Paul Bloom

About Speaker Paul Bloom…

Paul Bloom is a distinguished scientist and award-winning author with an international reputation, and he presents his research to his colleagues at conferences and publishes it in top scientific journals. He is also one of Yale University’s most-renowned teachers, known for both his award-winning lectures to large audiences — as in his 500-person course “Introduction to Psychology” — and his more intimate seminars, such as his freshman class on the seven deadly sins.

The author of several books, his forthcoming book (December 2016) is Against Empathy: The Case for Rational Compassion. In it, Dr. Bloom argues that empathy is a bad thing—that it makes the world worse. While we’ve been taught that putting yourself in another’s shoes cultivates compassion, it actually blinds you to the long-term consequences of your actions.

Paul’s current book, Just Babies: The Origins of Good and Evil, draws on years of original research to show that goodness and badness, guilt, shame, and pride, are all innate ideas that humans have from birth — not just societal constructs. Dr. Bloom explores the strength and the limitations of this innate morality, shedding remarkable new insight into what it means to be human and form judgments.

Dr. Bloom is also the author of How Pleasure Works: The New Science of Why We Like What We Like. Drawing on insights from child development, philosophy, neuroscience, and behavioral economics, How Pleasure Works shows how certain universal habits of the human mind explain what we like and why we like it. Other books include Descartes’ Baby and How Children Learn the Meanings of Words.