Paul Bloom

Paul Bloom is a professor of psychology at Yale University. His research explores how children and adults understand the physical and social world, with special focus on morality, religion, fiction and art. He has won numerous awards for his research and teaching, including lectureships at the Max Planck Institute and Johns Hopkins University. He is the past-president of the Society for Philosophy and Psychology, and co-editor of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, one of the top journals in the field.

Dr. Bloom has written for scientific journals such as Nature and Science, and for popular outlets such as The New York Times, the Guardian, and the Atlantic. He is the author or editor of four books, including How Children Learn the Meanings of Words, and Descartes’ Baby: How the Science of Child Development Explains What Makes Us Human.

His newest book, How Pleasure Works: the New Science of Why We Like What We Like, was published in June, 2010.