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The Secret Of Happiness: Three thousand years of searching for the good life

The Secret Of Happiness: Three thousand years of searching for the good life

by RichardSchoch (Author)

  • Used

    Hardcover 2006

    $3.25
Synopsis

A stylish, witty book about happiness that explains with authority what happiness actually is and why understanding its history can help us to live happier lives. What connects a Greek philosopher with a cult following of prostitutes, a Roman civil servant who was unjustly executed, and a Persian scholar who traded books for mystic ecstasy? This trio - Epicurus (341-271 BC), Boethius (c. 480-524 AD) and Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali (1058-1111) - allowed their reflections about happiness to give meaning to their lives, and through such individuals and their ideas we can reclaim the lost art of happiness. Today, influenced by books on the new science of happiness and quick self-help panaceas, we have settled for a much weaker version of happiness than previous cultures: just enjoyment of pleasure and avoidance of pain and suffering. It is only through rediscovering the traditions that began in the West with the philosophers of Athens and in the East with anonymous Hindu sages that we can learn how to be genuinely happy again. During the journey through ideas philosophical and religious, from around the world and across thousands of years, Professor Schoch answers questions that are fundamental to our wellbeing but are rarely asked. What does it feel like to be happy, and can you be happy if others are unhappy? Is happiness an emotion, or an attitude? How much effort do you have to make to be happy, and do you have a right to be happy? The good life is easier to grasp when you know the answers.

$3.25

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Quantity

1 in stock

More Information

Format: Hardcover
 Pages: 256
 Edition: Main
 Publisher: Profile Books
Published: 23 Mar 2006
ISBN 10: 1861979096
ISBN 13: 9781861979094

Media Reviews
Deeply considered and immensely well-informed...compels us to think afresh about how we behave. * Professor Stanley Wells *
Full of interesting anecdotes. * Daily Mail *
He wants to help us deal more elegantly with the frustrations of life...Schoch proves himself a genial guide...a sound introduction to important strands of religious and philosophical thought. -- Alain de Botton * Daily Telegraph *
Hugely enjoyable...a slap in the face to the self-help industry. * Julian Baggini *
This is definitely not self-help, and is all the better for it...a worthwhile and original addition to the growing number of books on the search for happiness, enlivened by Schoch's witty asides. -- Charlotte Northedge * Psychologies *
Offers up considered digests of the lives and thoughts of a selection of philosophers and religious leaders...an intellectual exploration of the best kind, a rigorous dusting down of ideas compelling us to think harder and better about what is life's most precious prize. -- Melanie McGrath * Sunday Telegraph Seven *
A quietly revolutionary new book * Irish Examiner *
The text is inspirational in offering the reader ways to think about their own happiness...Schoch's analysis will hit home for many readers. -- Helen Boylan * Sunday Business Post *
Author Bio
Richard Schoch is Professor of the History of Culture at Queen Mary, University of London. His books include Queen Victoria and the Theatre of her Age, Not Shakespeare and Shakespeare's Victorian Stage. Prior to his academic life he wrote for NBC's flagship television station in New York.