The Happiness Industry

The Happiness Industry PDF Author: William Davies
Publisher: Verso Books
ISBN: 1781688478
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 323

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Book Description
“Deeply researched and pithily argued.” —New York Magazine “A brilliant, and sometimes eerie, dissection” of ‘the science of happiness’ and the modern-day commercialization of our most private emotions (Vice) Why are we so obsessed with measuring happiness? In winter 2014, a Tibetan monk lectured the world leaders gathered at Davos on the importance of Happiness. The recent DSM-5, the manual of all diagnosable mental illnesses, for the first time included shyness and grief as treatable diseases. Happiness has become the biggest idea of our age, a new religion dedicated to well-being. Here, political economist William Davies shows how this philosophy, first pronounced by Jeremy Bentham in the 1780s, has dominated the political debates that have delivered neoliberalism. From a history of business strategies of how to get the best out of employees, to the increased level of surveillance measuring every aspect of our lives; from why experts prefer to measure the chemical in the brain than ask you how you are feeling, to why Freakonomics tells us less about the way people behave than expected, The Happiness Industry is an essential guide to the marketization of modern life. Davies shows that the science of happiness is less a science than an extension of hyper-capitalism.

The Happiness Industry

The Happiness Industry PDF Author: William Davies
Publisher: Verso Books
ISBN: 1781688478
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 323

Get Book Here

Book Description
“Deeply researched and pithily argued.” —New York Magazine “A brilliant, and sometimes eerie, dissection” of ‘the science of happiness’ and the modern-day commercialization of our most private emotions (Vice) Why are we so obsessed with measuring happiness? In winter 2014, a Tibetan monk lectured the world leaders gathered at Davos on the importance of Happiness. The recent DSM-5, the manual of all diagnosable mental illnesses, for the first time included shyness and grief as treatable diseases. Happiness has become the biggest idea of our age, a new religion dedicated to well-being. Here, political economist William Davies shows how this philosophy, first pronounced by Jeremy Bentham in the 1780s, has dominated the political debates that have delivered neoliberalism. From a history of business strategies of how to get the best out of employees, to the increased level of surveillance measuring every aspect of our lives; from why experts prefer to measure the chemical in the brain than ask you how you are feeling, to why Freakonomics tells us less about the way people behave than expected, The Happiness Industry is an essential guide to the marketization of modern life. Davies shows that the science of happiness is less a science than an extension of hyper-capitalism.

The Industry of Human Happiness

The Industry of Human Happiness PDF Author: James Hall
Publisher: Eye & Lightning Books
ISBN: 1785630814
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 346

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Book Description
A tale of love, murder and obsession in the early days of recorded sound. Set in the murky backstage world of late Victorian theatreland, The Industry of Human Happiness is about the obsessive characters who dreamed of bringing recorded music to the masses. Max and his younger cousin Rusty have a vision of launching the gramophone industry from a Covent Garden basement. But a renowned opera singer is brutally murdered in his hotel bed and they are thrust into the underworld of opium dens, brothels and extortion. Ghosts from the past and a contested inheritance turn the cousins against each other, and they go head-to-head to launch rival talking machines. With Max's sweetheart, the ambitious singer Delilah Green, caught in the middle, the pair battle rival manufacturers, London theatre owners and, ultimately, each other, for their very futures. This is a story of obsession, the pursuit of love and the enduring magic of music.

Manufacturing Happy Citizens

Manufacturing Happy Citizens PDF Author: Edgar Cabanas
Publisher: Polity
ISBN: 9781509537884
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The imperative of happiness dictates the conduct and direction of our lives. There is no escape from the tyranny of positivity. But is happiness the supreme good that all of us should pursue? So says a new breed of so-called happiness experts, with positive psychologists, happiness economists and self-development gurus at the forefront. With the support of influential institutions and multinational corporations, these self-proclaimed experts now tell us what governmental policies to apply, what educational interventions to make and what changes we must undertake in order to lead more successful, more meaningful and healthier lives. With a healthy scepticism, this book documents the powerful social impact of the science and industry of happiness, arguing that the neoliberal alliance between psychologists, economists and self-development gurus has given rise to a new and oppressive form of government and control in which happiness has been woven into the very fabric of power.

