Sissela Bok is Senior Visiting Fellow at the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, and a moral philosopher of international renown. A former member of the Pulitzer Prize Board, Bok is a Fellow of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, and sits on the editorial boards of the Bulletin of the World Health Organization, Common Knowledge, and Ethical Theory and Moral Practice. Her many books include the seminal Lying, Secrets, A Strategy for Peace, Mayhem, and Common Values.
Sissela Bok is Senior Visiting Fellow at the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, and a moral philosopher of international renown. A former member of the Pulitzer Prize Board, Bok is a Fellow of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, and sits on the editorial boards of the Bulletin of the World Health Organization, Common Knowledge, and Ethical Theory and Moral Practice. Her many books include the seminal Lying, Secrets, A Strategy for Peace, Mayhem, and Common Values.
"[A] wide-ranging study. . . . Bok's fluently written book is an
outstanding guide to a topic sure to interest the general reader as
well as specialists in philosophy, psychology, and brain science."
David Gordon, Library Journal--David Gordon "Library Journal ""
"[Bok] sets up a fascinating dialogue between insights from the
history of philosophy and recent work in the social and natural
sciences. . . . It will be a treasure for the philosophical
counselor: in the classroom, for background reading and for work
with clients. . . . authoritative, engagingly written, and
thorough." Kathryn Russell, Philosophical Practice--Kathryn Russell
"Philosophical Practice ""
"A profound, erudite, and lucid exploration integrating a vast
array of sources - personal, philosophical, historical, scientific
and spiritual - that cohere to illuminate this elusive subject."
Barbara Goldsmith
--Barbara Goldsmith"
"Happiness is complicated. And Bok elaborates its complications
through labyrinthine pathways. . . . Exploring Happiness is an
intellectual feast. . . . It is an invitation to turn to personal
writing and reflection and to past thinkers from Goethe to Swedish
feminist Ellen Key, who thought that happiness was the process of
developing our capabilities. Exploring Happiness explores not only
happiness but the question of how we should live our lives."
Priscilla Long, The American Scholar--Priscilla Long "The American
Scholar ""
"Sissela Bok makes sense of happiness for adults: what sort of
happiness we can seek, and what lies beyond our grasp. The book
illuminates 'the pursuit of happiness' in modern economics,
psychiatry, and philosophy, but she addresses, in the end, any
intelligent reader. Sissela Bok writes so clearly and directly that
the reader is often caught up short, suddenly realizing that her
arguments are always provocations to think more deeply. This is a
wise book." Richard Sennett
--Richard Sennett"
"Sissela Bok offers a clear and engaging historical tour though
dozens of competing philosophical renderings of happiness over the
ages." Timothy Renick, The Christian Century--Timothy Renick "The
Christian Century ""
"What causes true happiness? From ancient philosophers to
contemporary neuroscientists -- as well as any of us searching for
how to lead a good life -- people have grappled with that most
profound of all simple questions. Sissela Bok weaves together the
different conceptions of happiness to create a shimmering and
subtle tapestry. This book will take you a step closer to happiness
by helping you understand the idea better." Walter Isaacson,
President and CEO, the Aspen Institute
--Walter Isaacson"
Very smart, sensitive, and thought-provoking. . . . This
thoughtful, beautifully written book makes one feel one is present,
conversing with the very best minds of the last 2500 years on one
of the few philosophical problems that is of universal importance.
Owen Flanagan, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews--Owen Flanagan
"Notre Dame Philosophical Review ""
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