The eCrozier

Neuroscientist David Linden in his new book, The Compass of Pleasure: How Our Brains Make Fatty Foods, Orgasm, Exercise, Marijuana, Generosity, Vodka, Learning, and Gambling Feel So Good, describes and then explains how the pleasure centers in the brain function and are activated by internal and external stimuli. In a recent interview, he spoke particularly about how the brain’s pleasure center is activated by generous behavior toward others. Under scrutiny the brain’s pleasure center lights up when a person exercises generosity. So, it is not just sex, drugs, and rock & roll that activate our pleasure circuits. It seems virtuous behavior can as well.

Linden refers to a very interesting experiment that was done at the University of Oregon a while back. The researchers hooked their test subjects up to brain monitoring devices and then they gave them real money. Once the money was in their online bank account, the researchers told those in the study that they had a choice: they could give a financial donation to a particular local food bank or they could keep the money for themselves. And it was all set up anonymously with computers so even the researchers would not know what a particular individual test subject chose to do. That meant that no one would ever know what a particular person in the study chose, and if they chose to give a donation to the food bank, then it would not be connected to them personally. In other words, they would get no outside affirmation or credit for their charitable choice.

The researchers were quite surprised by the results. They discovered that a majority of the people in the study chose to give to the local food bank and that when they did so the pleasure center in their brain lit up. Linden remarked how crucial it was that this was all done anonymously. After all, we are social beings, and so one real motivation we might have to give generously is for others to think we are virtuous and care about hungry people. The researchers already knew from previous studies that having others think we are generous people activates the pleasure circuitry in our brains. In this study, however, that was removed as a possibility.

So, a majority of the people in the study gave money to help others rather than keep it for themselves and this, neurologically speaking, gave them great pleasure. This should open up a whole new way of approaching the regular financial support of the Church’s mission. While it is true that “God loves a cheerful1 giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7), it seems that our brains love for us to be generous as well. I think we need to convey this scientific truth to our people. Giving generously to support the mission of the Church is not only a spiritually healthy practice. It is also good for the neurological function of our brains. It opens up our pleasure circuitry. And it is a whole lot safer than vodka, gambling, or fatty foods.

+Scott

——————————————————————————–

[1] Actually the Greek word here is ‘ilaros, from which we get our English word “hilarious.” I would say then that most of our modern translations do not do justice to what St Paul was after here. He was not telling us that God loves merely “cheerful” givers. According to St Paul, God loves folks who are laughing for hard when they give that it doesn’t even hurt.