{"product_id":"the-mattering-instinct-how-our-deepest-longing-drives-us-and-divides-us-hardcover","title":"The Mattering Instinct: How Our Deepest Longing Drives Us and Divides Us - Hardcover","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eRebecca Newberger Goldstein\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMacArthur Fellow and National Humanities Medalist Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, author of \u003cem\u003ePlato at the Googleplex\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eThe Mind-Body Problem\u003c\/em\u003e, 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 \u003cem\u003ematter\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Goldstein brings this profound idea to life through unforgettable stories of famous and not-so-famous people pursuing their unique mattering projects: the ragtime genius Scott Joplin, whose dedication to his ignored masterpiece, \u003cem\u003eTreemonisha\u003c\/em\u003e, ended in tragedy; the pioneering psychologist William James, who rose above the depression of his young adulthood to become perhaps the first great theorist of mattering; an impoverished Chinese woman who rescued abandoned newborns from the trash; and a neo-Nazi skinhead who as a young man dealt racial violence to feel he mattered but ultimately renounced that hateful past after realizing that mattering isn't a zero-sum game. 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Deeply revealing and insightful, and decades in the making, \u003cem\u003eThe Mattering Instinct\u003c\/em\u003e is a must read 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 352\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.3 x 8.9 x 6.3 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e January 13, 2026\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52987918844211,"sku":"9781324096856","price":36.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0300\/5595\/6612\/files\/QWXeOraTo59781324096856.webp?v=1769072429","url":"https:\/\/www.vysn.com\/products\/the-mattering-instinct-how-our-deepest-longing-drives-us-and-divides-us-hardcover","provider":"VYSN","version":"1.0","type":"link"}