If happiness is to be had, it must be studied. Tal Ben-Shahar acted on this belief when he created the Master’s of Arts in Happiness Studies in partnership with Centenary University, through which students of eighty-five nationalities learn how to achieve well-being and how to impact others’ flourishing.
In this episode, Tal joins Grant to discuss the study of happiness in an academic setting. They ask: How successful are the liberal arts in teaching students how to be happy? What does religion have to offer in the conversation on happiness? What is the ideal profile for the teacher - or student - of a happiness course? And, is happiness the missing key to uniting the University?
2:40 - The Happiness Studies program aims to reclaim the original definition of the term “happiness.”
5:44 - In order to become happy, a person must not only receive information but also undergo transformation by implementing those ideas.
8:43 - Liberal arts classes should begin with the question: “How can these philosophers improve the quality of our lives?” This could eliminate the need for courses solely on happiness.
12:33 - Impacting others starts with ourselves and, conversely, helping others is the surest way to become happy ourselves. Therefore, becoming happy and helping others to be happy are inevitably interconnected.
16:43 - In the Western world, the problem in our education is that “we're throwing the baby out with the bathwater… Religion has been around for thousands of years. Religion has made very important progress when it comes to leading a full and fulfilling life. Why discard these ideas?”
20:19 - The Happiness Studies Academy’s online format
23:58 - “Intellectually promiscuous” teachers are hard to find yet essential for an interdisciplinary program that focuses on human flourishing.
28:50 - Happiness is a good in itself and a means toward an end, making the MA in happiness attractive to all people, including those who want to improve the outputs of their workplace.
33:08 - The university is united by happiness, or “the end towards which all other things lead” (Aristotle). However, the university must recognize divergence in disciplines as well as the ideal of convergence, since both assist thought.