The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom
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- Create Date：2021-04-15 13:57:14
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Jonathan Haidt
- ISBN：0465028020
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Reviews
Kannatee Jaikaew
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The Happiness Hypothesis。 432 หน้า เป็นนส。ที่ควรอ่าน อ่านแล้วรู้สึกความคิดหรือมุมมองบางเรื่องดีขึ้นมีความสุขกับเรื่องต่างๆรอบตัวมากขึ้น คิดว่าจะเป็นนส。ทฤษฎีที่ยากและหนัก แต่กลายเป็นว่าหนังสือมีการยก Ref。 มาเยอะมาก ยิ่งอ่านยิ่งสนุก รู้สึกดีที่เกิดมาถูกลอตเตอรี่ทางสมอง 🌈😊
Sofia
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I did enjoy this book！ It was a bit more challenging to read than what I’m used to， but I loved how it included science and very old texts to make the points！
Andrew Rohrman
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At times this got really dry but there’s some really interesting and applicable parts。 I think the reading experience would be improved had the author prefaced some parts with a clearer motivation for their relevance to the overarching “happiness hypothesis。”
HornDevil
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Hyvin mielenkiintoinen ja monelta kantilta onnellisuutta pohtiva teos。 Viihdyin。
Keets
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Some good nuggets about the intersection of ancient wisdom and modern science and what it means for living a fulfilled life。 Dragged a little at times， but informative nonetheless。
Bon Tom
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Above all expectations。 Don't let the cover fool you （it's a bit new-agey）。 This is a real science， hard psychology and lots of intelligence， common sense and depth in between。 Ok， maybe the cover isn't that bad :） And it's not even all about happiness。 I'd say it's a lot wider than that。 Above all expectations。 Don't let the cover fool you （it's a bit new-agey）。 This is a real science， hard psychology and lots of intelligence， common sense and depth in between。 Ok， maybe the cover isn't that bad :） And it's not even all about happiness。 I'd say it's a lot wider than that。 。。。more
Josh Saleska
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This is Haidt at his best， combining ancient wisdom with modern science to explore the human mind。 His insights give dimension to our reality beyond the flatness of pure chemistry。 He elevates the reader to a place where truth and meaning may be found beyond what is merely observable。 I think the primary reason I like Haidt so much is his challenge of western ideals - individualism and moral relativity。 Counterintuitively， these ideals actually make for a less happy population， with more inciden This is Haidt at his best， combining ancient wisdom with modern science to explore the human mind。 His insights give dimension to our reality beyond the flatness of pure chemistry。 He elevates the reader to a place where truth and meaning may be found beyond what is merely observable。 I think the primary reason I like Haidt so much is his challenge of western ideals - individualism and moral relativity。 Counterintuitively， these ideals actually make for a less happy population， with more incidences of anxiety/depression， suicide， and antisocial behavior。 He builds up religion as something that binds communities and may lead to a greater sense of purpose （even though this result isn't specific to religion only）。 Following a set of outdated and unscientific rules is the antithesis of modern American thinking。 Nevertheless Haidt validates these practices， and even follows some of them。 He goes one further and provocatively states in a matter of words， "。。。science could learn something from religion。" Religions have become stale due to religious bureaucrats and company-men who want to guard orthodoxy for its own sake。 It was originally created to preserve the "nobler self" that was discovered during peak experiences of awe and wonder。 Science has suffered the same fate and has become stale。 Science is about cataloguing the laws of the world with no sense of awe。 It has become the study of what is， instead of the study of what is good。 There is a division of labor in academia， where the "good and beautiful" are the realm of the humanities， leaving science a cold and calculating field。 If "awe" as an experience that arouses fear， amazement， and the shrinking of oneself， then science and religion have the same source of inspiration。 I feel enlightened by Haidt， as he turns my general feelings into precise metaphors。 For example， "Having children come up with their own set of virtues （ie by looking within themselves for guidance） is like asking them to create their own personal language， a pointless task if there is no one for whom to speak with。"Haidt believes this idea of modern ethics turning towards the study moral reasoning instead of the study of virtues is a profound mistake and his arguments are compelling。 I had never given thought to the way he presents it。 Through his research and social experiments， he finds that 'reasoning' is a secondary effect， not a cause to action。 In other words， "trying to make a child to behave by reasoning is like trying to make a dog happy by wagging its tale。 It gets causality backwards。" 。。。more
