Stoic happiness

	Ethics in Bricks ⁦‪@EthicsInBricks‬⁩ "The essence of philosophy is that a man should so live that his happiness shall depend as little as possible on external things." - Epictetus pic.twitter.com/9miiYy3IwF   9/25/22, 10:05 AM

Tweet by Phil Oliver on Twitter

	Phil Oliver ⁦‪@OSOPHER‬⁩ Beautiful writing, deep reflection from ⁦‪@MargaretRenkl‬⁩ on seasonal transitions and why we must allow ourselves to "risk delight" while we can. nytimes.com/2022/09/19/opi…   9/19/22, 7:06 AM

“Barbara Ehrenreich on collective joy

	Boston Review ⁦‪@BostonReview‬⁩ "Barbara's call for collective joy was one that came from a deeply held belief that such celebrations were essential for the health of any society." Lynne Segal remembers Barbara Ehrenreich: bostonreview.net/articles/my-re…   9/18/22, 11:30 AM

Who is Pulling Our Strings?

 On the topic of free will as an explanation for human evil, I wanted to resurface this clip summarizing an experiment first conducted in the 80's that sought to gain some insight into who was calling the shots. This has since been replicated many times with similar findings. I wanted to post this as something to consider rather than stating my own thoughts about it. That said, I'm curious to hear yours. Also, for the skeptics who are only interested in increasing their skepticism, here is an article that I think provides some fair questions and criticisms about the methodology and interpretations of the study. 

    Enjoy

Lucretius and Epicurus on the radio

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001bkw8?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile

What Is Fun? Can I Have It? Will We Ever Have It Again?

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/08/20/opinion/fun-things-to-do.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

The Power of Negative Thinking

…Positivity lingo lacks nuance, compassion and curiosity. It comes in the form of blanket statements that tell someone how to feel and that the feeling they're currently having is wrong," writes the therapist Whitney Goodman in TOXIC POSITIVITY: Keeping It Real in a World Obsessed With Being Happy (TargerPerigee, 304 pp., $26). In other words, if it's bad to harsh someone's mellow, it's sometimes worse to mellow someone's harsh. The book is a bracing tonic meant to counteract society's pressure to be a living, breathing smile emoji. "Toxic positivity," Goodman explains, comes out of an understandable desire to fix things — but when we can't, we become stressed and feel helpless... 
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/26/books/review/toxic-positivity-whitney-goodman.html?referringSource=articleShare

For Instant Happiness, Grab a Book and Head Outside

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/06/books/review/reading-outside-pastime.html?referringSource=articleShare

Happiness Is Other People

"Study after study shows that good social relationships are the strongest, most consistent predictor there is of a happy life, even going so far as to call them a "necessary condition for happiness," meaning that humans can't actually be happy without them. This is a finding that cuts across race, age, gender, income and social class so overwhelmingly that it dwarfs any other factor."

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/27/opinion/sunday/happiness-is-other-people.html?referringSource=highlightShare

Phil.Oliver@mtsu.edu

👣Solvitur ambulando

💭Sapere aude

The Power of Negative Thinking

The happiness scholar Tal Ben-Shahar compares the relentless pursuit of happiness, happiness as a value, to sunlight. The sun is vital for life on earth, but if you stare directly at it, you can go blind...

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/26/books/review/toxic-positivity-whitney-goodman.html?referringSource=articleShare