The Molecule of More

THE MOLECULE OF MORE

literal imposition of change—to achieve national objectives. They were
less likely to say it was necessary to get permission from the U.N. They
also placed a greater value on religion in their lives, with 50 percent
saying it was very important. Less than half that said so in Europe: 22
percent in Spain, 21 percent in Germany, 17 percent in Britain, and 13
percent in France.
The United States and other immigrant societies may have the most
dopaminergic genes, but a dopaminergic approach to life has become
an integral part of modern culture, whether one’s genes support it or
not.  The  world is  now characterized by  a  never-ending flow  of infor-
mation, new products, advertising, and the perceived need for more.
Dopamine is now associated with the most essential part of our being.
Dopamine has taken over our souls.

I, DOPAMINE

Dopamine-producing cells make up 0.0005 percent of the brain. That’s
a tiny fraction of the cells we use to navigate our world. And yet, when
we think about who we are in the deepest sense, we think about that
tiny cluster of cells. We identify with our dopamine. In our minds, we
are dopamine.
Ask a philosopher what is the essence of humanity, and it wouldn’t
be surprising if he said it was free will. The essence of humanity is our
ability to move beyond instinct, to go beyond automatic reactions to
our environment. It’s the ability to weigh options, to consider higher
concepts such as values and principles, and then to make a deliberate
choice about how to  maximize what we  believe is  good—whether it’s 
love, money, or the ennobling of the soul. That’s dopamine.
The academic might say that her essence is the ability to comprehend
the  world. It’s  her  ability to  rise above the  flow  of information from the
physical senses to understand the meaning of what she perceives. She eval-
uates, judges, and makes predictions. She understands. That’s dopamine.
The hedonist believes that his deepest self is the part of him that
experiences pleasure. Whether it’s wine, women, or song, his purpose