The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom

Jonathan Haidt

Dec 2006 · Sold by Basic Books

About this ebook

"The most brilliant and lucid analysis of virtue and well-being in the entire literature of positive psychology. For the reader who seeks to understand happiness, my advice is: Begin with Haidt."  —Martin E.P. Seligman, University of Pennsylvania and author of Authentic Happiness

The Happiness Hypothesis is a book about ten Great Ideas. Each chapter is an attempt to savor one idea that has been discovered by several of the world's civilizations—to question it in light of what we now know from scientific research, and to extract from it the lessons that still apply to our modern lives and illuminate the causes of human flourishing. Award-winning psychologist Jonathan Haidt shows how a deeper understanding of the world's philosophical wisdom and its enduring maxims—like "do unto others as you would have others do unto you," or "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger"—can enrich and transform our lives.

Ratings and reviews

The book is very well written and discusses almost every seminal academic work known to humanity on the subject of understanding happiness. The author does a great job in covering theories in the fields of philosophy, psychology, anthropology, linguistics, computer science and neuroscience. The only part of the book I do not agree with are the solutions the author proposes for changing/altering one’s state of mind. The author suggests meditation, therapy and Prozac. I agree with meditation and therapy but I think Prozac is not an intelligent suggestion. It is more of a cop out or a form of escapism. I would substitute Prozac with proper diet and exercise. It is quite shocking to see how someone as knowledgeable as the author would propose a solution like that. Besides this one point, it is one of the best books I have read!

One of the best books I ever read! Mr. Haidt does an amazing job building his hypothesis. It is one of the few books I keep around for reference. It is not an easy read, but well worth the challenge. I find myself quoting the Happiness Formula (H = S + C + V) to my family and friends. Bottomline, the book is a life changer!

This book is not only delightful to read, but it opens up the readers' eyes to the subtle truths that were always there with insightful personal stories of the author and comprehensive reviews of current psychology literature. This book has changed my life, as it turned out to be the most important manual of all - the manual to myself.

About the author

Jonathan Haidt is the Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership at New York University's Stern School of Business. He is a social psychologist whose research examines morality and the moral emotions. He is the author of The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion, and the coauthor of The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting Up a Generation for Failure.