MacArthur Fellow and National Humanities Medalist Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, author of Plato at the Googleplex and The Mind-Body Problem, returns with a revelatory book about the primal drive that in our species alone has been transformed into one of our most persistent and universal motivations: the longing to matter.
Drawing on biology, psychology, and philosophy, Goldstein argues that this need to matter-and the various "mattering projects" it inspires-is the source of our greatest progress and our deepest conflicts: the very crux of the human experience.
Goldstein brings this profound idea to life through unforgettable stories of famous and not-so-famous people pursuing their unique mattering projects. These portraits illuminate how our instinct for significance shapes identity, relationships, culture, and conflict-and they point the way to a future where we all might see that there is, fundamentally, enough mattering to go around.
Deeply revealing and insightful, The Mattering Instinct is a must-listen for those curious about why we seek to matter to ourselves and others-and how this insatiable longing that drives us apart may be the key to finally understanding each other.
