What is Happiness?

What is happiness? Why are so many Americans — by their own admission — unhappy? These are the central questions in this special episode, live from the Aspen Ideas Festival.

At the festival, our house philosopher, Dr. Samuel Kimbriel, hosted a discussion with three distinguished thinkers. Adam Sandel is a philosopher and assistant district attorney in Brooklyn whose latest book is titled Happiness in Action: A Philosopher’s Guide to the Good Life. Agnes Callard is a philosophy professor at the University of Chicago who just published Open Socrates: The Case for a Philosophical Life. Finally, David Brooks is a well-known opinion columnist for the New York Times whose 2016 book, The Road to Character, explores the development of a good personality.

Samuel sets the stage by reading off startling statistics showing that Americans are by and large less happy today than they were even five years ago. Adam advances the idea that what makes us happy is “an activity for the sake of itself, [an] activity that is intrinsically fulfilling in the moment.” This could be sports — he cites Roger Federer as an example of a happy man, at least during tennis tournaments.

Callard counters: “We can’t will ourselves to do a thing for its own sake. When we know what the good is, we will do it for its own sake. Until then, we have to inquire.” She proposes an “intellectualist” approach to happiness, arguing that a life of inquiry is the best prelude to happiness.

Brooks enters the fray by arguing against Callard’s intellectualist approach, saying that what moves human beings is “intensity” and “surrender,” and that the things that bring us joy are necessarily plural, not singular. Callard argues back, contending that Brooks confuses those things which human beings want with those things that are actually good.

It’s a rollicking discussion complemented by Samuel’s deft moderation and questions from the audience concerning grief, internal versus external goods, and the common good. Free for all subscribers — you will not want to miss this episode.

Required Reading:

* Samuel Kimbriel, Friendship as Sacred Knowing: Overcoming Isolation (Amazon).

* Adam Sandel, Happiness in Action: A Philosopher’s Guide to the Good Life (Amazon).

* Agnes Callard, Open Socrates: The Case for a Philosophical Life (Amazon).

* David Brooks, The Road to Character (Amazon).

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