The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom

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The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom

4.11 of 5 stars 4.11 · rating details · 4,003 ratings · 421 reviews

In his widely praised book, award-winning psychologist Jonathan Haidt examines the world’s philosophical wisdom through the lens of psychological science, showing how a deeper understanding of 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 even transform our lives.

Paperback, 320 pages

Published December 26th 2006 by Basic Books (first published 2005)

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Mar 03, 2012 Richard rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Richard by: Cognitive Science Reading & Discussion Group

Shelves: cognition, bookclub, philosophy

As I was reading the first few chapters, I put this book on my “to buy” list, but my enthusiasm ebbed as I finished the book, and my natural inclination not to buy books I never expect to re-read has taken over.

But it’s still a book I think I can recommend: it has plenty of interesting and thoughtful points to make, a few that are confusing and disconcerting, as well as some advice towards the front of the book.

The early chapters have a bit of a “self-help” feel that dissipates further into the...more As I was reading the first few chapters, I put this book on my “to buy” list, but my enthusiasm ebbed as I finished the book, and my natural inclination not to buy books I never expect to re-read has taken over.

But it’s still a book I think I can recommend: it has plenty of interesting and thoughtful points to make, a few that are confusing and disconcerting, as well as some advice towards the front of the book.

The early chapters have a bit of a “self-help” feel that dissipates further into the book. (BTW, A or B ?) But since Haidt substantiates his advice with a great deal of neurological evidence and complements it with some “ancient wisdom”, it isn’t too sappy.

For example, he points out that a majority of us “lost the cortical lottery” and see the world through dun-colored glasses for a good reason: pessimism was a survival trait to our paleolithic ancestors. If you hear a rustling in the brush and worry that it’s not a tasty rabbit but a nasty panther, your caution may save your life. Folks too naturally optimistic tended not to survive many of those circumstances, I guess.

He tells us why that cortical disability can be ruinous, and then explains why each of the three current prescriptions works: meditation, cognitive therapy, and SSRIs. As a glass-half-empty person myself, I’m cognitively meditating on the appeal of SSRIs after that.

Most of the rest of the book isn’t self-help at all, but an extended exploration of the many factors that contribute to what makes us happy. Some of these discussions go far afield, such as into altruism and theories of reciprocity, or into the need for a coherent connection to “something greater”. Near the end of the book, Haidt delves into one of his research topics: the cognitive axis of disgust-to-sacredness. His discussions of how this is related to politic ideology is interesting, but when he seems to be arguing that humans will inevitably suffer if they leave the need for the sacred unattended to, he gets a little confusing.

At the end of the book he returns to one of my pet favorite themes, and explores how moral authority and religiosity arose through evolutionary processes.

Perhaps the most memorable take-away is the powerful metaphor of “the rider and the elephant”. The rider is our conscious self, our narrator; the elephant is the subconscious, which too often follows a path that ignores the rider’s directions. Well, actually while I’m pretty sure the metaphor is about conscious-vs-subconscious, other readers I’ve discussed this with have argued for other dichotomies: will-vs-instinct, or intellect-vs-emotion. I’m not sure Haidt uses the metaphor precisely the same way all the time — one of the problems with using a metaphor, after all — but I think the first is still the strongest reading.

All in all, an excellent addition to the Cognition bookshelf.
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Jul 09, 2008 Chris rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everyone

Shelves: cognition

When pitching Jonathan Haidt's "Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom" to friends, I often find myself explaining away the title -- no, it's not another self-help book and yes, it's about more than just plastering a silly smile on your face. With that said, the title is appropriate; Haidt is chiefly concerned with what's responsible for making humans happy.

The title fails, however, to convey the breadth and depth of Haidt's search, which touches on philosophy, psychology,...more When pitching Jonathan Haidt's "Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom" to friends, I often find myself explaining away the title -- no, it's not another self-help book and yes, it's about more than just plastering a silly smile on your face. With that said, the title is appropriate; Haidt is chiefly concerned with what's responsible for making humans happy.

The title fails, however, to convey the breadth and depth of Haidt's search, which touches on philosophy, psychology, economics, evolution, and cognitive science, and skips effortlessly across the centuries, from the Stoics' philosophical minimalism to Ben Franklin's pragmatism to Robert Cialdini's work on Influence.

