Aristotle's Way: How Ancient Wisdom Can Change Your Life by
From renowned classicist Edith Hall, ARISTOTLE'S WAY is an examination of one of history's greatest philosophers, showing us how to lead happy, fulfilled, and meaningful lives Aristotle was the first philosopher to inquire into subjective happiness, and he understood its essence better and more clearly than anyone since. According to Aristotle, happiness is not about well-being, but instead a lasting state of contentment, which should be the ultimate goal of human life. We become happy through finding a purpose, realizing our potential, and modifying our behavior to become the best version of ourselves. With these objectives in mind, Aristotle developed a humane program for becoming a happy person, which has stood the test of time, comprising much of what today we associate with the good life: meaning, creativity, and positivity. Most importantly, Aristotle understood happiness as available to the vast majority us, but only, crucially, if we decide to apply ourselves to its creation--and he led by example. As Hall writes, "If you believe that the goal of human life is to maximize happiness, then you are a budding Aristotelian." In expert yet vibrant modern language, Hall lays out the crux of Aristotle's thinking, mixing affecting autobiographical anecdotes with a deep wealth of classical learning. For Hall, whose own life has been greatly improved by her understanding of Aristotle, this is an intensely personal subject. She distills his ancient wisdom into ten practical and universal lessons to help us confront life's difficult and crucial moments, summarizing a lifetime of the most rarefied and brilliant scholarship.
The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing Wolrd by
An instant New York Times bestseller Two spiritual giants. Five days. One timeless question. Nobel Peace Prize Laureates His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu have survived more than fifty years of exile and the soul-crushing violence of oppression. Despite their hardships--or, as they would say, because of them--they are two of the most joyful people on the planet. In April 2015, Archbishop Tutu traveled to the Dalai Lama's home in Dharamsala, India, to celebrate His Holiness's eightieth birthday and to create what they hoped would be a gift for others. They looked back on their long lives to answer a single burning question: How do we find joy in the face of life's inevitable suffering? They traded intimate stories, teased each other continually, and shared their spiritual practices. By the end of a week filled with laughter and punctuated with tears, these two global heroes had stared into the abyss and despair of our time and revealed how to live a life brimming with joy. This book offers us a rare opportunity to experience their astonishing and unprecendented week together, from the first embrace to the final good-bye. We get to listen as they explore the Nature of True Joy and confront each of the Obstacles of Joy--from fear, stress, and anger to grief, illness, and death. They then offer us the Eight Pillars of Joy, which provide the foundation for lasting happiness. Throughout, they include stories, wisdom, and science. Finally, they share their daily Joy Practices that anchor their own emotional and spiritual lives. The Archbishop has never claimed sainthood, and the Dalai Lama considers himself a simple monk. In this unique collaboration, they offer us the reflection of real lives filled with pain and turmoil in the midst of which they have been able to discover a level of peace, of courage, and of joy to which we can all aspire in our own lives.
The Virtues of Happiness: A Theory of the Good Life by
As children we learn life is unfair: bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people. So, it is natural to ask, "Why play fairly in an unfair world? If being immoral will get you what you want and you know you can't get caught, why not do it?" The answers, as arguedherein, begin with the idea that morality and happiness are not in competition. If this is so, then we can see how immorality undermines its perpetrator's happiness: self-respect is necessary for happiness, and immorality undermines self-respect. As we see how our self-respect is conditional uponhow we respect others, we learn to evaluate and value ourselves, and others, appropriately.The central thesis is the result of combining the ancient Greek conception of happiness (eudaimonia) with a modern conception of self-respect. We become happy, we life the best life we can, only by becoming virtuous: by being as courageous, fair, temperate, and wise as can be. These are the virtuesof happiness. This book explains why it is bad to be bad and good to be good, and what happens to people's values as their practical rationality develops.
