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Reading lists

Fascinating books about Psychology

Putting Ancient Wisdom to the Test of Modern Science

The Happiness Hypothesis

Ten Ways to Find Happiness and Meaning in Life

An uplifting exploration of ancient wisdom for our modern lives and how it can make us happier - from the author of The Anxious Mind and The Righteous Mind. 
___________________________________ 
 
In The Happiness Hypothesis, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt examines ten Great Ideas which have been championed across centuries and civilisations and asks: how can we apply these ideas to our twenty-first century lives? 
 
By holding ancient wisdom to the test of modern psychology, Haidt extracts lessons on how we can train our brains to be more optimistic, build better relationships and achieve a sense of balance. He also explores how we can overcome the obstacles to well-being that we place in our own way. 
 
In this uplifting and empowering book, Haidt draws on sources as diverse as Buddha, Benjamin Franklin and Shakespeare to show how we can find happiness and meaning in life. 
___________________________________ 
'I don't think I ever read a book that laid out the contemporary understanding of the human condition with such simple clarity and sense.' Guardian

I really can't recommend this book enough. It's one of the best and most insightful books I've ever read . . . this book is just amazing for helping you recognize errors in thinking and personal biases that we all experience. It really gets to the roots of what makes people happy and unhappy rather than being some sort of a positive thinking, motivational book. Just outstanding stuff that you can really apply in day to day life.

Examining the ideas of thinkers like Plato, Buddha and Jesus in light of modern research . . . Haidt, a social psychologist, provides practical advice for parenting, romance, work and coping with the political and cultural divisions.

The Happiness Hypothesis is a wonderful and nuanced book that provides deep insight into the some of the most important questions in life - Why are we here? What kind of life should we lead? What paths lead to happiness? From the ancient philosophers to cutting edge scientists, Haidt weaves a tapestry of the best and the brightest. His highly original work on elevation and awe - two long-neglected emotions - adds a new weave to that tapestry. A truly inspiring book.

David M. Buss, author of The Evolution of Desire

This is a delightful book . . . Haidt's writing embraces spiritual and mystical viewpoints while retaining scientific and rational coherence.

This unusual book sets itself apart from the self-help category with its extensive scientific references, and intelligent, neutral prose, while the author's illuminating illustration of how the human mind works is both educational and refreshing.

Psychologist Jonathan Haidt shows in his wonderfully smart and readable The Happiness Hypothesis [that] modern science and history have a lot to say to each other

You know what? Reading it did actually make this reviewer happier.

Prof Damien Hughes, co-author of HIGH PERFORMANCE

Every culture hands wisdom down through generations. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others. Happiness comes from within. Can these 'truths' hold the key to a happier, more fulfilled life? 
 
In The Happiness Hypothesis, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt examines ten Great Ideas which have been championed across centuries and civilisations and asks: how can we apply these ideas to our twenty-first century lives? By holding ancient wisdom to the test of modern psychology, Haidt extracts lessons on how we can train our brains to be more optimistic, build better relationships and achieve a sense of balance. He also explores how we can overcome the obstacles to well-being that we place in our own way. 
 
In this uplifting and empowering book, Haidt draws on sources as diverse as Buddha, Benjamin Franklin and Shakespeare to show how we can find happiness and meaning in life. 
 
'I don't think I ever read a book that laid out the contemporary understanding of the human condition with such simple clarity and sense.' Guardian

How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure

The Coddling of the American Mind

The New York Times bestseller 
 
Financial Times, TLS, Evening Standard, New Statesman Books of the Year 
 
'Excellent, their advice is sound . . . liberal parents, in particular, should read it' Financial Times 
 
Have good intentions, over-parenting and the decline in unsupervised play led to the emergence of modern identity politics and hypersensitivity? 
 
In this book, free speech campaigner Greg Lukianoff and social psychologist Jonathan Haidt investigate a new cultural phenomenon of "safetyism", beginning on American college campuses in 2014 and spreading throughout academic institutions in the English-speaking world. 
 
Looking at the consequences of paranoid parenting, the increase in anxiety and depression amongst students and the rise of new ideas about justice, Lukianoff and Haidt argue that well-intended but misguided attempts to protect young people are damaging their development and mental health, the functioning of educational systems and even democracy itself.

Excellent . . . their advice is sound . . . liberal parents, in particular, should read it

An important if disturbing book . . . Lukianoff and Haidt tell a plausible story

A compelling and timely argument against attitudes and practises that, however well-intended, are damaging our universities, harming our children and leaving an entire generation intellectually and emotionally ill-prepared for an ever-more fraught and complex world. A brave and necessary work.

No one is omniscient or infallible, so a willingness to evaluate new ideas is vital to understanding our world. Yet universities, which ought to be forums for open debate, are developing a reputation for dogmatism and intolerance. Haidt and Lukianoff, distinguished advocates of freedom of expression, offer a deep analysis of what's going wrong on campus, and how we can hold universities to their highest ideals.

Our behavior in society is not immune to the power of rational scientific analysis. Through that lens, prepare yourself for a candid look at the softening of America, and what we can do about it.

We can talk ourselves into believing that some kinds of speech will shatter us, or we can talk ourselves out of that belief. The authors know the science. We are not as fragile as our self-appointed protectors suppose. Read this deeply informed book to become a more resilient soul in a more resilient democracy.

Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion

The Righteous Mind

'A landmark contribution to humanity's understanding of itself' The New York Times 
 
Why can it sometimes feel as though half the population is living in a different moral universe? Why do ideas such as 'fairness' and 'freedom' mean such different things to different people? Why is it so hard to see things from another viewpoint? Why do we come to blows over politics and religion? 
 
