mlannie's review against another edition
informative
2.0
Rec from Brad from Necker
So boring, interesting premise but high level fairly meaningless psychology
So boring, interesting premise but high level fairly meaningless psychology
sandrabarr's review against another edition
4.0
Easily accessible read. Down to earth research on how to navigate yourself in search of meaning of life and happiness. This book doesn't provide one and only way into a happy and meaningful life. It's a rather concise approach to philosophies of ancient times and recent science on the topic.
nekomancer42's review against another edition
3.0
There are some great chapters/segments in here, but the book is weighed down by a substantial amount of evolutionary psychology, culture wars tangents, and just a bit of "old man yells at cloud."
aggielexi's review against another edition
3.0
Let me start by saying I listened to the audio version of this book at work. While the topic is interesting, it's a little hard to give it my full attention.
With that being said, I did give it a lot more attention than I probably should have while at work. After listening to some of Elephant in the Brain, and Talking to Strangers, some of these topics seemed redundant, but then there were new and exciting items.
Some new items I didn't enjoy hearing, i.e. I'm genetically pre-disposed to a certain level of happiness. Who wants to hear that! But hey, I support this logic.
My favorite parts of this book however, were about love. I loved looking at the ancient way they thought about it and pulling in soul mates. Always an interesting time.
Overall, if I saw this book on sale somewhere (maybe Half Price Books?), I'd pick it up to scan through the print version.
With that being said, I did give it a lot more attention than I probably should have while at work. After listening to some of Elephant in the Brain, and Talking to Strangers, some of these topics seemed redundant, but then there were new and exciting items.
Some new items I didn't enjoy hearing, i.e. I'm genetically pre-disposed to a certain level of happiness. Who wants to hear that! But hey, I support this logic.
My favorite parts of this book however, were about love. I loved looking at the ancient way they thought about it and pulling in soul mates. Always an interesting time.
Overall, if I saw this book on sale somewhere (maybe Half Price Books?), I'd pick it up to scan through the print version.
jero's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars.
I found very interesting the hypotheses described in this book, and will definitely study more some of the concepts that the author explained in order to improve my own “happiness level” and become more conscious of my own behavior. I fully recommend this book to anyone that wants to understand more clearly how our mind and emotions work together.
I found very interesting the hypotheses described in this book, and will definitely study more some of the concepts that the author explained in order to improve my own “happiness level” and become more conscious of my own behavior. I fully recommend this book to anyone that wants to understand more clearly how our mind and emotions work together.
ifonlyihadcake's review against another edition
4.0
Spoiler
This book moves from self-help in the first half to vague philosophical discussion in the second half. I came for the self-help part, but I do still appreciate the ideas presented in the latter half.Chapter Summaries (purely from my vague memory for my own use):
1-The mind can be divided into the elephant and the rider; the elephant is automatic, tireless, emotional, desiring, and reactive while the rider is reason itself. The rider can tire and does not control the elephant. The rider just wishes to help the elephant obtain ends that are best for it, but this is a difficult task based on the elephant's attributes.
2-People automatically like/dislike things, even if they are not conscious of it. Some people are born genetically happier than others.
3-Reciprocity (tit-for-tat) is built into the genes of all people.
4-All people have various psychological biases that they fall into no matter how hard they try not to. In order to benefit themselves in the universal tit-for-tat game, people claim to better than they actually are to others. The "myth of pure evil" is the idea that others can be pure evil; they have no goodness in their hearts, neither in intention or action. Squelching the myth of pure evil is crucial to understanding others (also its a myth so you should get rid of it anyway).
5-Both community/relationships and personal striving/authenticity are important in pursuing happiness.
6-Relationships are likely the predominant thing that leads to happiness.
7-Adversity can cause growth as long as it is used to guide one's personal story (i.e. look at the trauma and figure out what good came of it into one's life).
8-Virtue and morality are relevant not in a set of specific moral situations that one comes across, but as a permeating foundation for living life. You build virtue by doing smaller acts of the same virtue.
9-Divinity is an evolutionary result of purity (in the microbial "I shouldn't eat that because it touched a gross thing" sense) that emphasizes community (good), virtuous value systems (good), and competition with other groups (bad). Awe-inspiring events can be life changing and are explainable through science. Elevation - the feeling one gets from seeing someone do a great good - is a lifting sensation that is the opposite of Disgust - the feeling one gets from seeing someone perform morally reprehensible actions.
10-Work that allows flow and relationships with others is great for one's happiness. Humans are simultaneously individualistic creatures, like apes, and group-minded creatures, like bees. It's important to strike a balance between the pursuing individual goals and engaging with community.