Happiness Expert Daniel M. Haybron to Speak Jan. 20 at Ohio Wesleyan
Daniel M. Haybron, Ph.D.
DELAWARE, Ohio – Broadly speaking, Daniel M. Haybron says, he is “interested in the connection between human nature and the good life.”
An associate professor of philosophy at Saint Louis University, Haybron, Ph.D., explains that his “research focuses mainly on the psychology of well-being and its connections with issues in ethical and political thought, as well as empirical research on well-being.”
Haybron will speak Jan. 20 at Ohio Wesleyan University, sharing his insights on “The Moral Basis of Happiness Policy.” He will speak at 4:10 p.m. in Benes Room B of OWU’s Hamilton-Williams Campus Center, 40 Rowland Ave., Delaware. The event is free and open to the public.
In an April column in The New York Times, “Happiness and Its Discontents,” Haybron writes: “[O]ur emotional conditions may provide the single best indicator of how, in general, our lives are going. … If you are generally depressed, anxious or stressed, you will probably not find an answer to your problems by scrutinizing the day’s events one by one. It may be wiser, instead, to consider whether the way you are living really makes sense. Often, the signals of the emotional self can set us on the path to better ways of living — and a happiness worthy of the name.”
Haybron’s most recent books are “Happiness: A Very Short Introduction” (2013) and “The Pursuit of Unhappiness: The Elusive Psychology of Well-Being.” (2008).
Of his earlier book, reviewers said: “[T]his is a brilliant and comprehensive philosophical treatment of happiness in the psychological sense. … The book calls us to rethink our assumptions about the good life and the good society, raising many of the questions explored by Aldous Huxley in ‘Brave New World’ and ‘Island.’ All this raises interesting and complex questions for politicians and educationalist as they grapple with introducing happiness studies into the curriculum.”
Read more about Haybron at sites.google.com/site/danhaybron.
Haybron’s presentation is sponsored by Ohio Wesleyan’s Arneson Institute for Practical Politics and Public Affairs. Founded in 1947, the Arneson Institute supports interdisciplinary student and faculty research projects involving local, state, national, and international public policy; brings prominent national and international guest speakers to campus; hosts and manages the “Wesleyan in Washington” student internship program; and more.
Read about the Arneson Institute, its history, and its programs at https://www.owu.edu/academics/departments-programs/department-of-politics-government/arneson-institute/.
Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private university offers 86 undergraduate majors and competes in 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Ohio Wesleyan combines a challenging, internationally focused curriculum with off-campus learning and leadership opportunities to connect classroom theory with real-world experience. OWU’s 1,750 students represent 46 U.S. states and territories and 43 countries. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the latest President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, and included in the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review “best colleges” lists. Learn more at www.owu.edu.