Haidt documents the evolution of the human mind, producing an overarching narrative that explains everything from the use of gossip and prozac to mental tendencies that steer men away from their stated values and towards self-destruction.

Along with Kluge, this book has profoundly shaped the way I view my brain. Before Haidt, I was aware that our brains appeared to systematically work against our best interest, and that these tendencies manifested in more general cognitive biases. Haidt, however, takes you behind the curtain, and provides a look at what exactly is going on in your brain and the evolutionary logic behind it. This book provided a more systematic take on cognition than the discrete observational work I had previously encountered.

My interest in correcting my cognitive failings largely emanates from my concern with my ability to grasp the truth. Haidt rightly adds that it's profoundly important to happiness in general. Cognitive therapy has allowed many to escape depression by directly attacking distortions in thought. These depressive distortions are direct relatives to those that scare up trouble in all of our lives, and Haidt provides an excellent primer on how to exorcise your cognitive demons through a few different means, thereby improving the way you think and possibly making you happier.(less)

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May 21, 2012 Cheryl in CC NV rated it 5 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this a lot, but it's so rich, and so concise (fifty of those pages are unimportant addendum), that I want to discuss it with others. And I've needed time to think about how to write this review.

It is good science, written by a psychology professor who is a Jewish atheist. He just wants us to think about universal axioms from a balanced perspective. We who are atheists can't deny that religion and spirituality are important to lots of people, so we need to explore that. He does most of...more

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May 12, 2013 Payam rated it 5 of 5 stars

I love this book. I truly do! It is a combination of the three subjects I think about most: psychology, philosophy, and religion.

In the Happiness Hypothesis the (humble) author brings together theories of the past, the theories of religion, and updates them with understandings from psychology. In many ways, he either adjusts traditional thinking with science or he validates traditional thinking with science. It is an excellent approach that must have taken the author a long time to put together...more

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Jan 21, 2013 Karson rated it 3 of 5 stars

The short conclusion at the end of this book was really good. I wish the rest of the book stuck to the author's concise summary a little bit better. In some of Haidt's best advice within the whole book he says, "Just as plants need sun, water, and good soil to thrive, people need love, work, and a connection to something larger." He adds, "You have to get the conditions right, and then wait." There are a lot of other good insights in the book, but I find them to be burried in piles of other not...more

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Dec 09, 2012 Billie Pritchett rated it 3 of 5 stars

Jonathan Haidt's Happiness Hypothesis was like a promissory note that I couldn't cash in for its full value. The hope of the book is that it is going to, as the subtitle reads, reveal the truth in ancient wisdom and find relevance to the lives of folk today. Instead the book marauded much like the big elephant Haidt keeps referring to as the guiding metaphor. Don't get me wrong: I liked the book. But it could have been so much more.

Now that I have the general criticism out of the way, I will tel...more Jonathan Haidt's Happiness Hypothesis was like a promissory note that I couldn't cash in for its full value. The hope of the book is that it is going to, as the subtitle reads, reveal the truth in ancient wisdom and find relevance to the lives of folk today. Instead the book marauded much like the big elephant Haidt keeps referring to as the guiding metaphor. Don't get me wrong: I liked the book. But it could have been so much more.

Now that I have the general criticism out of the way, I will tell you what is good about it. Haidt talks about how, as the Buddha suggested, people are much like the combination of the rider on the back of an elephant and the elephant itself. The rider is much like the rational part of the human brain, and the elephant is like the emotional or intuitive part. Ultimately, the rider cannot control the elephant through force but through practice, vigilance, and considerable effort, the rider can coax the elephant this way and that. The rider will not always succeed at this, however.

The metaphor of the rider and the elephant proves to be relevant for the sequence of the book because the book uses it as a means to explain why people have such a difficult time being happy, and for those who succeed how they do it. Basically, Haidt argues, you state of happiness is a formula. Your state of happiness is your initial state of contentment in the world plus your environmental conditions plus your personal choices and actions. You can't change your initial state, and, to continue with the metaphor it is just a basic psychological fact that some people are born with more of an unruly elephant and some people are born with a relatively tame elephant or somewhere in between. Nevertheless, you can definitely change some of your personal choices and actions and you can often change some of your environmental conditions, like where you work or (at least sometimes) with whom you fraternize.

