Download or read book The Happiness Industry written by William Davies and published by Verso Books. This book was released on 2015-05-12 with total page 323 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Deeply researched and pithily argued.” —New York Magazine “A brilliant, and sometimes eerie, dissection” of ‘the science of happiness’ and the modern-day commercialization of our most private emotions (Vice) Why are we so obsessed with measuring happiness? In winter 2014, a Tibetan monk lectured the world leaders gathered at Davos on the importance of Happiness. The recent DSM-5, the manual of all diagnosable mental illnesses, for the first time included shyness and grief as treatable diseases. Happiness has become the biggest idea of our age, a new religion dedicated to well-being. Here, political economist William Davies shows how this philosophy, first pronounced by Jeremy Bentham in the 1780s, has dominated the political debates that have delivered neoliberalism. From a history of business strategies of how to get the best out of employees, to the increased level of surveillance measuring every aspect of our lives; from why experts prefer to measure the chemical in the brain than ask you how you are feeling, to why Freakonomics tells us less about the way people behave than expected, The Happiness Industry is an essential guide to the marketization of modern life. Davies shows that the science of happiness is less a science than an extension of hyper-capitalism.

Download or read book Manufacturing Happy Citizens written by Edgar Cabanas and published by Polity. This book was released on 2019-09-03 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The imperative of happiness dictates the conduct and direction of our lives. There is no escape from the tyranny of positivity. But is happiness the supreme good that all of us should pursue? So says a new breed of so-called happiness experts, with positive psychologists, happiness economists and self-development gurus at the forefront. With the support of influential institutions and multinational corporations, these self-proclaimed experts now tell us what governmental policies to apply, what educational interventions to make and what changes we must undertake in order to lead more successful, more meaningful and healthier lives. With a healthy scepticism, this book documents the powerful social impact of the science and industry of happiness, arguing that the neoliberal alliance between psychologists, economists and self-development gurus has given rise to a new and oppressive form of government and control in which happiness has been woven into the very fabric of power.

Download or read book On Happiness written by Camilla Nelson and published by Apollo Books. This book was released on 2015 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is happiness, and how does the pursuit of happiness shape our lives? Happiness appears to be a simple emotion, individual and pleasurable, yet the problems associated with happiness in politics, economics, and philosophy suggest that it is perhaps more complex and paradoxical than we first thought. This eclectic collection of essays interrogates the 'common sense' understanding of happiness in the West and examines the strategies devised to obtain it. Without disposing of the concept altogether, the book rediscovers the latent aspects of this pervasive (and elusive) phenomenon. Ultimately, it concludes that our current notions of happiness may in fact be the very cause of our discontent. On Happiness offers readers a spectrum of critical reflections and 'rethinks' of this ubiquitous cultural obsession. *** Librarians: ebook available on ProQuest and EBSCO [Subject: Philosophy, Sociology, Popular Culture]

Download or read book HELP written by Oliver Burkeman and published by Canongate Books. This book was released on 2011-01-06 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How do you solve the problem of human happiness? It’s a subject that has occupied some of the greatest philosophers of all time, from Aristotle to Paul McKenna – but how do we sort the good ideas from the terrible ones? Over the past few years, Oliver Burkeman has travelled to some of the strangest outposts of the ‘happiness industry’ in an attempt to find out. In Help!, the first collection of his popular Guardian columns, Burkeman presents his findings. It’s a witty and thought-provoking exploration that punctures many of self-help’s most common myths, while also offering clear-headed, practical and of ten counter-intuitive advice on a range of topics from stress, procrastination and insomnia to wealth, laughter, time management and creativity. It doesn’t claim to have solved the problem of human happiness. But it might just bring us one step closer.

Download or read book Happiness written by Jeffrey R. Di Leo and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-11-29 with total page 127 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book introduces the reader to the ways in which happiness has been explored in philosophy and literature for thousands of years, in order to understand the newest theoretical approaches to happiness. Jeffrey R. Di Leo draws on its long and rich history as a window into our present obsession with happiness. Each of the four chapters of this book provides a substantially different literary-theoretical account of how and why literature matters with respect to considerations of happiness. From the neoliberal happiness industry and the psychoanalytic rejection of happiness to aesthetic hedonism and revolutionary happiness, literature viewed from the perspective of happiness becomes a story about what is and is not the goal of life. The multidisciplinary approach of this book will appeal to a variety of readers from literary studies, critical theory, philosophy and psychology and anyone with an interest in happiness and theories of emotion.

