Library Post #3: Second Big Think Article

http://bigthink.com/in-their-own-words/trust-is-a-drug
This article, currently on the homepage of Big Think, spoke great volumes to me as an individual. My own upbringing has led me to value loyalty and trustworthiness above many other traits, which made this article appeal to me on a personal level, based simply on the title. In general, I do not associate trust, which I value, with drugs, which I could not value less. However, this article hardly relates to the use of illicit substances. Rather, it discusses the neurological reasons for trust and the reasons why trust is so important to people. The article cites the secretion of oxytocin by the brain when someone believes they are being trusted, which supposedly heightens the desire to extend trust back to that person, leading to a bond of mutual trust. However, I'm not sure whether this is true in all cases. Some people, as many of us have learned the hard way, are not worthy of trust. This, in turn, brings about the question of why such individuals fail to reciprocate trust. Perhaps their brains fail to secrete oxytocin in such a scenario? Or is it that they do not feel they are being trusted? Or is it for some other reason altogether? This article fails to answer this question, which draws away, in small part, from its credibility. Another issue I have with this article is the fact that it does not specifically mention the neuroscientists who made these discoveries. Where do they work? What was their funding? Is this an ongoing project? We don't know.
Although I have some doubts about the scientific credibility of this article, the first paragraph, which details the virtue of trust itself, which brings me back to my own upbringing. Being able to count on others in the modern world, or at any point in history, for that matter, is invaluable; invaluable, that is, so long as those others always follow through with what they agree to do. The article does mention that "The virtue of trust lies in giving it away," and goes on to elaborate the fact that by giving trust away, you are putting the person you are trusting in a position of power, counting on them to do the right thing. And when they fail you, such an offense is not one to be forgotten, or forgiven so easily.