Haidt proposes three main ways to change your state of happiness, and then toys with some other ways you could further increase your happiness level. The core three are cognitive therapy, a matter of training yourself to get rid of your stinkin' thinkin'; meditation, a way that Haidt claims has been demonstrated to be beneficial for you if done at least 15 minutes every day; and psychopharmacology, which include drugs like Prozac among others. Some of the other suggestions he makes include seeking the ultimate meaning of life in love for friends, family, significant others, and activities that you love, and if you could especially do the latter with the work you do for a living then you are well on your well to increasing your happiness level. He also suggests cultivating a spirit of virtue and joining a religious organization.

Again, I liked the book, and I am very happy for the ideas that it turned me toward, and I really love it for its encouragement to consider cognitive therapy, meditation, and religious tradition as avenues to increase happiness. Also the love stuff.(less)

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Aug 28, 2012 Michael rated it 5 of 5 stars

One of the best books I have read this year, a must read. A lot of current psychological research on the human condition presented along with a good dose of ancient wisdom and philosophy. It's not just a self help book on happiness - but gives a comprehensive picture of what it's all about.

The publisher's title for and capsule summary of "The Happiness Hypothesis" doesn't do full justice to the exceptional range of learning, research, and wisdom that combine in this book. It's not pop psychology...more

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Jul 23, 2012 Caren rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult-nonfiction

I picked up this book because I enjoyed Mr. Haidt's most recent book ,"The Righteous Mind", so much. You can see some of the precursors to that book in this one. The author teaches psychology at the University of Virginia, with his area of research being moral psychology and the way morals vary across cultures. In this book, he looks at different ideas from philosophy about what makes people happy, comparing the ideas against current research in neuroscience. As in his newer book, he uses the an...more I picked up this book because I enjoyed Mr. Haidt's most recent book ,"The Righteous Mind", so much. You can see some of the precursors to that book in this one. The author teaches psychology at the University of Virginia, with his area of research being moral psychology and the way morals vary across cultures. In this book, he looks at different ideas from philosophy about what makes people happy, comparing the ideas against current research in neuroscience. As in his newer book, he uses the analogy of the person being like an elephant who is directed by a small, rational rider atop. We bumble through so much of life on auto-pilot while that little reasonable voice in our minds tries to talk some sense into us. Sometimes we heed its advice; often we never hear it. One point that interested me is that people have a genetic set-point as to how happy/optimistic or miserable/pessimistic they will be. This can be moderated by three actions: meditation, cognitive therapy, or taking Prozac. He also gives a sort of formula for influencing happiness: Happiness=Set point + Conditions (the most important being "love and social connections" and "work that allows for 'flow'")+ Voluntary activities. Speaking of work, he says most people approach their work in one of three ways: as a job, a career, or a calling(pg. 221). A job means you do it for the money, while watching the clock and dreaming of your time away from work when you can pursue the hobbies you love; a career means you have goals and and hope to advance, although sometimes you feel it is all a "rat race"; a calling means you find the work itself fulfilling and would do it regardless of any pay or prestige associated with it. As in most of his explanations, he throws in personal experiences that enliven and illustrate the idea at hand. (I would love to take one of his classes; he really seems to be a wonderful teacher.) I marked all sorts of interesting books and websites referred to in the text for my own future perusal. The book is clearly presented and easy to follow. I enjoyed it immensely. (less)

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Jun 01, 2012 Erika RS rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is squarely in the genre of experimental psychology digested for a popular audience. As such, it is full of commentary on experiments, many of which are familiar to readers of this genre (yes, he mentions the marshmallows).

That said, this is a particularly good example of this genre. Unlike many authors in this genre, Haidt is both author and researcher. This seems to have had some positive effects. He makes clear the difference between the well-agreed upon results of the research and...more This book is squarely in the genre of experimental psychology digested for a popular audience. As such, it is full of commentary on experiments, many of which are familiar to readers of this genre (yes, he mentions the marshmallows).

