An extremely worthwhile book
As a psychologist, I completely understand Martin Seligman's drive to free psychology from its obsession with negativity. Freud, he writes, made many people "unduly embittered about their past and unduly passive about their future," while clinical psychology focussed on diagnosing and treating mental disorders. In his new book, Authentic Happiness, Seligman goes a long way towards breaking psychology free from its love affair with pathology and replacing it with a far more positive approach.I don't know of anyone with better credentials to guide readers through what psychology has discovered about happiness. Seligman's own research has contributed greatly to our understanding of the entire range of human experience from profound depression to "abundant gratification." His early, groundbreaking studies of learned helplessness provided great insight into inescapable trauma as a major source of helplessness and depression. He went on to study "learned optimism" as a powerful antidote to depression--his earlier book by that name is invaluable. Now, Seligman sets out to provide readers with the insights and tools from the relatively new field of positive psychology. He does this with a rich mixture of anecdotes, personal revelations and research. In addition, he provides frequent self-assessments and exercises. I think that almost anyone who takes the time to read what Seligman has to say, who takes and thinks about the self assessments, and who does the exercises, will start thinking and acting in ways that lead to lasting happiness. It's important to realize that Seligman is not a self-help guru by any stretch of the imagination. He is a leading research psychologist who builds on solid experimental findings. (Although the book is vividly written for the most part, at times Seligman's reliance on research findings slows things down.) Still, he is also devoted to the idea of making those often dry experiments as meaningful and useful as possible. He doesn't promise limitless bliss, but what he does offer may actually be reachable by ordinary, unenlightened people like us. Early in the book Seligman makes the point that pleasure in itself is not the road to happiness. As we all know, pleasure is fleeting, and pursuing it can easily turn into addiction or futility. Instead Seligman identifies and values a set of nearly universal virtues which he believes lead to deep and lasting gratification. These include wisdom and knowledge, courage, love and humanity, justice, temperance, spirituality and transcendance. "The good life," he writes, "is using your signature strengths every day to produce authentic happiness and abundant gratification." What I liked most about this book is that it made me feel good about myself, other people, and the "simple" virtues that make up much of the fabric of life, but which are often ignored and devalued. Kindness, tolerance, competence, interpersonal skills, a work ethic, and faith emerge as vital ingredients of a good, gratifying, happy life. Authentic Happiness is not a miracle cure for all unhappiness. It is, however, a wise, well-informed, and extremely valuable guide to a more grounded, heartfelt and gratifying life. Robert Adler, Author of _Sharing the Children: How to Resolve Custody Problems and Get on With Your Life_(1988, 2nd. Ed. 2001), and _Science Firsts: From the Creation of Science to the Science of Creation_ (2002).
Sorry for spoiling the party
This is not the review I hoped to write. Personally, I am alarmed by the emerging trends in the area of "negative" psychology and it's far from too early to try finding what the positive can offer. Martin Seligman impresses me as a kind, modest, intelligent and educated man, and I also enjoyed his sense of humor. And yet, I think this book is problematic, and here is why. Good things first, though: This book is very interesting in both meanings, enjoyable to read and provides information that can be helpful, if not for making the reader a happier person, then at least for understanding ourselves and others. The author appears as very knowledgeable and a critical thinker. The problem: Frequently he isn't. One very common mistake he does is the mundane one - confusing correlation with cause and effect relation: Examples: Does happiness results longevity, or both are results of a common reason? Do chores make children successful as adults, or are characteristics that make a child likely to help at home also makes her likely to be successful later in life? Other examples of questionable claims: Is depression becoming more prevalent or is it diagnosed more? (Some of his data would point to the later). Is giving a child chores that takes her personal "strengths" is expected to be beneficial for her future, or does it defies the basic idea? One can argue that doing what one is good at is "no biggie", what we really better be prepared to is doing things we are not so good at, things we don't like to do, and the supportive surrounding of our close family is the safest place to start experiencing it. I can imagine this being argued instead, and the same people would wipe the same tears and say the same "This is SO true!" But which one it is? To the best of my knowledge it is not clear at this time, while the best evidence suggest that neither. (However, if I'm wrong and chores are beneficial, I invite the Seligmans - eight of them, to clean my place. I guarantee a tremendous feeling of well-deserved satisfaction upon completion). Indeed, the chapter about parenting is especially perplexing. It is mainly a collection of anecdotes of how the Seligmans handled, successfully according to their own judgment, conflict they had with their children, with the assumption that this will effect their future for the better, and an even broader assumption that this is also true for every child. Not that it wasn't a pleasure to read; witnessing affectionate relations between parents and their children is one of the most charming thing there is. Yet this is unfair for those who worked hard to find what really affect children, and it seems that professor Seligman is not very proficient in this sub-field. Indeed, both assumptions are unsupported by research (if genetic is control for, see The Nurture Assumption by Judith Rich Harris, The Blank Slate by Steven Pinker). Also, one "common sense" advice contradicts the other: His "reciprocity game", of family members mimicking a toddler gesture to give her a feeling she is important and loved - isn't it an example of false reassurance (since regularly adults would not bang a table in the end of a meal), against which he next advises? The book presents very interesting insights into happiness. However, at least for two main themes, "flow" and "strengths", a crucial question is still Do those concepts suggest a therapeutic approach, or do they merely a description of enjoying emotional well-being? Especially, consider strengths, which are human traits that are appreciated in many cultures. Yet, this is not because they are happiness initiators; on the contrary, those who exhibit such strengths are admired for enduring the emotional cost associated with being kind, self-controlled, truth seeker, etc. It is with regret that I criticize a book that is written with such a noble and important intention, especially since it seems to contain important grains of truth and interesting leads. Unfortunately, other readers' reviews only confirm my fear, that because of the author credentials and trust-worthy appearance, readers can easily be mislead; it is very difficult to get the substantiated facts from the wishful thinking, even more so for those who are outsiders to social sciences. I really wish a lot of success to the branch of positive psychology, and will certainly look forward for progress in deciphering authentic happiness. There is a little doubt on my mind that we can expect a lot from Martin Seligman's leadership. This book, though, leaves much to desire for.
It was a Godsend!
"Authentic Happiness" is the best psychology book I've read in ages. Dr. Seligman's advice for achieving emotional fulfillment through pursuing ones's innate strengths, rather than picking apart the past and trying to solve decades-old problems, is brilliant. I'm ready to use what I've read to make a better life for myself. Another book that I recommend is "HE NEVER CALLED AGAIN."
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