Jonathan Haidt reveals that we often find it hard to get along because our minds are hardwired to be moralistic, judgemental and self-righteous. He explores how morality evolved to enable us to form communities, and how moral values are not just about justice and equality - for some people authority, sanctity or loyalty matter more. Morality binds and blinds, but, using his own research, Haidt proves it is possible to liberate ourselves from the disputes that divide good people.

A landmark contribution to humanity's understanding of itself

If you want to know why you hold your moral beliefs and why many people disagree with you, read this book

A tour de force - brave, brilliant, and eloquent. It will challenge the way you think about liberals and conservatives, atheism and religion, good and evil

Compelling . . . a fluid combination of erudition and entertainment

Lucid and thought-provoking . . . deserves to be widely read

Jonathan Haidt

Compelling, readable &ndash; and incredibly chilling . . . a terrifying assessment of the digital carnage . . . remarkably persuasive . . . a clarion-call to parents everywhere

Deals seriously with counter-arguments and gaps in the evidence . . . all the suggestions sound sensible. Some even sound fun

A game-changer for society . . . The statistics that Haidt offers are jaw-dropping . . . although this book is about young people, it will resonate with many of us . . . I can’t recommend this book highly enough; everyone should read it

A book of devastating observations . . . his data is startling . . . robust scientific evidence for what we've all come to assume is true . . . it's the sheer scale of harm depicted here that should galvanise us

Forget horror; this is one of the most terrifying books I have read . . . some of the statistics Haidt quotes are truly shocking . . . a persuasive and rousing argument

If this important book rings enough alarms to make politicians impose a genuine social media ban on children, I believe most parents would be happy and most teenagers happier

Urgent and essential . . . it ought to become a foundational text for the growing movement to keep smartphones out of schools, and young children off social media

Lucid, memorable, galvanizing

I would be amazed if large parts of this book don&rsquo;t ring painfully true . . . Whatever we do, it&rsquo;s time to recognise that there&rsquo;s been a massive shift in human behaviour

This book is a must-read for anyone raising, working with, or teaching young people today. It made me reflect on how much of my younger years—which were often spent running around outside without my parents around, sometimes getting into trouble—helped shape who I am today. I appreciate that he doesn’t just lay out the problem—he offers real solutions that are worth considering

An urgent and provocative read on why so many kids are not okay&mdash;and how to course correct. . . . even if you&rsquo;re not ready to ban smartphones until high school, this book will challenge you to rethink how we nurture the potential in our kids and prepare them for the world

Jonathan Haidt is a modern-day prophet, disguised as a psychologist. In this book, he&rsquo;s back to warn us of the dangers of a phone-based childhood. He points the way forward to a brighter, stronger future for us all

This is a crucial read for parents of children of elementary school age and beyond, who face the rapidly changing landscape of childhood. Haidt lays out problems but also solutions for making a better digital life with kids

Every single parent needs to stop what they are doing and read this book immediately. Jonathan Haidt is the most important psychologist in the world today, and this is the most important book on the topic that&rsquo;s reshaping your child&rsquo;s life right now

Beautifully grounds his critique in Buddhist, Taoist and Christian thought traditions . . . his common-sense recommendations for actions...are excellent

The definitive book about the pernicious effects of ubiquitous mobile phone use

Compelling thesis . . . interweaving distressing analysis alongside practical advice

How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness

Jonathan Haidt has spent his career speaking truth and wisdom in some of the most difficult spaces &ndash; communities polarized by politics and religion, campuses battling culture wars, and now the mental health emergency hitting teenagers today in many countries around the world. 
 
In The Anxious Generation, Haidt shows how, between 2010 and 2015, childhood and adolescence got rewired. As teens traded in their flip phones for smartphones packed with social media apps, time online soared, including time spent comparing oneself to a vast pool of others. Time engaging face-to-face with friends and family plummeted, and so did mental health. 
 
But this is not just a story about technology; this profound shift took place against a backdrop of declining childhood freedom and free-play, as parents over-supervised every aspect of their children&rsquo;s lives offline, depriving them of the experiences they most need to become strong and self-governing adults. 
 
In this book, Haidt makes a compelling argument that the loss of play-based childhood and its replacement with a phone-based childhood that is not suitable for human development is the source of increased mental distress among teenagers. The Anxious Generation delves into the latest psychological and biological research to show the four fundamental ways in which a phone-based childhood disrupts development &ndash; sleep deprivation, social deprivation, cognitive fragmentation and addiction. Haidt offers separate in-depth analyses of what has happened to girls, and what has happened to boys, offering practical advice for parents, schools, governments, and teens themselves. Drawing on ancient wisdom and cutting-edge research, this eye-opening book is a life raft and a powerful call-to-arms.

Jonathan Haidt

Praise for The Anxious Generation

A very important book

Compelling, readable – and incredibly chilling . . . a terrifying assessment of the digital carnage . . . remarkably persuasive . . . a clarion-call to parents everywhere

Deals seriously with counter-arguments and gaps in the evidence . . . all the suggestions sound sensible. Some even sound fun

A very important book

Compelling, readable – and incredibly chilling . . . a terrifying assessment of the digital carnage . . . remarkably persuasive . . . a clarion-call to parents everywhere

Deals seriously with counter-arguments and gaps in the evidence . . . all the suggestions sound sensible. Some even sound fun

A very important book

Compelling, readable – and incredibly chilling . . . a terrifying assessment of the digital carnage . . . remarkably persuasive . . . a clarion-call to parents everywhere

Deals seriously with counter-arguments and gaps in the evidence . . . all the suggestions sound sensible. Some even sound fun

Books by Jonathan Haidt

Articles featuring Jonathan Haidt

Fascinating books about Psychology

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