That said, this is a particularly good example of this genre. Unlike many authors in this genre, Haidt is both author and researcher. This seems to have had some positive effects. He makes clear the difference between the well-agreed upon results of the research and his own extensions of those interpretations. Even when talking about his own work, the distinction is there, although less so. He also gives the impression of having thought more deeply about his subject matter than non-researching authors.

As the title implies, this book is about happiness, and it is about evaluating ancient wisdom from the viewpoint of modern science. Happiness, not surprisingly, covers everything from relationships and stuff to work to morality and religion. I think the breadth of Haidt's explorations is part of what I like.

But what really makes the ideas in this book stick is Haidt's juxtaposition of ancient wisdom and modern findings. After realizing that he could use quotations from various sources of ancient wisdom to help his students remember ideas in his psychology classes, Haidt decided to find the common pieces of ancient wisdom and then evaluate them against the experimental results. The resulting pieces of wisdom come from many sources: the Bible, the Bhagavad Gita, the Koran, the Dhammapada, the Tao Te Ching, Aristotle and other Greek thinkers, Shakespeare, Benjamin Franklin, and more.

Many of these pieces of wisdom hold up well under modern knowledge. Many others, however, are at odds with how people actually work. The evaluation is interesting. And independent of the validity of the ideas is the way that this book makes clear how almost all of the really big ideas about happiness and human nature are common across many cultures, religions, and times.(less)

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Mar 27, 2012 David rated it 2 of 5 stars

Jonathan Haidt sets out to explore ancient and modern approaches to happiness, with Buddhism highlighted as one of the main 'ancient' approaches. What becomes quickly clear, however, is his ignorance of Buddhist teachings. Jonathan rejects one narrow set of Buddhist teachings - those to do with non-attachment - then goes onto emphasise how important relationships with others are to happiness, without any reference to the fact that love and compassion are also regarded as central to happiness in...more

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Feb 10, 2012 Nancy rated it 5 of 5 stars

The Happiness Hypothesis is a synthesis of information from positive psychology, social psychology, philosophy, biology and religion to explore what is most likely to make individuals lead satisfying, happy lives. Although the author makes it clear that he is an atheist, he should be given credit for his recognition of the strengths offered to individuals and communities by religion and his respectful treatment of the subject of religion.

This could have been a very dry book. The author consiste...more

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Jul 29, 2011 Jason Yang rated it 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book. Jonathan Haidt presents a very balanced discussion on positive psychology with allusions to themes from Eastern and Western philosophies and religions and empirical evidence from various psychology experiments.

He writes in a language and tone that is personal and accessible and I appreciate his honesty in sharing his personal journey. Unlike many other positive psychology pieces I've come across, Haidt does not advocate any particular worldview, other than the idea that there...more

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Jul 27, 2011 Michael Johnston rated it 4 of 5 stars

Finished reading this last night. Two things first - 1) the book is not really about ancient wisdom. It's primarily about current research/thinking in the field of Psychology on emotional happiness. 2) The first third of the book is among the most depressing things I have ever read. The book starts by focusing on the view that humans have virtually no control over our own ability to be happy (or miserable). It's genetic - we are born with an innate predisposition towards personal happiness or mi...more

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Mar 07, 2011 Julie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: business-and-society, religion-philosophy-spirituality

I've been slogging away at this book for nearly a month, which is unusual for me. Usually, if I stall on a book (as I did with three other books I started reading over the month of February), I simply put it down with a note that it's been partially read. But The Happiness Hypothesis was so compelling that I kept coming back after putting it down and letting my mind digest the material. It's a book that's designed to be read slowly.

I discovered this book through Switch, by Chip and Dan Heath, wh...more

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Dec 24, 2010 Monthly Book Group rated it 4 of 5 stars

The proposer had found the book to be stimulating and thought-provoking. It was a cross-disciplinary amalgam of fable, literature, psychology, philosophy, literature, and genetics and own-life experience. Haidt’s approach was based on evidence rather than assertion. The style was very accessible and readable, and revealed enough personal information about the writer to humanise the book without making it irritating.