Zhi Xun
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Splendid read。 Conclusively， happiness described in this book is not found solely externally or internally but in between both。 We too， ought to be mindful to our ‘elephant and rider’ when making decisions。
PJ
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Wow， a book with a concrete answer to the meaning of life， why we love， and how to attain happiness。 Such value is a rare and useful find。 It goes on my list of absolute game changers。
Mike
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Deep dive， and cleverly written。
Hugh_Manatee
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“An important dictum of cultural psychology is that each culture develops expertise in some aspects of human existence， but no culture can be expert in all aspects。 The same goes for the two ends of the political spectrum。 My research3 confirms the common perception that liberals are experts in thinking about issues of victimization， equality， autonomy， and the rights of individuals， particularly those of minorities and nonconformists。 Conservatives， on the other hand， are experts in thinking ab “An important dictum of cultural psychology is that each culture develops expertise in some aspects of human existence， but no culture can be expert in all aspects。 The same goes for the two ends of the political spectrum。 My research3 confirms the common perception that liberals are experts in thinking about issues of victimization， equality， autonomy， and the rights of individuals， particularly those of minorities and nonconformists。 Conservatives， on the other hand， are experts in thinking about loyalty to the group， respect for authority and tradition， and sacredness。4 When one side overwhelms the other， the results are likely to be ugly"An intriguing， multifaceted and enjoyable book。 Hate the cover。 。。。more
Ryan
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Some really helpful corrective perspective on where we seek our happiness。
Christopher
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The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt provides a reader about how one can be happy。 It digs deep in 10 different sections on happiness such as physiological， adversity， virtue， reciprocity， mindset， etc。 There plenty of examples and quotes from ancient wisdom such as in the Bible， Buddha， Epictetus， etc。 Its a great read to learn the different ways one can define happiness。 Overall grade 8/10
Kobi Lee
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Johntahn Haidt is something of a Carl Sagan for psychology。 Clearly passionate about his field and gifted in his ability to accessibly communicate complex scientific ideas to laypeople。Perhaps his analogies are too simplistic。 Nevertheless， he offers useful and functional conceptual models to better understand human minds and behavior。 As an aside， there is a fair bit of overlap b/w this book and his other book， The Righteous Mind。 Specifically， he references many of the same studies in both bo Johntahn Haidt is something of a Carl Sagan for psychology。 Clearly passionate about his field and gifted in his ability to accessibly communicate complex scientific ideas to laypeople。Perhaps his analogies are too simplistic。 Nevertheless， he offers useful and functional conceptual models to better understand human minds and behavior。 As an aside， there is a fair bit of overlap b/w this book and his other book， The Righteous Mind。 Specifically， he references many of the same studies in both books。 Overall this book is rich with psychological insight and certainly worth a read。 Will cast light--both illuminating and sometimes challenging--on your own pursuit of happiness。 A fun， accesible， and informative dose of pop psychology 。。。more
Luke DeGraaf
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Great book， shows many of the advantages of learning about different cultures and some decent in depth psychology but he keeps it simple enough for someone without a background in the field to understand。 I give it 3 stars because he focuses on eastern culture the majority of the time， which is fine， but he also quotes the Bible every now and then but hardly elaborates on it。 It seems that in his writing of the book， he tried to understand eastern culture from a outsiders perspective （which I be Great book， shows many of the advantages of learning about different cultures and some decent in depth psychology but he keeps it simple enough for someone without a background in the field to understand。 I give it 3 stars because he focuses on eastern culture the majority of the time， which is fine， but he also quotes the Bible every now and then but hardly elaborates on it。 It seems that in his writing of the book， he tried to understand eastern culture from a outsiders perspective （which I believe he did quite well） but not Christian and Jewish thoughts from the outsiders perspective。 He says he’s a atheist but grew up jewish， so perhaps he believes he understands it， but I do not think he does。 It’s a beautiful insight into other cultures， just not nearly enough into our own。 。。。more
