TGB & Associates, LLC
Meaning and "Authentic Happiness" !
Lecture & Workshops
Introductory Lecture:
To the scientific question on how to age well, the Harvard Study of Adult Development concludes, at a minimum, it is essential that we have a stable marriage (or relationship), have 12+ years of education, abstain from (or quit) smoking, avoid alcohol abuse and being overweight, and exercise. Fulfilling these requirements is relatively easy. Effectively overcoming uncertainties associated with choosing a career, handling grief over loss of a loved one, a job, an "empty nest," a life threatening illness, retirement or marital distress, however, is also necessary to age well. Moreover, it is important to distinguish aging well from true happiness: they are not the same thing. Perhaps, Oscar Wilde made the point best when he wrote "To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, and that is all." To flourish or as Wilde says "to live" is a challenge! To flourish we cannot be passive. My "Introductory Lecture" reviews research at Harvard and other research universities on aging well; additionally, it is an introduction to three contemporary theories of happiness.
Flourishing Lectures & Workshops:
Every serious discussion of aging well and happiness begins with the observation that health, wealth and pleasure are not enough. For true, enduring happiness some thing more than what is portrayed in "Lives of the Rich and Famous" is required. Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi, the discoverer of "flow,"argues that “vital engagement” is necessary. My "Flow Lecture & Workshop"explains Csikszentmihalyi's theory of vital engagement.
Martin Seligman, founder of the positive psychology movement, argues that virtue is necessary for "authentic" happiness. Only the virtuous age well and flourish! My "Positive Psychology Lecture & Workshop" explains Seligman's theory of human flourishing and traces its roots to the philosophy of Aristotle and the Stoic Philosopher Epictetus.
My "Emotions Lecture & Workshop" also draws on the philosophy of Aristotle and the Stoics. It is different from Seligman's theory of "Authentic Happiness" in that its starting point is a theory of the emotions due to Martha Nussbaum. The Nussbaum neo-Stoic theory of the emotions escapes criticism leveled at Csikszentmihalyi's and Seligman's theories of happiness. Neither of their theories satisfactorily address the issue of motivation. The motivation issue is how to move individuals and societies beyond narrow self-interest toward genuine compassion and cosmopolitanism. For Nussbaum the issue is: “what positive contribution do emotions, as such, make to ethical deliberation, both personal and public." Nussbaum explores the role of emotions in an individual’s ethical deliberation and social progress. The “Emotions Lecture and Workshop” explains the central role of emotions as an instrument for personal change and social progress.
CONTACT US (Click on "Request Additional Information") for additional information on the workshops and their availability.
San Diego, CA 92116 Telephone: (619) 206-0249
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