Happiness: A Philosopher's Guide

Description

What is happiness' and how do we achieve it? Frederic Lenoir proposes that true and lasting happiness is indeed possible. And he takes us on an exciting journey -from Aristotle to Buddha to modern neuroscience, from the personal to the universal- to discover how happiness is attainable in our own lives. A bestseller in France, Lenoir takes the reader on a journey of exploration and discovery, investigating how to love the life you lead, the art of being yourself, and what smiling, laughter and joy really mean.'

Frederic Lenoir is a philosopher, sociologist, and religious historian, and author of numerous scholarly and popular essays, books, and novels translated into over twenty languages. He is a professor at L'Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, one of France's elite universities, and is editor of Le Monde des religions in France, a bimonthly magazine that is part of Le Monde. He is also the producer and host of the weekly program about religion and philosophy on France Culture radio. Andrew Brown's most recent translations include works by Proust, Zola, Flaubert, Stendhal, Rabelais, and Baudelaire.

"An entertaining and affable guide to the topic of happiness. Jacques Prevert once wrote that 'recognized happiness from the noise it made as it left.' Mr. Lenoir does his best to help us hear it as it arrives." -Wall Street Journal "A brief though well-considered guide to a wide range of the many schools of thought regarding contentment, joy and happiness." -Kirkus Reviews "Frederic Lenoir takes us through a philosophical journey that provokes thinking and encourages acting. Reading Happiness can make your life's journey a happier one." -Tal Ben-Shahar, author of Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment "Frederic Lenoir's Happiness is a skillful, entertaining blend of philosophy and science that seeks to answer a question that thinkers have been posing for centuries: what does it mean to be happy? Happiness is a tough subject to tackle well. Frederic Lenoir creates a journey that is as beautiful as it is thought-provoking." -Maria Konnikova, bestselling author of Mastermind