Jerrid Kruse
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An excellent synthesis by a Jewish atheist psychologist of ancient traditions and modern psychology。 The notion that we should not seek external happiness is refined to recognize that particular external things might be worth striving for such as shorter commutes， work you find meaningful， and less structures on your time so that you can pursue meaningful relationships。 The book recognizes balance needed between both conservative and liberal thinking。 It likely reads overly conservative to liber An excellent synthesis by a Jewish atheist psychologist of ancient traditions and modern psychology。 The notion that we should not seek external happiness is refined to recognize that particular external things might be worth striving for such as shorter commutes， work you find meaningful， and less structures on your time so that you can pursue meaningful relationships。 The book recognizes balance needed between both conservative and liberal thinking。 It likely reads overly conservative to liberals and overly liberal to conservatives， but to focus on the politics is to miss the point， I think。 。。。more
Benji
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I feel like I learned a lot from this book and it definitely had an impact on the way I think about happiness。 This isn't a book that gives you all the answers， but it gives you plenty to think about and reflect on。 It covers a very broad range of topics （love， work， morality， politics， psychology， religion etc） all from a modern scientific perspective - the author is clearly very well-read and although there was plenty in this book I'd already heard of， there was also plenty that I hadn't and I I feel like I learned a lot from this book and it definitely had an impact on the way I think about happiness。 This isn't a book that gives you all the answers， but it gives you plenty to think about and reflect on。 It covers a very broad range of topics （love， work， morality， politics， psychology， religion etc） all from a modern scientific perspective - the author is clearly very well-read and although there was plenty in this book I'd already heard of， there was also plenty that I hadn't and I gained some new and really interesting insights。My main personal takeaway from this book is that I should invest more in the people in my life and the relationships I have， and it's interesting that I could say that from an entirely selfish point of view as evidence suggests that it is likely to make me happier！There were some other interesting personal takeaways in here， like how Buddhism and Soicism are correct in saying happiness comes from within， but may not be entirely correct in implying it does not come from external conditions。 I also like the traditional idea of morality as virtue and am quite compelled by the idea of developing my strengths and character as a path towards virtue （as opposed to focussing solely on the moral quality of my actions）。The author's discussion on religion has also made me wonder whether we have not lost something in the process of removing the categories of profane and sacred from our world， and I found the discussion around the axis of conservative vs liberal quite interesting - I definitely agree both sides of the political spectrum can be guilty of painting the other as evil which can harm political discourse and blind them from attaining a more holistic and integrative perspective。Very good book and worth reading for anyone with an interest in the area of positive psychology。 。。。more
Jonghyun Lee
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Best book I ever readThis book can be life-changing。 It opens me up a whole new direction in life。（but a direction ever present unconsciously） Reader of this book can incorporate this direction into one's life and enrich life。 Best book I ever readThis book can be life-changing。 It opens me up a whole new direction in life。（but a direction ever present unconsciously） Reader of this book can incorporate this direction into one's life and enrich life。 。。。more
Uldis Lazdiņš
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This book has evidence/experiment observations。This book has psychology。This book has philosophy。A little bit of political discussion， a little bit of religious discussion - but all of it: spot on！And most importantly - at the end it attempts to answer the Holy Question - what is the meaning of life？ - and does it most skillfully。 Read this book！
Eliana Popa
