pleasure

Bonhomme Tom helps teach Sophie and Emilio about viewing the world with their hearts. Includes nine songs.

"Explores the exciting new scientific discoveries that explain why the relentless pursuit of pleasure leads to pain…and what to do about it. Condensing complex neuroscience into easy-to-understand metaphors, Lembke illustrates how finding contentment and connectedness means keeping dopamine in check"--Amazon.

We all know the pleasure felt at someone else's misfortune. The Germans named this furtive delight in another's failure schadenfreude (from schaden damage, and freude, joy), and it has perplexed philosophers and psychologists for centuries. Why can it be so satisfying to witness another's distress? And what, if anything, should we do about it? Schadenfreude illuminates this hidden emotion, inviting readers to reflect on its pleasures, and how we use other people's miseries to feel better about ourselves. Written in an exploratory, evocative form, it weaves examples from literature, philosophy, film, and music together with personal observation and historical and cultural analysis. And in today's world of polarized politics, twitter trolls and "sidebars of shame," it couldn't be timelier. Engaging, insightful, and entertaining, Schadenfreude makes the case for thinking afresh about the role this much-maligned emotion plays in our lives -- perhaps even embracing it.

"Nothing is better than summer, swimming every day and eating ice cream. But a boy's older sister tells him that he'd better make the most of it, because summer is going to end soon. When winter comes, it will be cold and dark, she says, and the icy rain will turn to snow. They'll be stuck on the sofa for days and won't even dream of eating ice cream. . . Here is a celebration of the changing of the seasons, showing just how much joy can be found around every sunny--or snowy--corner"--Provided by publisher.

Examines the science behind some of the curious desires, attractions, tastes, and other everyday pleasures.

Things that happen outside you can trigger feelings of happiness. When that happens, it changes something inside your body. Those inside changes are what creates the happy feelings you experience. Happiness is a good teacher. You can learn a lot from it. You can also learn to control it..

Examines scientific and evolutionary evidence to argue that animals, like humans, have evolved enough to focus on enjoyment as much as survival.

Contains photographs of animals experiencing forms of pleasure comparable to that of humans, and explores how pleasure is important to the animal world.