Download or read book The Happiness Riddle and the Quest for a Good Life written by Mark Cieslik and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-11-23 with total page 237 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines the meaning of happiness in Britain today, and observes that although we face challenges such as austerity, climate change and disenchantment with politics, we continue to be interested in happiness and living well. The author illustrates how happiness is a far more contested, social process than is often portrayed by economists and psychologists, and takes issue with sociologists who often regard wellbeing and the happiness industry with suspicion, whilst neglecting one of the key features of being human – the quest for a good life. Exploring themes that question what it means to be happy and live a good life in Britain today, such as the challenges young people face making their way through education and into their first jobs; work life-balance; mid-life crises; and old age, the book presents nineteen life stories that call for a far more critical and ambitious approach to happiness research that marries the radicalism of sociology, with recent advances in psychology and economics. This book will appeal to students and academics interested in wellbeing, happiness and quality of life and also those researching areas such as the life course, work-life balance, biographies, aging and youth studies.

Download or read book The Happiness Fantasy written by Carl Cederström and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2018-10-22 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this devastatingly witty new book, Carl Cederström traces our present-day conception of happiness from its roots in early-twentieth-century European psychiatry, to the Beat generation, to Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump. He argues that happiness is now defined by a desire to be "authentic", to experience physical pleasure, and to cultivate a quirky individuality. But over the last fifty years, these once-revolutionary ideas have been co-opted by corporations and advertisers, pushing us to live lives that are increasingly unfulfilling, insecure and narcissistic. In an age of increasing austerity and social division, Cederström argues that a radical new dream of happiness is gathering pace. There is a vision of the good life which promotes deeper engagement with the world and our place within it, over the individualism and hedonism of previous generations. Guided by this more egalitarian worldview, we can reinvent ourselves and our societies.

Download or read book The Happiness Trap written by Russ Harris and published by Exisle Publishing. This book was released on 2013 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A guide to ACT: the revolutionary mindfulness-based program for reducing stress, overcoming fear, and finding fulfilment – now updated. International bestseller, 'The Happiness Trap', has been published in over thirty countries and twenty-two languages. NOW UPDATED. Popular ideas about happiness are misleading, inaccurate, and are directly contributing to our current epidemic of stress, anxiety and depression. And unfortunately, popular psychological approaches are making it even worse! In this easy-to-read, practical and empowering self-help book, Dr Russ Harries, reveals how millions of people are unwittingly caught in the 'The Happiness Trap', where the more they strive for happiness the more they suffer in the long term. He then provides an effective means to escape through the insights and techniques of ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy), a groundbreaking new approach based on mindfulness skills. By clarifying your values and developing mindfulness (a technique for living fully in the present moment), ACT helps you escape the happiness trap and find true satisfaction in life. Mindfulness skills are easy to learn and will rapidly and effectively help you to reduce stress, enhance performance, manage emotions, improve health, increase vitality, and generally change your life for the better. The book provides scientifically proven techniques to: reduce stress and worry; rise above fear, doubt and insecurity; handle painful thoughts and feelings far more effectively; break self-defeating habits; improve performance and find fulfilment in your work; build more satisfying relationships; and, create a rich, full and meaningful life.

Download or read book America the Anxious written by Ruth Whippman and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2016-10-04 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The author embarks on a pilgrimage to investigate how the national obessession with happiness infiltrates all areas of life, from religion to parenting, from the workplace to academia. She attends a Landmark Forum self-help course, visits Zappos headquarters in Las Vegas (a "happiness city"), looks into the academic "positive psychology movement" and spends time in Utah with Mormons, officially America's happiest people.

Download or read book Semiotics of Happiness written by Ashley Frawley and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2015-02-26 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Semiotics of Happiness examines the rise of 'happiness' (and its various satellite terminologies) as a social and political semiotic, exploring its origins in the US and subsequent spread into the UK and across the globe. The research takes as its starting point the development of discussions about happiness in UK newspapers in which dedicated advocates began to claim that a new 'science of happiness' had been discovered and argued for social and political change on its behalf. Through an in-depth analysis of the written and visual rhetoric and subsequent activities of these influential 'claims-makers', Frawley argues that happiness became a serious political issue not because of a growing unhappiness in society nor a demand 'on the ground' for new knowledge about it, but rather because influential and dedicated 'insiders' took the issue on at a cultural moment when problems cast in emotional terms were particularly likely to make an impact. Emerging from the analysis is the observation that, while apparently positive and light-hearted, the concern with happiness implicitly affirms a 'vulnerability' model of human functioning, encourages a morality of low expectations, and in spite of the radical language used to describe it, is ultimately conservative and ideally suited to an era of 'no alternative' (to capitalism).