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Fără doar şi poate， ipoteza fericirii este cea mai bună carte de neuroștiință citită până acum。Analogiile alese de către autor fac informațiile accesibile tuturor。Recomand cu drag această carte tuturor celor care încearcă să înţeleagă unul dintre cele mai mari mistere: creierul uman。
Meagan
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Much more scientific than I was expecting - expected more personal growth and less "let's get into the biology of this。" Much more scientific than I was expecting - expected more personal growth and less "let's get into the biology of this。" 。。。more
Lindsay
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Not so much ancient wisdom as it is a summary of modern research。
Nasim Ravi
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 فرضیهی خوشبختی: یافتن حقیقت مدرن در خرد باستان
Vishal kukreja
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The best book on happiness
Youp
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Summary:An exciting premise with lots of gems strewn across the pages， yet suffers heavily from a lack of structure and practical takeaways。Full Version:I am completely on the fence about this book。 Perhaps my expectations were unrealistic， given that I had read Jonathan Haidt's other books in reverse order。 His third book was my introduction to the author; I absolutely loved it。 I read his second book next， which I liked despite some minor flaws in the later chapters。 Last on my list was his de Summary:An exciting premise with lots of gems strewn across the pages， yet suffers heavily from a lack of structure and practical takeaways。Full Version:I am completely on the fence about this book。 Perhaps my expectations were unrealistic， given that I had read Jonathan Haidt's other books in reverse order。 His third book was my introduction to the author; I absolutely loved it。 I read his second book next， which I liked despite some minor flaws in the later chapters。 Last on my list was his debut， The Happiness Hypothesis， based on the premise of putting ancient wisdom to the test of modern science。 Out of the three books， this was the one I was most excited about， yet it turned out to be my least favorite。 Even though it is still a solid book with lots of wisdom and interesting facts， it lacks the structure and readability that made his later books so enjoyable。 There are many brilliant minds out there with astonishing knowledge or invaluable wisdom。 Distilling that knowledge into a compelling and understandable 300-page book， meant for consumption by often less brilliant people， seems to be a whole different ball game。 When I came across Jonathan Haidt's third book， The Coddling of the American Mind， I was pleasantly surprised by how he managed to summarize years of research into concise paragraphs。 Furthermore， by properly introducing the goal of each chapter and summarizing the key points at the ending， I found it easy to understand and remember what I had read。 Although his second book， The Righteous Mind， was a bit less structured， it was still highly readable and practical。 Perhaps due to Haidt's inexperience as a writer at the time， his first book lacks that same structure and - consequently - readability。 Most of the information presented in 'The Happiness Hypothesis' is interesting， some even fascinating or inspiring。 However， at the end of each chapter I had a hard time paraphrasing what I just read。 This was especially true on a practical level; I often struggled to condense the information into changes I could make in my own life。 While the main portion of each chapter is well-written， the beginning and ending are where things seem to go wrong。Each chapter begins with two short quotes by an ancient source of wisdom， be it the Bible， the Buddha or one of the famous Stoics。 From that point on， the author presents a wide plethora of scientific research， data， historic anecdotes and personal experiences。 Even though the material is mostly intriguing， its relevancy is frequently lost without a proper introduction。 Therefore， it was often unclear to me about what the chapter was exactly。 What is meant by 'the pursuit of happiness'？ How is 'divinity' defined？ Which kind of 'virtues' are we talking about？ Where as 'The American Mind' starts each chapter with a mini-hypothesis （'in this chapter I am going to try to achieve this and that'）， we often get tossed into the deep with too little context。 In part， this could have been solved by presenting a summary to conclude the chapter， alongside the practical implications of what has been learned。 Instead， chapters often end quite abruptly， except for the occasional segue into the next topic。 After having finished the book， I honestly do not which changes to make in my own life to become happier。 This is truly a shame， for there is an incredible amount of thought-provoking content to be found。When I come across an interesting quote， citation or argument in a book， I usually fold the corner of that page into a dog ear for future reference。 Had I done that constantly throughout reading The Happiness Hypothesis， in the end I would have enough dog ears for an entire kennel。 