The Happiness Hypothesis cover art

The Happiness Hypothesis

Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom

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The Happiness Hypothesis

By: Jonathan Haidt
Narrated by: Ryan Vincent Anderson
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About this listen

 The author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Anxious Generation shows how a deeper understanding of the world's philosophical wisdom can enrich and transform our lives

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.
 Anthropology Consciousness & Thought Greek & Roman History Mental Health Mood Disorders Personal Development Personal Success Philosophy Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Social Psychology & Interactions

Critic Reviews

"The Happiness Hypothesis is a wonderful and nuanced book that provides deep insight into the some of the most important questions in life -- Why are we here? What kind of life should we lead? What paths lead to happiness? From the ancient philosophers to cutting edge scientists, Haidt weaves a tapestry of the best and the brightest. His highly original work on elevation and awe -- two long-neglected emotions -- adds a new weave to that tapestry. A truly inspiring book."

—David M. Buss, author of The Evolution of Desire

"In this beautifully written book, Jonathan Haidt shows us the deep connection that exists between cutting-edge psychological research and the wisdom of the ancients. It is inspiring to see how much modern psychology informs life's most central and persistent questions."

—Barry Schwartz, author of The Paradox of Choice

"In our quest for happiness, we must find a balance between modern science and ancient wisdom, between East and West, and between 'left brain' and 'right brain.' Haidt has struck that balance perfectly, and in doing so has given us 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, Director, Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania and author of Authentic Happiness

"Haidt is a fine guide on this journey between past and present, discussing the current complexities of psychological theory with clarity and humor. . . Haidt's is an open-minded, robust look at philosophy, psychological fact and spiritual mystery, of scientific rationalism and the unknowable ephemeral -- an honest inquiry that concludes that the best life is, perhaps, one lived in the balance of opposites."

—Bookpage
All stars
Most relevant
This reader clearly reads without having an understanding of the content in many components of this wonderful book. Consequently his monotone and lack of anything particularly expressive whatsoever requires/necessitates far more concentration Van is/should be necessary.

Incredible book – appallingly read

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This book started a little bit slow for me but picked up the pace in time..
very deep thinking and a great eye opener into happiness theories. great read for a stoic thinker

cracking effort

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breaks it down into bite sized manageable pieces of information that you can use practically.

as with all "self help" or "personal development" books, taking action after reading is key

definitely worth the listen.

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This is genuinely one of the most enjoyable books I have listened to. So much so, that I found it hard to stop listening to continue with what I was doing!

The mix of ancient psychological insight and modern scientific evidence that Johnathan uses to construct his arguments spoke to me in a way that I can't properly put into words, beyond the fact that I truly believe everyone should take the time to listen to this book. I will definitely be gifting this in the future.

Truly phenomenal

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The words are spoken by a voice so unengaged and insignificant, despite efforts to put emphasis on words and phrases that might seem essential in absolute terms (words such as “big” or “very”) but not necessarily in the context of an actual sentence written by a human, that it took me tremendous effort to stay focused and push back the nagging sense that the narrator was in fact a text-to-speech program. I am sure there are many people (not necessarily the author if he has better things to do) who could record this book while conveying a sense of interest regarding its actual content. I was excited to dive into this book this after hearing the author speak on the JRE podcast. But I had to stop listening to this rendition at the first or second chapter, out of frustration and boredom, and return it to Audible. I intend to buy the printed version in the future.

Seems fascinating but the narrator audibly didn’t

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Connecting the dots! What an eye opener. Jonathan lays out compelling theories of why we are the way we are, backed by history and science which connects all the things you already knew, but didn't see the pattern. It gave me a deeper understanding of those who are different than me and a better appreciation of the forces which motivate them. Not only is this book great for self reflection and higher thought, but it explains a framework to understand the human condition and therefore how we can see past our differences to grow further into a mature and empathetic world.

It all finally makes so much sense

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This is a great work that tackles challenging issues with wisdom and insight. The performance is a bit wooden but overall clear and easy to follow.

Wonderful thinking presented well.

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Loved it but it was a bit long winded and dense to listen to. I think this would have been a better read.

Insightful

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Great and interesting book, frustrating that the narration often detracted from the subject. Would have much preferred the author narrate.

Shame about the narrator

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The reader sounds like an automated computerised voice, without breaks or expressiveness whatsoever, it makes it almost unbearable to listen even though the content is great.

Great book but appalling performance

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