Download or read book Can We Be Happier written by Richard Layard and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2020-01-23 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the bestselling author of Happiness and co-editor of the annual World Happiness Report Most people now realize that economic growth, however desirable, will not solve all our problems. Instead, we need a philosophy and a science which encompasses a much fuller range of human need and experience. This book argues that the goal for a society must be the greatest possible all-round happiness, and shows how each of us can become more effective creators of happiness, both as citizens and in our own organizations. Written with Richard Layard's characteristic clarity, it provides hard evidence that increasing happiness is the right aim, and that it can be achieved. Its language is simple, its evidence impressive, its effect inspiring. 'In this book 'Can We Be Happier?' which is part of Richard Layard's excellent, ongoing exploration of what happiness is and how it can be achieved, he provides evidence that if you have peace of mind and are full of joy, your health will be good, your family will be happy and that happiness will affect the atmosphere of the community in which you live.' The Dalai Lama

Download or read book Our Happy Life written by Francesco Garutti and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How do we design our cities when our most intimate experiences are incessantly tracked and our feelings become the base of new modes of production that prioritize the immaterial over the material? Since the 2008 financial crisis, lists of well-being indicators, happiness indexes, and quality-of-life rankings have become viral. Concurrently, the emotional data presented in these surveys?including perceptions on questions such as loneliness, friendship, and intimate fears?feed an expanding political agenda of happiness and a new form of market whose most decisive asset is ?affect.?00'Our Happy Life' investigates the architectural implications of this trend by dissecting and questioning the political, economic, and emotional conditions that generate space today. Organized as a visual narrative with critical readings by Will Davies, Daniel Fujiwara, Simon Fujiwara, Ingo Niermann, Deane Simpson, and Mirko Zardini, the book reveals architecture, city, and landscape as contested surfaces, caught between the intangible guidelines of happiness indexes, the new marketplace of emotions, and the relentless ideology of positivity.00Exhibition: Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montreal, Canada (08.05. - 13.10.2019).

Download or read book The Happiness Equation written by Neil Pasricha and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2016-03-08 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The #1 international bestseller from the author of The Book of Awesome that “reveals how all of us can live happier lives” (Gretchen Rubin). What is the formula for a happy life? Neil Pasricha is a Harvard MBA, a New York Times–bestselling author, a Walmart executive, a father, a husband. After selling more than a million copies of the Book of Awesome series, wherein he observed the everyday things he thought were awesome, he now shifts his focus to the practicalities of living an awesome life. In his new book The Happiness Equation, Pasricha illustrates how to want nothing and do anything in order to have everything. If that sounds like a contradiction in terms, you simply have yet to unlock the 9 Secrets to Happiness. Each secret takes a piece out of the core of common sense, turns it on its head to present it in a completely new light, and then provides practical and specific guidelines for how to apply this new outlook to lead a fulfilling life. Once you've unlocked Pasricha’s 9 Secrets, you will understand counter intuitive concepts such as: Success Does Not Lead to Happiness, Never Take Advice, and Retirement Is a Broken Theory. You will learn and then master three brand-new fundamental life tests: the Saturday Morning Test, The Bench Test, and the Five People Test. You will know the difference between external goals and internal goals and how to make more money than a Harvard MBA (hint: it has nothing to do with your annual salary). You will discover that true wealth has nothing to do with money, multitasking is a myth, and the elimination of options leads to more choice. The Happiness Equation is a book that will change how you think about pretty much everything—your time, your career, your relationships, your family, and, ultimately, of course, your happiness.

Download or read book The Happiness Formula written by Gary King and published by . This book was released on 2016-05-25 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Happiness Formula: The Ultimate Life Makeover shares with readers a formula developed over years of research. It is about my real life experiences of tremendous highs and unfathomable lows. I used that hard earned wisdom to create a formula to help others evolve from victim to victorious. Over the last 25 years I have been active in the personal development world and interviewed literally thousands of participants. The questions asked were deep and the insights gained are priceless. Most humans search for miracles, focusing on financial, health and relationships. Many people run from challenges, avoiding them as if they were punishment, potentially leading them to becoming a victim of learned helplessness, or worse, learned hopelessness. All lives center around emotions that can either enhance our lives or seriously drain us of vibrancy. Our internal world controls our external world. We all search for Happiness, even though we do not have a clear definition other than what we've been taught in school regarding success. We've been conditioned to believe our academic education will serve us in our times of deep financial and emotional needs, but nothing could be further from the truth. We are masters of technology and victims of emotional reality. We must develop conscious parenting and skills to enhance our relationships. I offer you the choice of managing the effects of your precious life, or managing the cause . The implementation of Forgiveness, Honesty, Truth and Self Worth will create an internal skill set to effectively manage your external world. You are about to find out exactly what that means, and it will change your life forever.

