What if there's more to happiness and fulfillment than what you've been taught? Speaking about her book The Art of the Interesting, Lorraine Besser questions accepted notions of what constitutes a fulfilling life. She doesn’t just explore happiness and meaning; she challenges their dominance, exposing how chasing these ideals can sometimes leave us feeling empty and disillusioned.

Lorraine invites us to consider a different path: pursuing a psychologically rich life. This isn’t about endless joy or a sense of fulfillment that’s always just out of reach. It’s about diving into experiences that are novel, complex, and challenging—experiences that make us think deeply and feel intensely. Drawing from her own life and philosophical reflections, Lorraine shows us how to find interest and meaning in the every day, and she offers practical advice on how to weave psychological richness into the fabric of our lives.

This is more than just a conversation; it’s an important call to rethink what it means to live fully.

Listen and Learn:

Challenging the traditional notions of happiness and meaning as the sole keys to a fulfilling life
Why the pursuit of constant happiness is unrealistic and how understanding the limits of pleasure can lead to a more fulfilling and realistic approach to a good life.
The elusive nature of fulfillment and why achieving your dreams often leads to unexpected feelings of emptiness
The historical evolution of the concept of individual purpose
The roles of philosophers and psychologists in exploring happiness
The concept of "the interesting" as the third pillar to a fulfilling life
How embracing unexpected moments of curiosity and novelty can subtly enrich your life
Distinguishing "Mindfulness 2.0" from traditional mindfulness
How embracing "psychologically rich moments" can turn your everyday struggles and mundane tasks into powerful opportunities for personal growth and deeper insight
Finding "psychologically rich moments" to help you engage with and grow from challenging situations in life
How being open and honest in your friendships can transform your connections
The biggest misconception about achieving a psychologically rich life

Resources:

About Lorraine Besser

Lorraine Besser, PhD, is a professor of philosophy at Middlebury College, who specializes in the philosophy and psychology of the good life and teaches popular courses for undergraduates on happiness, well-being, and ethics. An internationally recognized scholar, she was a founding investigator on the research team studying psychological richness. She is the author of two academic books (The Philosophy of Happiness: An Interdisciplinary Introduction and Eudaimonic Ethics: The Philosophy and Psychology of Living Well) and dozens of professional journal articles on moral psychology.

Related Episodes

351. You Only Die Once with Jodi Wellman
357. Is Your Work Worth It? How to Think About Meaningful Work with Jennifer Tosti-Kharas and Christopher Wong Michaelson
336. Mindfulness and Living Expansively with Sharon Salzberg
329. The Power of Curiosity with Scott Shigeoka
328. How to Navigate Change with Brad Stulberg

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How the Deep State really works

Then & Now: Philosophy, History & Politics

Origins of modern civil service

The AI-powered Podcast Player