The book offers an interesting view into how we find happiness and gives you something to think about.

Haidt has done some really interesting research and the book has some real gems that, but be aware of the lens through which Haidt perceives the world. In the first half of the book he uses political examples that would have one thinking that all hypocrisy and demonization in the United States comes from the political right. Towards the end of the book he acknowledges that he is politically liberal and goes on to summarize that the politcal right in the U.S. is better at holding community together while the left is better at standing up for the individual. Haidt would benefit from getting out of his ivory tower and seeing that there is a world where the exact opposite argument could be made more cogently.

His lens is shared by many of our academic institutions and one can only wonder what people will think of our age when they look back in 50 or 100 years and wonder how it was that we didn't use the knowledge at our fingertips more productively. Considering how much I otherwise enjoyed this book, it was disappointing that Haidt's bias and blind spots threw into question the book's broader credibility.

Yes and I do. Anyone who can call themselves a Jewish atheist is my kind of guy. But seriously, if you are tired of New Age invocations to find yourself as though you'd lost yourself somewhere, then this is for you. Grounded, solid, knowledgable, humorous, compassionate and he doesn't preach or invite you to feel part of a bigger anything. This is a book that should be read (or heard) by anyone, irrespective of whether they feel they have something to learn about the human condition, especially if they think they have nothing to learn about the human condition. And if your religious or ascribe to a force out there, don't read this, you might be tempted to finally accept that it is you.

Me

Hmm, that's a little harder to comment on. I am Australian and he definitely sounds like the American equivalent of someone trying to speak with a plumb in their mouth. At first, I thought he was completely the wrong reader because one had the feeling that he didn't empathise with the content but I got over this and now quite like his voice. Not a big issue.

To get on with it, stop fussing so much, stop blaming and tearing what little hair I have left out. To accept my humanity and I mean the fact that I am an animal who walks upright and has being telling himself that what goes on in my head is beyond me. It isn't.

Yes, get this into schools ASAP

I have been a "spiritual seeker" for the past 30 years. Mostly, I have studied Eastern philosophy. Not so much Western thinking. In fact, I sort of "poo-poo'd" Western thought because "striving", "achieving", etc., all seemed like an anathema to my Eastern way of thinking. Psychology and science just all felt sort of "meh" to me.

However, something has been missing for me and I have found myself increasingly anxious and agitated with "just being in the moment". In reading this wonderful book, I found out WHY. I now feel so much more balanced and feel like I am finally sailing out of the doldrums of my mind.

This book has given me a greater understanding of my own mind and the mind of my fellow human beings. Strangely, understanding Western thinking has made me a more compassionate person. Understanding some of our basic drives and even (gasp) "brain function" has made me more open and kind. I always thought it would be Eastern thought that would accomplish this. However, it was a deeper understanding of SCIENCE which tempered me (a surprise!) But I do want to point out that this book, by no means, just concentrates on Western thought. It's just that FOR ME, there was a lot of missing information. I had a lot of "holy sh**!" moments while listening.

This book has changed my life and the way I view the world. Not only that, but I feel like I've grown up a little. And wised up a LOT.

Great book. Great reading of the book. Highly recommend.

A great blend of psychology and philosophy. Really thoughtfully put together. Narrator is a little robotic, but totally bearable.

I regret this review will be of little help for most but my heading says it all. I can't believe this was given such a high rating by so many people.

...but soon degraded into politically biased incoherence. Listen to the first hour then delete it.

I liked this book very much at the beginning. With all the scientific research I was hooked, however, at the end I kind of lost interest. I do not know, I think the author lost some track at the very end.

This listen was fairly interesting but I wonder about the accuracy. The author made errors in assumptions of Buddhism. This leads me to believe the possibility exists that he may have made similar errors in other assumptions of other ancient and not so ancient teachers in this book, say, Lao-tzu, etc. Basically, teachers that I know not much about. Which then casts doubt on this book's credibility. This is too bad because this book is orderly. I wonder if the proper experiential research was done in order to be accurate. I believe though, that the writer's intent was to be as correct as possible. Regarding Buddhism, of which I've studied, it seems to me that he misunderstands at least some of Buddha's teachings. The author says Buddha is wrong or only partially correct because Buddhism teaches that happiness comes only from within and that one must stop clinging to material things. I believe the author missed the intent of Shakyamuni's teachings. That is, if you wish to transcend suffering or get beyond some sort of unease or discomfort in your life you must teach yourself not to cling to these uncomfortable positions. Does this take effort? You bet. Buddha taught that there are ways that this can be done. One is the three fires -let go of greed, hatred, and delusion. There are other ways Buddha teaches to do this as well. What Buddha intended was much like what modern brain science today teaches -that you can change your life by changing your thoughts. Likely the Buddha didn't realize that brain neuronal pathways can be altered but in effect that is what's happening when we consistently change our thoughts until we are no longer bothered by the 'monkey mind' (or maybe he did know this). Meditation is a great way to do this. The other error is stating the mythological or embellished story of the birth and life of Siddhartha Gautama and using that as a reference to make a point shows the author's lack of experiential knowledge.

Great listen! Haidt contextualizes the sometimes obscure ancient ideologies behind pervasive societal tendencies using contemporary Psychology. Mostly on target, occasionally disappointing when jumping too far to reach his conclusions, but ultimately worth it for the build up and presentation of the final chapters on religion and spiritual elevation as components of a fulfilled life.