There is a lot of content worth of further delving into， somewhat saving the book for me。 While I might not be able to properly paraphrase the ten chapters， I did expand my 'to-read' list with plenty of books and scientific papers referred to by Haidt。 Especially thought-provoking to me was the chapter on being virtuous， where teaching children how to act and think is discussed， alongside Benjamin Franklin's method of building character。 Additionally， the author's though experiment of becoming paraplegic or winning the lottery， and the long-term effects on these events on your happiness， has somewhat changed my outlook on what is worth striving for in life。 If Haidt had structured this book a bit differently， perhaps there would have been even more new insights for me， with more practical appliance。 As is， to me The Happiness Hypothesis mainly served as a starting point to explore the subject of happiness。 While I expected much more of it， this is still an accessible and engaging book。 If you have never read anything by the author before， I highly recommend starting with this。 。。。more
Sarede Switzer
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Overall did not enjoy this book very much though the rider and elephant idea was interesting and I feel could have been fleshed out more。 I don't appreciate "modern thinkers" trying to "make sense" of ancient beliefs and traditions and find it disrespectful to a certain extent。 Overall did not enjoy this book very much though the rider and elephant idea was interesting and I feel could have been fleshed out more。 I don't appreciate "modern thinkers" trying to "make sense" of ancient beliefs and traditions and find it disrespectful to a certain extent。 。。。more
Szymon Bialkowski
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Incredible， very enlightening。It covers a lot of ground， e。g。 human rationality， happiness and it’s causes， morality and biases to name a few。Read this if you want to understand the world and people better。
John Burns
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All three of Haidt's books are profound， insightful， entertaining， eye-opening and commendably balanced。 This one didn't blow my mind quite as much as the righteous mind and it didn't grab me as much as The Coddling of the American Mind， but it was still a great piece of moral psychology。Haidt is one of those intellectuals who has pursued a somewhat narrow academic path throughout his career。 He's not going to suddenly produce a book on free market economics or the Israel Palestine conflict。 His All three of Haidt's books are profound， insightful， entertaining， eye-opening and commendably balanced。 This one didn't blow my mind quite as much as the righteous mind and it didn't grab me as much as The Coddling of the American Mind， but it was still a great piece of moral psychology。Haidt is one of those intellectuals who has pursued a somewhat narrow academic path throughout his career。 He's not going to suddenly produce a book on free market economics or the Israel Palestine conflict。 His work is in the area of Intuitive morality and so this is what all his books are about。 As such， he's one of those writers， like Thomas Sowell， who has a tendency to essentially write the same book over and over again with minor variations。 I had already read his later works （Righteous and Coddling） and so when I came to this book I was already familiar with a lot of the ideas here which he would later develop in those two books。 I think in this book he is just beginning to generate his ideas and has not yet started to apply them to broader concerns like political division and intellectual diversity。 The book is focussed on less ambitious goals like helping the reader to understand where their opinions and thought processes come from and the degree to which these processes are or are not immutable components of their personality。It's an interesting and also quite a useful book to read but if you have read either of the other two Haidt books （and especially if you've read both） then I don't think you'll find much that is new here。I enjoyed it and thought it was a good book but I would still recommend the Righteous mind above this one。It's a very good book in the grand scheme of things but the fact that Haidt has written better books that cover much of the same territory makes it a work of doubtful significance。 。。。more
Siarra Gomez
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4。6 ！ Very enjoyable insight on "the meaning of life" and happiness。 I think the audio book version was perfect for the informational content - not bornong or dragging at all！ Some of it was a little repetitive but still insightful。 4。6 ！ Very enjoyable insight on "the meaning of life" and happiness。 I think the audio book version was perfect for the informational content - not bornong or dragging at all！ Some of it was a little repetitive but still insightful。 。。。more
Andrew Banks
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