Modern psychology has also demonstrated many ways in which we are prone to delusion and illusion. So deep and lasting happiness is not something that comes easily to human beings.

A creature which continually needs to strive in order to satisfy its cravings is more likely to actively seek mates, for instance. It makes sense for evolution to create animals that crave things that will help them survive and reproduce, and also for the satisfaction of achieving them to be fleeting. There are strong evolutionary reasons for this. Our minds seem to overestimate the pleasure we’ll receive from achieving our goals. While we experience powerful cravings for food, sex, or social prestige, the satisfaction accompanying the fulfillment of these desires is often short-lived.

The View from Evolutionary PsychologyĮvolutionary psychology considers how millions of years of evolution has shaped human perception and behaviour or as Wright puts it, “how the human brain was designed – by natural selection – to mislead us, even enslave us” (p.3).Īs a starting point for his analysis, Wright invites us to consider the fleeting nature of pleasure. He’s hopes that Buddhism might help realise a more sustainable future for humanity. To argue his case, Wright draws upon evolutionary psychology, neuroscience and his own engagement with meditation, in order to analyse the core tenets of Buddhism and reflect upon their moral and philosophical implications. Additionally, Wright believes that Buddhism has techniques which allow us to lessen certain negative aspects of the human condition, namely ignorance, suffering and discontent.

Still, he is convinced that Buddhism anticipated by a matter of centuries knowledge about the human mind that we are only now unearthing through science. Wright has little interest in preserving tradition if it cannot stand up to his secular critique. In this sense the title is something of a misnomer. Robert Wright’s book, Why Buddhism Is True: The Science And Philosophy Of Meditation And Enlightenment (2017) is part of the ‘Secular Buddhist’ movement – a project which seeks to strip away the religion’s metaphysical and mystical content and ground it in a naturalistic or science-based interpretation. SUBSCRIBE NOW Books Why Buddhism Is True by Robert Wright Lachlan Dale considers a naturalistic view of Buddhism.

Why buddhism is true book