed them such wisdom and penetrating insight was not merely their intellectual ability, but rather their intuitive capacity.
Dr. Cloninger takes us through his initial 2 theories of personality and shows how neither his biological model nor his cognitive model of personlity (nor contemporary theories of personality for that matter) are comprehensive enough to explain many fundamental human experiences such as: creativity, self-awareness, free-will, and intuition. Inspired by these limitations he conceived his model of coherence which points to human self-awareness as the path towards well-being. He describes the importance of rational intuition vs. the inadequacy of reason and cognitive strategies for acquiring freedom and happiness; then he dares the reader to inquire into whether it is possible "to learn to share the intuitions of a wise person." Integrating recent scientific discoveries from biology, genetics, physics, and neurology with the philosophical and moral truths from the likes of Plato, St. Augustine, Spinoza, Hegel, and Gandhi, Dr. Cloninger's Feeling Good is a book that is certain to become landmark on the path of well-being.
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