The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom is a 2006 psychology book written by Jonathan Haidt for a general audience. In it, Haidt poses several "Great Ideas" on happiness espoused by thinkers of the past—Plato, Buddha, Jesus, and others—and examines them in the light of contemporary psychological research, extracting from them any lessons that still apply to our modern lives. Central to the book are the concepts of virtue, happiness, fulfillment, and meaning.
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.
The happiness hypothesis is easy to understand in the beginning. The author uses very good metaphors to get his point across. As the reader progresses, the material becomes denser and the metaphors less helpful. Reading this book is like a workout: you enjoy it at first; at the end you want to stop; but when you do finish, you're glad that you made the effort because when you look back, you realize it was completely worth it.
