A Life Worth Living

A Life Worth Living brings together the latest thought on Positive Psychology from an international cast of scholars. It includes historical, philosophical, and empirical reviews of what psychologists have found to matter for personal happiness and well-being. The contributions to this volume agree on priciples of optimal development that start from purely material and selfish concerns, but then lead to ever broader circles of responsibility embracing the goals of others and the well-being of the environment; on the importance of spirituality; on the development of strengths specific to the individual. Rather than material success, popularity, or power, the investigations reported in this volume suggest that personally constructed goals, intrinsic motivation, and a sense of autonomy are much more important. The chapters indicate that hardship and suffering do not necessarily make us unhappy, and they suggest therapeutical implications for improving the quality of life. Specific topics covered include the formation of optimal childhood values and habits as well as a new perspective on aging. This volume provides a powerful counterpoint to a mistakenly reductionist psychology. They show that subjective experience can be studied scientifically and measured accurately. They highlight the potentiality for autonomy and freedom that is among the most precious elements of the human condition. MOreover, they make a convincing case for the importance of subjective phenomena, which often affect happiness more than external, material conditions. After long decades during which psychologists seemed to have forgotten that misery is not the only option, the blossoming ofPositive Psychology promises a better understanding of what a vigorous, meaningful life may consist of.

Part I - Historical and theoretical perspectives
1: Csaba Pleh: Positive traditions in western psychology
2: Christopher Peterson: The VIA classification of strengths
3: Dmitry Leontiev: Positive personality development: Approaching personal autonomy
4: obert A. Emmons: Spirituality: Recent progress
Part II - Positive experiences
5: Barbara L. Fredrickson: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions
6: Daisy Grewal and Peter Salovey: Benefits of emotional intelligence
7: Jane Henry: Strategies for achieving well-being
Part III - Life-long positive development
8: Jochen Brandstadter: Adaptive resources in later life
9: Antonella Delle Fave: The impact of subjective experience on the quality of life
10: Jari-Erik Nurmi and Katariina Salmela-Aro: What works makes you happy
11: Tim Kasser: Materialism and its alternatives
12: Kennon Sheldon: Getting older, getting better
13: Martin E. P. Seligman: Afterword: Breaking the 65% barrier