Psychological hedonism - the idea that people tend to act in ways that
maximize pleasure and minimize displeasure - has a decidedly poor
reputation among academics who study human behavior. Opinions range from
outright rejection to those who believe it to be intuitively obvious,
but untestable and therefore unhelpful. In this book, the author
introduces an empirically testable and useful theory of psychological
hedonism based on contemporary theory and research in the emerging field
of affective neuroscience. He goes on to argue that people are
genetically endowed with a tendency towards psychological hedonism as a
function of Darwinian processes. This view of psychological hedonism in
light of its Darwinian origins - thereinafter referred to as Darwinian
hedonism - is essential to address the growing global epidemic of
unhealthy behavior, such as poor diet, physical inactivity, and
substance use.