Seeking the Good
The Leadership & Happiness Laboratory is excited to announce Seeking the Good, a series of monthly inquiries into community, culture, & society.
‘The Form of the Good,’ a Platonic ideal, is the origin of knowledge. Plato argues that only from ‘the Good’—a perfect, eternal, and changeless idea—can justice and truth derive value. As imperfect people, it is a concept that will always be just beyond our grasp, but also one that must be sought after if we hope for a better world. In this new journal, the Leadership & Happiness Laboratory intends to inquire about problems and propose solutions with this ideal top of mind.
The first collection of essays will comment on remedies to America’s political malaise, how leadership is entwined with pain (and meaning), how to buoy up workplace culture, when conflict is beneficial, and more. It is our hope that Seeking the Good will provide the basis for leaders of families, businesses, and political parties to unite in a shared vision of goodness. Only in seeking can we move forward together.
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Why Disagreement is Good for Us
Today’s university is gripped by polarization. Yet this should not obscure the fact that disagreement, when done properly, bolsters our own views and moves us closer to truth. A first step toward this end is to re-engage with philosophy, which has power to ignite a virtuous culture on campus, not in spite of—but because of—our disagreements.
Xavier Symons, Director of the Plunkett Centre for Ethics, The Australian Catholic University
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The Path to Healthier Thought Patterns
Negative thought patterns, spurred by excessive rumination, are corrosive to our well-being. In an adaptation of her recent lecture at the Harvard Business School, renowned psychologist Dr. Laurie Santos shows us the best practices to rewire this troubling tendency.
Dr. Laurie Santos, Professor of Psychology, Yale University
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Leadership and pain: Why unhappiness is essential for self-actualization
Leadership isn’t easy, and, indeed, can be painful. But when pain inevitably arrives, we oughtn’t run from it. Instead, social science points to reliable ways to improve one’s well-being amid hard times.
Alexis Sargent, Laboratory Research Assistant, Harvard Kennedy School Master in Public Policy student (‘24)
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Balance and Harmony: The Hidden Heart of Happiness
For centuries the West has been animated by a spirit of maximalism. Yet a different, more Eastern approach — optimalism — would usher in both “balance” and “harmony” into our well-being lexicon. These principles, if studied seriously, have a real possibility to heal a world beset by crises.
Dr. Timothy Lomas, Psychology Research Scientist, Harvard’s Human Flourishing Program
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The (expanded) history of American happiness
In America, the pursuit of happiness has evolved (at best) into a misguided sense of what happiness is, or has maladapted (at worst) into a pursuit that inadvertently makes us miserable. Guided by American history, we explore the arrival of this cultural moment, and then propose how to build a more meaningful ethos of national happiness.
Bryce Fuemmeler, Research Associate, Leadership & Happiness Laboratory
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Great leaders are happiness teachers
By drawing from lessons in history and modern social science, one thing is clear about leadership: The best leaders don’t command, they teach. Here’s how to become a better teacher — and by proxy, a better leader.
Reece Brown, Assistant Director, Leadership & Happiness Laboratory
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Public leaders should build a culture based on compassion, not confrontation
In our world, it seems that confrontation has won the day. To rebuild a better culture, politicians can win support by instead acting with compassion.
Bryce Fuemmeler, Research Associate, Leadership & Happiness Laboratory