The proposer had been sufficiently impressed to read the book twice, and skim it...more The proposer had found the book to be stimulating and thought-provoking. It was a cross-disciplinary amalgam of fable, literature, psychology, philosophy, literature, and genetics and own-life experience. Haidt’s approach was based on evidence rather than assertion. The style was very accessible and readable, and revealed enough personal information about the writer to humanise the book without making it irritating.

The proposer had been sufficiently impressed to read the book twice, and skim it for a third time. He had recommended it to both his daughters, who were in turn enthusing about it to their friends. It was thus a book that was creating interest across the generations.

The majority of the group shared his enthusiasm. This was so much more than the standard American self-help manual that some had feared. Haidt had a remarkable ability to make complex ideas and research accessible, and to encompass a vast range of learning in concise and elegantly written prose. The range and density of the subjects covered was such that many would want to read the book for a second time to get the full benefit from it. It was an understated book which – unlike, for example, “The Black Swan” - did not trumpet its own virtues.

While much of the book did indeed focus on issues of what made people happy and the possible meaning of life, the book was much broader than that. It provided a wide survey of much modern psychological research, and of many systems of philosophy. To pick up one of Haidt’s own themes, the journey through the book was more rewarding than the destination it reached. Thus the title of the book – no doubt proposed by the publisher - was rather misleading. The yellow Mr Happy smile cover had proved something of an embarrassment to those reading the book in a public place, but at least it reflected the appealing fact that the book did not take itself too seriously….

This is an extract from a review at: http://www.monthlybookgroup.com/ Our reviews are also to be found at http://monthlybookgroup.blogspot.com/

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Jul 22, 2010 Jenny added it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I originally read this book for my Encounters in Humanities course. I remember settling down on the couch for a long, boring read (as I judged by the barefaced cover and a skim over the title). Although not every part is enthralling, this book has taught me, personally, so much. It also served its purpose incredibly well in the class; I was filled with questions, and insights into human nature I would have never explored on my own.
The part of the book that hit me hardest was the section on lov...more

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Jun 26, 2010 Nathanael rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book captured exactly why I was uncomfortable with Acton's 'behavioral economics' discussions. The author assumes that science is the ultimate arbiter of truth. This book brings the wisdom of the ancients (philosophy) to contemporary science, and judges philosophy with the ultimate of scientific tests: correlative studies. Some cool ideas emerged about why the ancients may have been right; but what I saw emerge was far more troubling.

The author assumes we can then connect the 'is' to some s...more

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May 05, 2010 FiveBooks added it

Shelves: fivebooks-on-neuroscience

New York Times columnist David Brooks has chosen to discuss The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom by Jonathan on FiveBooks as one of the top five on his subject – Neuroscience, saying that:

“…Haidt uses the metaphor of a boy riding an elephant. The boy is the conscious reasoning part of the brain and it can see very far, and make certain steering decisions, but most of the work is done by the elephant, which is the unconscious part of the brain. Haidt’s work is to try t...more

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Jan 22, 2010 Bob Nichols rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

At the end of his book, Haidt says there are two ways we look at the meaning of life. One way looks at humans from the outside, where people are objects within a broader cosmic context. Meaning here is speculative, ranging from God-given hope and destiny to a mechanical and meaningless universe. The other way looks at humans from within, where people exist as subjects. Here, Haidt argues that science can establish some basic empirical truths.

Drawing on a wide variety of evidence, Haidt argues t...more At the end of his book, Haidt says there are two ways we look at the meaning of life. One way looks at humans from the outside, where people are objects within a broader cosmic context. Meaning here is speculative, ranging from God-given hope and destiny to a mechanical and meaningless universe. The other way looks at humans from within, where people exist as subjects. Here, Haidt argues that science can establish some basic empirical truths.

Drawing on a wide variety of evidence, Haidt argues that we operate most fundamentally on a like/don't like basis, similar to the pleasure/pain theories seen in certain philosophical (Epicurean, Utilitarian) schools. This is what provides us with meaning, but it gets more complicated from here on out as happiness comes in different forms. It comes as attachment to the things of the world, non-attachment (Buddhism, Stoics) or, in what Haidt believes is the truest form of happiness, we engage the world in ways that transcend self-orientation. This latter form of happiness is the subject of his last chapter and, surprisingly, this is the weakest part of his book.