Happiness: Unlocking the Mysteries of Psychological Wealth by
Utilizing sophisticated methodology and three decades of researchby the world's leading expert on happiness, Happinesschallenges the present thinking of the causes and consequences ofhappiness and redefines our modern notions of happiness. shares the results of three decades of research on our notionsof happiness covers the most important advances in our understanding ofhappiness offers readers unparalleled access to the world's leadingexperts on happiness provides "real world" examples that will resonate with generalreaders as well as scholars Winner of the 2008 PSP Prose Award for Excellence inPsychology, Professional and Scholarly Publishing Division ofthe Association of American Publishers
Thanks!: How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier by
The first major study of gratitude that shows how “wanting what we have” can measurably change people’s lives. Did you know that there is a crucial component of happiness that is often overlooked? Robert Emmons—editor-in-chief of the Journal of Positive Psychology—examines what it means to think and feel gratefully in Thanks! and invites readers to learn how to put this powerful emotion into practice. Scientifically speaking, regular grateful thinking can increase happiness by as much as 25 percent, while keeping a gratitude journal for as little as three weeks results in better sleep and more energy. But there's more than science to embrace here: Emmons also bolsters the case for gratitude by weaving in writings of philosophers, novelists, and theologians that illustrate all the benefits grateful living brings.
Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill by
Never has happiness as an emotional and physical state of being been so widely discussed. This text provides a straightforward assessment of how to create true and lasting happiness. It helps readers work towards happiness stey-by-step, starting with 20 minutes of daily mind training and meditation.
The Happiness Makeover: How to Teach Yourself To Be Happy and Enjoy Every Day by
We all want the things that we’re sure will make us happy—money, success, independence, love. But when we finally get them, we can find to our surprise that we are the same miserable, moody, or just neutral people we always were. Why is that? Is it us? Is our ability to be happy genetically programmed in us like the color of our eyes? Luckily not. You can teach yourself to be happy and enjoy every day, and M. J. Ryan, bestselling author of The Power of Patience and Attitudes of Gratitude, shows you how. In her international coaching practice, M. J. Ryan has shown hundreds of clients how to find and really feel the joy in their lives. She gives them tools to unearth what stands in their way and revolutionize the way they experience life. Now it’s your turn for a Happiness Makeover. Ryan’s own desire to be happier first led her to study what is known about happiness from brain science, psychology, and the wisdom traditions of the world. The Happiness Makeover draws on this wide-ranging knowledge and presents a plan that will help you: • Clear away happiness hindrances like worry, fear, envy, and grudges • Discover happiness boosters like flow, meaningful work, challenge, and gratitude • Literally rewire your brain to experience contentment—even joy • Learn to think optimistically (it really is possible!) • Find daily ways to truly enjoy, even relish, the moments of your life Full of moving stories, inspiring quotations, and the wisdom of one who has been there before, The Happiness Makeover offers the means to find elusive happiness at last.
Happiness: The Science behind Your Smile by
Everybody wants it. But what exactly is happiness?The pursuit of happiness has been recognized by everyone from poets to politicians as what makes the world go round. The world's largest and fastest-growing industries - alcohol, pharmaceuticals, mind altering drugs, self-help books, counselling, travel and tourism - all profit heavily from ourintent to become completely happy with our lives.In the first comprehensive book to address this most basic of human desires, Daniel Nettle explores why we want to be happy, how we assess our levels of happiness, and the different ways that happiness is interpreted in different cultures. Using statistical information from the National ChildDevelopment Study, a project that has collected social and emotional data from thousands of people since 1958, Nettle shows the ways in which definitions and sources of happiness have changed over time.
Buddha's Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom by
In Buddha's Brain, a clinical psychologist and a senior neurologist explain how the brain benefits from contemplative practice and show readers how to develop greater happiness, love, and wisdom by drawing from breakthroughs in modern neuroscience.
The Five Thieves of Happiness by
Stop SeekingHappiness; Just Get Out of Its Way! Happiness is our natural state, for each of us and for humanity as a whole, argues John Izzo. But that happiness is being stolen by insidious mental patterns that he depicts as thieves- the thief of control, the thief of conceit, the thief of coveting, the thief of consumption, and the thief of comfort. He discovered these thieves as he sought the true source of happiness during a year-long sabbatical, walking the Camino de Santiago in Spain and living in the Andes of Peru. This thoughtful and inspiring book describes the disguises these thieves wear, the tools they use to break into our hearts, and how to lock them out once and for all. Izzo shows how these same thieves of personal happiness are destroying society as well. This book will help us all discover, develop, and defend the happiness that is our true nature while creating a world we all want to live in.
