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Description: More than two thousand years ago, when the ancient Greeks first thought about what ‘the good life’ means, happiness demanded a lifetime’s cultivation. Now it’s everybody’s birthright: swallow a pill, get happy; hire a life coach, regain your self-esteem.
But as Richard Schoch argues, by understanding the philosophical and religious traditions of happiness we can greatly enrich our lives today.
In a journey across cultures and centuries, School answers questions that are rarely asked. Do you have a right to be happy? What kind of effort does it take? Can you be happy if others are unhappy? Combining wit, warmth and intellectual authority, The Secrets of offers us ending wisdom for modern living.
Contents: Introduction • Part 1: Living for Pleasure: Maximize your pleasure (The utilitarians); Pleasure is good (The Epicureans) • Part II: Conquering Desire: Get busy your works (Hinduism); The Enlightened one (Buddhism); Part III: Transcending Reason: Only in Heaven (Christianity); The Alchemy of Happiness (Islam) • Part IV: Enduring Suffering: It’s all in your mind (The Stoics); The Hidden Face of God (Judaism) • Conclusion • Notes • Bibliography • Acknowledgments • Index ISBN - 9781861979896
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Pages : 252
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