But otherwise, Haidt does a good job of drawing from the chapters of evolutionary psychology without going overboard. He says that we ride the elephant, and think the rider is in charge, but emotion and passion does most of the work. It is these that provide us with motivation and meaning, and we have a "like-o-meter" to everything we experience.

The elephant is shaped by natural selection "to win at the game of life." We can train the elephant, but the rider is the servant or advisor, not the king. This perspective of course stands in contrast to Plato and the rationalist philosophy that followed. This tradition Haidt provokingly characterizes with a question, "Why do philosophers hate love? For Plato and Kant and the others, reason, not our animal nature, is the gift of gods.

Likes and dislikes, however, send confusing signals. Haidt notes that the body is split into modules, each with its own emotions and agenda, split into the left and right brains, split into old and new brains, and split between the controlled and automatic brains. Our body is a confederation and conflict and irrationality come with the territory. Nevertheless, certain patterns emerge that collectively lead us, Haidt believes, to a vital engagement with life.

Refreshingly, Haidt supports the case for group selection, which gives humans a stronger care giving social nature (altruism-reciprocity) than allowed by neo-Darwinian theory. Haidt, though, goes too far when he suggests that humans need social attachment in the ways we traditionally think of this term. On this key social dimension, we range from very social to less social. Variation on the bell curve seems both reasonable based on what we see and consistent with the variation inherent in Darwinian theory.

This is a very balanced look at human nature that steers its way carefully between the two almost ideological camps (man as animal; and man as uniquely special). In a way, Haidt makes the case that our own animal nature is the gift of the gods. (less)

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Oct 18, 2009 Mike Moore rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book has a lot going against it. The title is dippy, it's filed under self-help, and the author is attempting to condense the wisdom of the world's great traditions into easily consumed pop psychology.

He is, ultimately, quite successful.

I'm taking a star off, mostly because he has a few weak chapters and he's not a fabulous writer, but make no mistake: I consider this book to be a fine achievement that blends moral philosophy and current directions in psychology into a unified whole. Think...more

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Aug 27, 2009 Lynn rated it 4 of 5 stars

I picked up this book because of recommendations by other people who generally have good taste, my taste :). I was hesitant because it seemed like a pop psychology self help book. Self help books always consist of authors hectoring people to change their attitude about the world. This book acknowledged the fact, but didn't pretend to have a secret formula.

Here are a few ideas the author developed throughout the book which resonated with me.

- How we think about the world is more important than ho...more

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Aug 07, 2009 Orton Family Foundation rated it 5 of 5 stars

I’ve often marveled at how seemingly rational people can forgo reason when engaged in public debate over a land use issue. A few years back I was involved in a community meeting about a new village scale project being proposed for the center of a small Vermont town. Even faced with a plethora of facts, figures and testimonials to the contrary, many people held fast to their belief that the project—designed to mimic the design and spacing of the clustered houses already in the village center—woul...more I’ve often marveled at how seemingly rational people can forgo reason when engaged in public debate over a land use issue. A few years back I was involved in a community meeting about a new village scale project being proposed for the center of a small Vermont town. Even faced with a plethora of facts, figures and testimonials to the contrary, many people held fast to their belief that the project—designed to mimic the design and spacing of the clustered houses already in the village center—would result in traffic congestion, loss of views and lost sleep due to noisy neighbors. People too easily ignored the positive aspects of the project—avoidance of sprawl, better traffic flow from a new street network—and dwelled only on potential, if unlikely, negative effects. It proved difficult for people to think openly and rationally about this project. Thanks to a new book about happiness, of all things, I am beginning to understand why.

