The Happiness Hypothesis

I read it for maybe the third time this year. Haidt uses philosophy and psychology to answer the questions about life and happiness, and he breaks them up into logical and useful chapters that each highlight a specific concept. He finds value in many different spectra and avenues, such as the benefits/detriments of liberalism and conservatism and how they contribute to society, and ultimately, happiness.

From Buddha to Alan Watts, philosophers and sages have been delivering pronouncements on how to achieve happiness—but what does science say about their prescriptions? That’s the question Haidt tackles and you know what?

It turns out there’s something to the ancient wisdoms—not everything but something. In reaching this conclusion, Haidt takes us through a brilliant description of how the brain works, how the mind works, and how we humans work when we’re operating socially.

These subjects have been among my own most intense preoccupations in recent years and in The Happiness Hypothesis, I kept running across ideas I’d been groping… show more.

This is a unique book in that it integrates the learnings from the great philosophies and religions with modern science to create a powerful story of how you and I can live a happy and a meaningful life.

The Author takes you on a great journey illuminating how our thinking and how our mind and body influence our beliefs and ways of being. He puts together a compelling new story that you can embrace to be on your Journey to Best Self. This book was so good that I have read it three times since I bought it.

This book helped me understand how philosophical traditions I had read about also were connected to scientifically validated approaches to living a happier life. It is very well-written, not too long, and helped me see how these two strands of scholarship were useful to me. There are ways to be happier, and many of the ways to do this are found in the writings of Aristotle and the Stoic philosophers.  

If you thought that the keys to true happiness were magically uncovered in 1968, just take a look at our society to see how completely wrong you are. Haidt shows that every step we have taken away from ancient wisdom has been a step into sadness, anxiety, and rage. This book validated my commitment to the wisdom in Catholic teaching. Anything that has survived 2,000 years despite its many corruptions and hypocrisies must be on to something, and Haidt tells you what that something is. Haidt is so common-sense about it. Don’t live according to theories and fads, he says.… show more.