BEHAVE: THE BIOLOGY OF HUMANS AT THEIR BEST & WORST

Our Sunday, June 24th Science & Buddhism discussion was based on the book "Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst" by Robert M. Sapolsky and led by Saeko Ginestet& Laurent Ginestet. 

Laurent was born and raised in the Bay Area. He has also spent considerable time in Japan and France visiting family and soaking in the culture. Laurent got his undergraduate degree in Molecular & Cell Biology, with an emphasis in Neurobiology, at UC Berkeley. Since then, he has worked for 8+ years in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and medical device industries. At our discussion, Laurent presented a  summary of Robert Sapolsky's book, Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst, which explores the way neurons, external stimuli, hormones, society, culture, genetics, and evolution all intertwine to explain why humans behave the way they do.

Saeko was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan. She has been living in the US since college. She is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in private practice. She is Laurent's mother and helped facilitate the group discussion.

Several other recent books informed the discussion

• E.O. Wilson, “The Origins of Creativity”
• Steven Pinker, "Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress"
• Robert M. Sapolsky, “Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst”

TED talks from each of these authors are also available.

• My wish: Build the Encyclopedia of Life, Wilson, 2007
• Is the world getting better or worse? A look at the numbers, Pinker, 2018
• The biology of our best and worst selves, Sapolsky, 2017

Our "Last Sunday" Science & Buddhism participants are also always invited to join us Sunday morning for our regular10 am Sunday Program, Dharma Talk, and social lunch, ahead of our 2 pm Science & Buddhism session. In June, Kokyo Henkel of Santa Cruz Zen Center gave the Dharma Talk, at 11:45, on a related topic at the close of our Genzo-e sesshin, which focused on a topic from Dogen's Shobogenzo (see Genzo-e page).  

All are welcome. No prior experience with science, Buddhism, or meditation is necessary.