Description
Product Description
When a cultural movement that began to take shape in the mid-twentieth century erupted into mainstream American culture in the late 1990s, it brought to the fore the idea that it is as important to improve one's own sense of pleasure as it is to manage depression and anxiety. Cultural
historian Daniel Horowitz's research reveals that this change happened in the context of key events. World War II, the Holocaust, post-war prosperity, the rise of counter-culture, the crises of the 1970s, the presidency of Ronald Reagan, and the prime ministerships of Margaret Thatcher and David
Cameron provided the important context for the development of the field today known as positive psychology.
Happier? provides the first history of the origins, development, and impact of the way Americans -- and now many around the world -- shifted from mental illness to well-being as they pondered the human condition. This change, which came about from the fusing of knowledge drawn from Eastern spiritual
traditions, behavioral economics, neuroscience, evolutionary biology, and cognitive psychology, has been led by scholars and academic entrepreneurs, as they wrestled with the implications of political events and forces such as neoliberalism and cultural conservatism, and a public eager for
self-improvement.
Linking the development of happiness studies and positive psychology with a broad series of social changes, including the emergence of new media and technologies like TED talks, blogs, web sites, and neuroscience, as well as the role of evangelical ministers, Oprah Winfrey's enterprises, and funding
from government agencies and private foundations, Horowitz highlights the transfer of specialized knowledge into popular arenas. Along the way he shows how marketing triumphed, transforming academic disciplines and spirituality into saleable products. Ultimately,
Happier? illuminates how positive
psychology, one of the most influential academic fields of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, infused American culture with captivating promises for a happier society.
Review
"Mr. Horowitz's straightforward, comprehensive history of the positive-psychology movement follows the money wherever it leads--and it leads everywhere. He presents every controversy, representing defenders of positive psychology as fully as its critics . . . Daniel Horowitz's history deftly reveals
the eternal lessons that underlie all its incarnations: Money can't buy happiness; human beings need social bonds, satisfying work and strong communities; a life based entirely on the pursuit of pleasure ultimately becomes pleasureless. "
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Carol Tavris, Wall Street Journal
"Especially compelling is the discussion of the relationship between positive psychology and other contemporary developments."
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Library Journal
"Horowitz explores the history of the relatively new and surprisingly pervasive discipline of happiness studies and positive psychology... a thorough and thoughtful introduction to an influential discipline."
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Publishers Weekly
"An astonishing work of cultural analysis on changes in the field of psychology."
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Spirituality & Practice
"Daniel Horowitz has accomplished an impressive feat.
Happier? is a thorough
and judicious history of positive psychology--a movement both influential and
controversial."
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Howard Gardner, Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education,
Harvard Graduate School of Education
"Kudos to cultural historian Daniel Horowitz for comprehensively chronicling the
emergence of positive psychology--'a cultural movement of tremendous reach and
power.' Thanks to its impressive scholarship and lucid story-telling,
Happier? is
the go-to book for anyone seeking to understand the roots and fruits of modern
happiness research."
--
David G. Myers, Professor of Psychology, Hope College;
author of The Pursuit of Happiness: Who is Happy--and Why
"Daniel Horowitz has done a Herculean job of compiling an exhaustive hi