Download or read book How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life written by Russ Roberts and published by Portfolio. This book was released on 2015-10-13 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "How the insights of an 18th century economist can help us live better in the 21st century. Adam Smith became famous for The Wealth of Nations, but the Scottish economist also cared deeply about our moral choices and behavior--the subjects of his other brilliant book, The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759). Now, economist Russ Roberts shows why Smith's neglected work might be the greatest self-help book you've never read. Roberts explores Smith's unique and fascinating approach to fundamental questions such as: - What is the deepest source of human satisfaction? - Why do we sometimes swing between selfishness and altruism? - What's the connection between morality and happiness? Drawing on current events, literature, history, and pop culture, Roberts offers an accessible and thought-provoking view of human behavior through the lenses of behavioral economics and philosophy"--

Download or read book The Happiness Illusion written by Luke Hockley and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-06-19 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The West has never been more affluent yet the use of anti-depressants is on the increase to the extent that the World Health Organisation has declared it a major source of concern. How has this state of affairs come about and what can be done? Television and advertising media seem to know. Wherever we look they offer countless remedies for our current situation - unfortunately none of them seem to work. The Happiness Illusion explores how the metaphorical insights of fairy-tales have been literalised and turned into commodities. In so doing, their ability to educate and entertain has largely been lost. Instead advertising and television sell us products that offer to magically transform the way we look, how we age, where we live –both in the city and the countryside, the possibility of new jobs, and so forth. All of these are supposed to make us happy. But despite the allure of ‘retail therapy’ modern magic has lost its spell. What then are the sources of happiness in our contemporary society? Through a series of fairy-tales The Happiness Illusion: How the media sold us a fairytale looks at topics such as age, gender, marriage and rom-coms, Nordic Noir and the representations of therapy on television. In doing so it explores alternative ways to relate to the world in a symbolic and less literal manner – it suggests that happiness comes by making sure we don’t fall under the spell of the illusionary promises of contemporary television and advertising. Instead, happiness comes from being ourselves – warts and all. This book will be of interest to Jungian academics, film, media and cultural studies academics, social psychologists and their students, as well as reaching out to those interested in fairy-tale studies, psychotherapists and educated cinema goers. Luke Hockley PhD, is Research Professor of Media Analysis, at the University of Bedfordshire, UK. He is a practicing psychotherapist and is registered with the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP). Luke is joint Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Jungian Studies (IJJS) and a member of the Advisory Board for the journal Spring and lectures widely. www.lukehockley.com Nadi Fadina is a media entrepreneur and a managing partner in an international film fund. She is involved in a variety of arts and media related projects, both in profit and non-profit spheres. She teaches Film Business in the University of Bedfordshire, however, her academic interests outreach spheres of business and cover ideology, Russian fairytales, sexuality, politics, anthropology, and cinema. www. nadi-fadina.com

Download or read book Happy written by Derren Brown and published by Random House. This book was released on 2016-09-22 with total page 552 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Sunday Times Bestseller 'Really brilliant and just crammed with wisdom and insight. It will genuinely make a difference to me and the way I think about myself.' Stephen Fry ___ Everyone says they want to be happy. But that's much more easily said than done. What does being happy actually mean? And how do you even know when you feel it? In Happy Derren Brown explores changing concepts of happiness - from the surprisingly modern wisdom of the Stoics and Epicureans in classical times right up until today, when the self-help industry has attempted to claim happiness as its own. He shows how many of self-help's suggested routes to happiness and success - such as positive thinking, self-belief and setting goals - can be disastrous to follow and, indeed, actually cause anxiety. Happy aims to reclaim happiness and to enable us to appreciate the good things in life, in all their transient glory. By taking control of the stories we tell ourselves, by remembering that 'everything's fine' even when it might not feel that way, we can allow ourselves to flourish and to live more happily. ___ What readers are saying: ***** 'Immensely positive and life-affirming' ***** 'This is the blue print to a good life' ***** 'Thought provoking and potentially life-changing.'