Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Experiences Make Us Happier Than Possessions

A new scientific study has shown that experiences make us happier than possessions. This is one of the main arguments of my book, an argument that is especially important, at least I believe, during a time when many are losing possessions or unable to purchase them. Here's a link to the article:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/02/10/happiness.possessions/index.html

2 comments:

  1. Eric, I like the tone of the idea behind this book. It reflects what my favorite philosopher once said, "Is not LIFE more important than food and the BODY more important than clothes?" This idea was basically re-quoted by Tyler Durden in "Fight Club" as "You are not your F*cking khakis."

    The West's idols are comfort, convenience, and entertainment and our rampant consumerism is one of the reasons the Developing World resents us so much. What America needs is a wake up call and perhaps this economic recession will move us toward that.

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  2. I couldn't agree more, and one reason I liked "Fight Club" so much was precisely its attack of American consumerism. Last fall, there was a very interesting article in The Spectator about how blind optimism might be partly to blame for our current economic crisis. The article explores the idea that skepticism, and a sense of the world's ambiguity, is essential for strong leadership, financial or otherwise. Here's the article: http://www.spectator.co.uk/the-magazine/style-and-travel/2539416/part_2/the-power-of-negative-thinking.thtml.

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