Happiness by
'All philosophy is a metaphysics of happiness...or it's not worth an hour of trouble' claims Alain Badiou in this lively intervention into one of the most persistent themes in philosophy: what is happiness? And what do I need to do to be happy? The desire to be happy is one of our most universal goals and yet there doesn't seem to be any easy answers or formulas for achieving happiness. And the concept has become so commodified and corrupted to be almost unrecognizable as something worth pursuing. In light of this, should we just give up the aspiration to be happy altogether? Alain Badiou thinks not. While eschewing futile procedures for magically becoming 'happy', Badiou does passionately maintain that in order to be truly happy we need philosophy. And, bolder still, that a life lived philosophically is the happiest life of all!
Happiness and Goodness: Philosophical Reflections on Living Well by
How should we evaluate the success of each person's life? Countering the prevalent philosophical perspective on the subject, Steven M. Cahn and Christine Vitrano defend the view that our well-being is dependent not on particular activities, accomplishments, or awards but on finding personal satisfaction while treating others with due concern. The authors suggest that moral behavior is not necessary for happiness and does not ensure it. Yet they also argue that morality and happiness are needed for living well, and together suffice to achieve that goal. Cahn and Vitrano link their position to elements within both the Hellenistic and Hebraic traditions, in particular the views of Epicurus and lessons found in the Book of Ecclesiastes. Written in an accessible style and illustrated with incisive vignettes drawn from history, literature, films, and everyday life, Happiness and Goodness is a compelling work of philosophy for anyone who seeks to understand the nature of a good life.
Happiness As Enterprise: An Essay on Neoliberal Life by
Examines the contemporary discourse on happiness through the lens of governmentality theory.
Philosophies of Happiness: A Comparative Introduction to the Flourishing Life by
What does it mean to be truly happy? In Philosophies of Happiness, Diana Lobel provides a rich spectrum of arguments for a theory of happiness as flourishing or well-being, offering a global, cross-cultural, and interdisciplinary perspective on how to create a vital, fulfilling, and significant life. Drawing upon perspectives from a broad range of philosophical traditions--Eastern and Western, ancient and contemporary--the book suggests that just as physical health is the well-being of the body, happiness is the healthy and flourishing condition of the whole human being, and we experience the most complete happiness when we realize our potential through creative engagement. Lobel shows that while thick descriptions of happiness differ widely in texture and detail, certain themes resonate across texts from different traditions and historical contexts, suggesting core features of a happy life: attentive awareness; effortless action; relationship and connection to a larger, interconnected community; love or devotion; and creative engagement. Each feature adds meaning, significance, and value, so that we can craft lives of worth and purpose. These themes emerge from careful study of philosophical and religious texts and traditions: the Greek philosophers Aristotle and Epicurus; the Chinese traditions of Confucius, Laozi, and Zhuangzi; the Hindu Bhagavad Gītā; the Japanese Buddhist tradition of Soto Zen master Dōgen and his modern expositor Shunryu Suzuki; the Western religious traditions of Augustine and Maimonides; the Persian Sufi tale Conference of the Birds; and contemporary research on mindfulness and creativity. Written in a clear, accessible style, Philosophies of Happiness invites readers of all backgrounds to explore and engage with religious and philosophical conceptions of what makes life meaningful. Visit https://cup.columbia.edu/extras/supplement/philosophies-of-happiness for additional appendixes and supplemental notes.
Psychology of Happiness by
Recent research attests to the importance of three distinct orientations to happiness -- pleasure, engagement, and meaning -- which together integrate hedonic and eudaimonic approaches to the good life. This book considers the concept of meaning in life, a crucial variable for physical health and psychological adjustment in a variety of contexts. This book also reviews the current state of literature on childhood happiness, including definitional issues applying to the term happiness, neurological correlates of happiness and a discussion of the consequences of disrupted homes on childhood happiness and a discussion of potentially undesirable cognitive consequences of a happy state. The authors also review and discuss studies on humour and discuss its role in the social functioning of people with Asperger Syndrome (AS). The argument is presented that happiness is also related to one's hope for the future, presenting evidence that positive affect or happiness is related to hope as assessed by several different measures. In addition, a term called "emotional breathing" is introduced. Physiological and psychological perspectives on the concept of coexistence of breathing and emotion is offered. The connection between the psychology of happiness and tourism is examined as well.