The Happiness Hypothesis

The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom by Jonathan Haidt


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Jonathan Haidt, associate professor of psychology at the University of Virginia,read the ancient and classical philosophers in light of the modern psychology.And what a great job he does!

For example, in his chapter “The Uses of Adversity,” he starts out with this famous quote from Nietzsche, “what doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.” But is this really true? Haidt reviews the psychological literature, and concludes that it’s only true if a person learns to cope with adversity the right way. A trauma or tragedy can lead to growth if a person works to make sense of the event in terms of his or her own personal narrative.

There’s lots more wisdom in this book about relationships, meaningful work and the sources of human happiness. Not only that, but the writing is lively and intelligent, and not at all contaminated by the deadly dull style that too often makes psychology inaccessible to lay people.

View all my reviews >>