In his book, The Happiness Hypothesis, Jonathan Haidt (a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia) offers insight into where this type of irrational response comes from and why it is so hard for us to change our opinions and our behavior. Combining the wisdom of the past (from Freud to Buddha, Shakespeare to the Bible) with the latest cognitive research, Haidt engages the reader in an insightful exploration of what makes us happy and how we find meaning in our lives, and offers clues to understanding erratic personal and social behavior along the way. Many of the clues come from an understanding of the workings of the human mind—much of the book is devoted to this, starting with a very readable discussion of brain physiology and its impact on human responses. Throughout the book, Haidt provides a menu of things that we need to consider, work on, and ultimately achieve in order to find happiness. This could have resulted in a “self help” book but, thankfully, The Happiness Hypothesis avoids that fate.

Of particular usefulness to the planning field, or at least for understanding the dynamic of the meeting I attended, is the description of how the human mind is divided and often in conflict, resulting in a situation where feelings take preference over reasoning. Haidt uses the analogy of a rider (our rational and conscious self or ego) trying to control an elephant that often has its own desires and agenda (our unconscious, emotional self) to explain why we often have difficulty behaving in a rational way. It turns out it is sometimes very hard to control what our elephant does.

Haidt takes this concept further by looking at the evolution of the brain. In order to survive, humans have learned to take quick action when faced with a threat (“that is something that can eat me”) and respond slower when faced with opportunity (“should I catch and eat that frog now or later?”). As our species evolved, the fearful and cautious response was reinforced because it helped us survive and has now been hardwired into our brains. Consequently, our brain’s automatic system, our survival mechanism, is much stronger and more developed than our controlled system which reasons and plans, weighing pros and cons before taking action. The result is that we respond first, and rational thought comes later.

We don’t necessarily need such a strong automatic response today, but remnants of it give us what Haidt refers to as a “negative bias” and explain why we react strongly to threats, like a new kind development next door, that we fear may impact our quality of life, even if our reaction is irrational or pre-rational. This makes it difficult for us to engage in new or forward thinking. It also reduces the likelihood that we will be influenced by facts or arguments that speak to the rational rider, but not to the emotional elephant. To make matters worse, our brain is hard-wired to invent a rational argument or justification for our irrational behavior (i.e., the rider will invent an explanation for why the elephant does something that makes no sense).

The take-home message—as it relates to planning and bringing about changes in attitude and behavior—is to not focus so much on conscious thought (the rider), and the typical rational analysis of a situation in order to influence a decision, but rather to find ways to train the elephant to think and behave differently. Haidt suggests personal work to understand and improve ourselves as individuals, offering up meditation, cognitive therapy and Prozac as the three main pathways to this retraining. Although a part of me is really tempted to find out what would happen if all planning meeting participants were given a mood altering drug prior to public debate, I think there are less controversial approaches worth exploring first. Perhaps we need to de-emphasize the facts and set the ground work for a better public process by finding ways to help people in our communities understand their social lives, and habitual responses and behaviors, in a way that makes it possible for them to be less influenced by the behavior of their elephant. Then maybe they can engage with others more effectively. Complete Buddhist enlightenment may be too much to hope for, but if everyone worked a little harder to acknowledge and rein in their elephants we’d all be better off.

Read more reviews by the Orton Family Foundation in our Scenarios e-journal at http://www.orton.org/resources/public...

-Karen Yacos(less)

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Jul 24, 2009 Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance rated it 3 of 5 stars

And thus we move, logically, to The Happiness Hypothesis. Ben Tanaka, main character of Shortcomings, could use The Happiness Hypothesis. Ginger Pye and the rest of the Pye family apparently intuitively knew The Happiness Hypothesis.
Haidt looks at ancient wisdom and compares it to the result of the new science of positive psychology. Some of the things I learned from this book:

*Reciprocity is the best guide to life. This is the classic “Do unto others” thought.

*There are three effective ways t...more

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Jul 13, 2007 Melissa rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: people who work w/ people

This book is witty, well-researched, well organized, helpful... and I love the author's voice. It's a great Great GREAT book to read if you find yourself with a bit of a black cloud over your head... It's the opposite of an "Atkins Diet"-like book: he doesn't propose some sort of whacky 14-step program to become happy. He just dissects all of the various aspects of life and lays out the results logically, and you find yourself with a mirror in your hand. It's really a great book.

