This is a book about ten Great Ideas. Each chapter is an attempt to savor one idea that has been discovered by several of the world’s civilizations -­ to question it in light of what we now know from scientific research, and to extract from it the lessons that still apply to our modern lives. It is a book about how to construct a life of virtue, happiness, fulfillment, and meaning.

American 1st Edition . . . .. . . . . . . .U.K. Edition

Last Update: Sept 2, 2013

“For the reader who seeks to understand happiness, my advice is: Begin with Haidt.”
--Martin E. P. Seligman, Professor of psychology, University of Pennsylvania, author of Authentic Happiness

Useful features:

• Using the Happiness Hypothesis to increase your happiness. (It's not a self-help book, but you can make it one)
• Read chapters online
• Know your strengths, improve your work
• Participate in research on positive psychology
• See a lecture on happiness, at Aspen Ideas Festival

My second book, The Righteous Mind, uses the rider and elephant to understand morality, politics, and religion. It picks up where The Happiness Hypothesis left off in the concluding chapter -- about the need to look for wisdom in the minds of those with whom you disagree.

I talked with Bill Moyers about the new book, here.

Here are all the lectures and interviews I've given recently

Here are my upcoming public lectures

Major Publicity (about The Happiness Hypoth):

• On The Today Show (2/28/06).
• On CBC Radio-One (Canada) (4/23/06)
• Reviewed in Nature (5/4/06), "the most intellectually substantial book to arise from the positive psychology movement"
• Reviewed in the Times of London: "riveting..., the most humane, witty and comforting of these three books." (8/6/06)
• Chosen by David Brooks as one of his five favorite books on neuroscience (4/12/10)
• Rider and elephant used in this witty video from the Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures & Commerce on 21st Century enlightenment
• Designer Stefan Sagmeister illustrates several of the major points from Ch. 5, in a visually brilliant way, in this Ted talk on happiness
• NPR interview about wonder and awe (11/27/12)
• Interview about happiness books, with FiveBooks.
• Long-form interview with Lisa Cypers Kamen (July 2012), Harvesting Happiness podcast.

French Edition . . . . . . . . . .... Spanish Edition

Dutch Edition.........................Brazilian Edition

(there are many other translations, but these are the images I had as jpegs)