The Happy Human

The Happy Human PDF Author: Gopi Kallayil
Publisher: Hay House
ISBN: 1401946224
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 225

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Book Description
Gopi Kallayil, author of The Internet to the Inner-net and one of Google's best and brightest, uses stories from his high-tech work life and his personal life to explore what it means to be truly happy--and what makes us truly human. Happiness is a multimillion-dollar industry, catering to our deep desire to live a joyful life and to a belief that, as human beings, we deserve to be happy. Gopi Kallayil believes in reversing that equation. He holds that what we truly deserve is to be human, and that the key to happiness lies in being 100 percent who we are, reveling in our authentic selves, even if--maybe especially if--that means falling on our faces. Which Gopi has done. Many times. But he's also had spectacular success. This book explores the qualities that make us human and have helped to make Gopi successful and happy in both his personal life and his professional career. Told with Gopi's candor and humor, his deep compassion and his love of the absurd, The Happy Human spans the period from his first job as a software programmer in South China to his current position as an executive at Google in Silicon Valley. Each chapter captures an event in Gopi's life where he dug deep and found the means to express himself from a place of radical confidence: Singing live at Burning Man, even though he sings off-key and was terrified. Participating in a triathlon, with an open-water swim, when he had only swum in a pool. (Lifeguards pulled him into their boat to save him.) Speaking at Toastmasters International and being willing to be awful--which he admittedly was--before finally, years later, becoming one of their top speakers. He also weaves in accounts of others who have dreamed big and acted on their dreams. Gopi's stories and practices help us find happiness by embracing not only our own selves but the entire human experience, inspiring us to expect miracles daily, to use every fall as a chance to bounce, to go for what we want on every front, to live our lives full-out.

Blown to Bits

Blown to Bits PDF Author: Harold Abelson
Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional
ISBN: 0137135599
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 389

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Book Description
'Blown to Bits' is about how the digital explosion is changing everything. The text explains the technology, why it creates so many surprises and why things often don't work the way we expect them to. It is also about things the information explosion is destroying: old assumptions about who is really in control of our lives.

How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life

How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life PDF Author: Russ Roberts
Publisher: Portfolio
ISBN: 1591847958
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 274

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Book Description
"How the insights of an 18th century economist can help us live better in the 21st century. Adam Smith became famous for The Wealth of Nations, but the Scottish economist also cared deeply about our moral choices and behavior--the subjects of his other brilliant book, The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759). Now, economist Russ Roberts shows why Smith's neglected work might be the greatest self-help book you've never read. Roberts explores Smith's unique and fascinating approach to fundamental questions such as: - What is the deepest source of human satisfaction? - Why do we sometimes swing between selfishness and altruism? - What's the connection between morality and happiness? Drawing on current events, literature, history, and pop culture, Roberts offers an accessible and thought-provoking view of human behavior through the lenses of behavioral economics and philosophy"--

The Happiness Fantasy

The Happiness Fantasy PDF Author: Carl Cederström
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1509523847
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 200

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Book Description
In this devastatingly witty new book, Carl Cederström traces our present-day conception of happiness from its roots in early-twentieth-century European psychiatry, to the Beat generation, to Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump. He argues that happiness is now defined by a desire to be "authentic", to experience physical pleasure, and to cultivate a quirky individuality. But over the last fifty years, these once-revolutionary ideas have been co-opted by corporations and advertisers, pushing us to live lives that are increasingly unfulfilling, insecure and narcissistic. In an age of increasing austerity and social division, Cederström argues that a radical new dream of happiness is gathering pace. There is a vision of the good life which promotes deeper engagement with the world and our place within it, over the individualism and hedonism of previous generations. Guided by this more egalitarian worldview, we can reinvent ourselves and our societies.

Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature

Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature PDF Author: Chet Shupe
Publisher: Bookbaby
ISBN: 9781667865850
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Shupe's book goes beyond self-help. It reveals how our emotional connections to one another have been severed, by our dependence on legal systems. Shupe reminds us that humans once lived in a state of contentment, because they depended on each other to survive. But our current dependence on legal systems has deprived us of our greatest need--to love and to be loved by our fellow man. Shupe's book informs us of something modern people fail to grasp: We humans do have an inborn wisdom, endowed by evolution. It is essential to our happiness, and to the wellbeing of life, that we be true to this inborn map of life. Humans created civilization, because we thought life would be better if everyone complied with sovereign laws. In terms of material benefits, civilization has succeeded. But depending on laws--not emotional intelligence--to maintain order, has so socially isolated us that reality, as we experience it, is a spiritual wasteland. Unable to emotionally engage in our surroundings, we have no access to the wisdom of human nature, which reveals itself exclusively through feelings in response to one's immediate circumstances. The result of this spiritual alienation is pain. To manage it, we modern humans space ourselves out on beliefs, ideologies, drugs, hope, dreams--and even the promise of science. When those fail to quell the pain, people turn to suicide--the only option left. Shupe's answer is to return to the natural spiritual homes in which Homo sapiens once thrived. But people cannot establish a spiritual home, merely by design or intent. Spiritual homes will eventually form naturally: When enough people become disillusioned with the promises of modern life, they will acquire a new perspective on what life is about. Among spiritually awakened people, a real home is organic. Indeed, for humans to experience a natural sense of emotional and material comfort, a spiritual home--one that is maintained by our emotional intelligence--is the only option that exists.

The Art of Happiness at Work

The Art of Happiness at Work PDF Author: Dalai Lama
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1594480540
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Book Description
From the authors who brought you the million-copy bestseller The Art of Happiness comes an exploration of job, career, and finding the ultimate happiness at work. Over the past several years, Howard Cutler has continued his conversations with the Dalai Lama, asking him the questions we all want answered about how to find happiness in the place we spend most of our time. Work-whether it's in the home or at an office-is what mostly runs our lives. We depend on it to eat, to clothe and shelter ourselves, and to take care of our families. Beginning with a direct correlation between productivity and happiness, Dr. Cutler questions His Holiness about the nature of work. In psychiatry and according to the Dalai Lama, our motivation for working determines our level of satisfaction. The book explores three levels of focus: survival, career, and calling. Once again, Cutler walks us through the Dalai Lama's reasoning so that we know how to apply the wisdom to daily life. This practical application of Buddhist ideas is an invaluable source of strength and peace for anyone who earns a living.

10% Human

10% Human PDF Author: Alanna Collen
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062346008
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 316

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Book Description
Now in paperback, evolutionary biologist and science writer Alanna Collen’s stunning alarm call concerning the widely-ignored role our gut microbes play in our health and well-being. “Fascinating…. Everything you wanted to know about microbes but were afraid to ask.”— Kirkus Reviews (starred review) You are just 10% human. For every one of the cells that make up the vessel that you call your body, there are nine impostor cells hitching a ride. You are not just flesh and blood, muscle and bone, brain and skin, but also bacteria and fungi. Over your lifetime, you will carry the equivalent weight of five African elephants in microbes. You are not an individual but a colony. Until recently, we had thought our microbes hardly mattered, but science is revealing a different story, one in which microbes run our bodies and becoming a healthy human is impossible without them. In this riveting, shocking, and beautifully written book, biologist Alanna Collen draws on the latest scientific research to show how our personal colony of microbes influences our weight, our immune system, our mental health, and even our choice of partner. She argues that so many of our modern diseases—obesity, autism, mental illness, digestive disorders, allergies, autoimmunity afflictions, and even cancer—have their root in our failure to cherish our most fundamental and enduring relationship: that with our personal colony of microbes. The good news is that unlike our human cells, we can change our microbes for the better. Collen’s book is a revelatory and indispensable guide. Life—and your body—will never seem the same again.