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Oct 23, 2011 Sandy Parsons rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is a highly accessible and practical book for both how to incorporate more happiness into your life as well as why those things work. Here's an example: Most Americans, if given the choice would rather have a raise than an extra week of vacation, but the extra time off would actually make you happier. And the corollary to that is that if you spend your money on 'things' you won't be as happy as if you spent your money on 'time', especially if the time is spent with people doing things you l...more

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Jul 15, 2009 Matildabrown2003 Brown rated it 5 of 5 stars

Such an amazingly interesting read, this book came recommended by my mother at a time when I was feeling particularly sorry for myself. And slapped it right out of me. You may find this book in the 'self-help' section at your local book store but it is so much more. Haidt makes learning fun!!! It's true. From what I remember... psychological explanations on the human brain and all it's complexities to philosophies on love, religion and even the hygiene differences between our fellow homo-sapiens...more

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May 10, 2013 Alan rated it 5 of 5 stars

A seminal and ancient goal of both philosophy and religion is to identify the characteristics of "the good life" and provide guidance on how to get achieve the good life. In this book, Jonathan Haidt uses psychological research to categorize and confirm some of the wisdom of the Ancients. Haidt explains why the ancient advice works and the limitations of this advice. In doing so, an equations for happiness is derived:

Happiness = f( genetic disposition
+ inward attitude
+ outward relationships +...more A seminal and ancient goal of both philosophy and religion is to identify the characteristics of "the good life" and provide guidance on how to get achieve the good life. In this book, Jonathan Haidt uses psychological research to categorize and confirm some of the wisdom of the Ancients. Haidt explains why the ancient advice works and the limitations of this advice. In doing so, an equations for happiness is derived:

Happiness = f( genetic disposition
+ inward attitude
+ outward relationships +
+ engagement with things you do)

Haidt describes how ancient advice, modern psychological techniques, and drugs can be used to improve your happiness score and improve each of the areas.

I became familiar with the author through a TED video, in which Haidt presents a set of axis on which the moral differences between liberals and conservatives can be compared -- a wonderful insightful talk. It was this talk that made me want to read his book and I was not disappointed.

I was already familiar with some of the material included. And Haidt presented this in interesting ways. For example the Paradox of Choice - we prefer more rather than fewer choices. But when we finally do choose, we tend to be much less satisfied with our selection of one item if we do have greater choices. I also found the information on purity values, very interesting. I tend to not think of purity choices as a moral decisions. But now I have a better understanding of why other people might look at purity as a moral choice. The discussion on what count's as an answer to the "meaning of life" was great. In this section Haidt has ideas very similar to my own, but more fully fleshed out.

Some of Haidt's discussions on engagement and flow may be familiar to readers of Daniel Pink's "Drive." Although to be fair, while I read Drive first, Happiness Hypothesis is an earlier book.

I found this book very interesting and engaging. If the topics I described above appeal to you, then I highly recommend this book.
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Apr 26, 2010 Dara rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: psychology, reviewed

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 tra...more

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Jan 25, 2013 Brendan rated it 3 of 5 stars

I thought this was OK, but it didn't quite meet my expectations. The main focus is on current research in "positive psychology", though he spends a fair amount of time explaining how this relates to (1) traditional philosophical and religious theories about the "good life" and (2) research in evolutionary biology and psychology. My main issues were two: first, I think that he occasionally presents controversial research as if it were settled fact and second, I think that his presentation and ana...more

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Mar 14, 2013 Sally rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks

This was an interesting book in some respects. Since I had never studied psychology, it was interesting to hear some of the ancient philosophers' ideas on what people are like and why they act as they do, and to hear of various studies that have been done along those lines.

However, there were two things that made me feel that this was not a great book. One was that instead of feeling that I was moving towards happiness and an understanding of what might be the direction to take towards a more me...more

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About Jonathan Haidt

Jonathan Haidt is the Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership at New York University's Stern School of Business. He is the author of The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion and The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom. He lives in New York City.

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“The rider evolved to serve to the elephant.” — 10 people liked it

“If you are in passionate love and want to celebrate your passion, read poetry. If your ardor has calmed and you want to understand your evolving relationship, read psychology. But if you have just ended a relationship and would like to believe you are better off without love, read philosophy.” — 6 people liked it

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