Author: Fr. Robert J. Spitzer S.J.Ph.D.
Publisher: Ignatius Press
Paperback:
ISBN 10: 158617956X
ISBN 13: 978-1586179564
One of the hottest topics in contemporary culture is happiness. The explanation for this current fixation seems to lie in the contrary phenomenon―unhappiness. Despite the fact that we have tremendous access to every imaginable form of entertainment, we experience a pervading sense of insecurity, emptiness, and malaise amid sporadic peak experiences.
Finding True Happiness attempts to provide a way out of this personal and cultural vacuum by helping people to identify and then reach for happiness. As Aristotle noted 2,400 years ago, happiness is the one thing we can choose for its own sake―everything else is chosen for the sake of happiness.
After an exhaustive investigation of philosophical, psychological, and theological systems of happiness, Fr. Spitzer developed the Four Levels of Happiness, which he based on the classical thinkers Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, and Aquinas; the contemporary philosophers Marcel, Scheler, Buber, Ricoeur, and Jaspers; and the modern psychologists Maslow, Frankl, Erikson, Seligman, Kohlberg, and Gilligan.
Finding True Happiness is both a philosophical itinerary and a practical guidebook for life’s most important journey―from the mundane and the meaningless to transcendent fulfillment. No other book currently available combines such breadth of practical advice and such depth of philosophical, psychological, and spiritual wisdom.
Review
Even in the darkest hours, happiness is available to us; it is always a choice. In our culture--riddled with cynicism, nihilism, envy, and anger--recognizing that this choice exists is difficult. With reason, with the logic of both the mind and the heart, Robert Spitzer not only convinces us that happiness is within everyone's grasp but also shows us how to seize it. This is an intelligent, warm, and life-changing book. --Dean Koontz, N Y Times #1 Best-selling Author
How refreshing to hear from a mind like Fr. Robert Spitzer on the topic of happiness. Too often, books in this genre offer platitudinous advice that is only an inch deep. In refreshing contrast, Fr. Spitzer offers us a meaty book that dives deep into history, philosophy, and science to provide answers that truly satisfy. --Jennifer Fulwiler, Author, Something Other Than God
Fr. Spitzer is a fine guide to the one thing that every human being in the world is seeking: happiness. Read this book and grow wiser in the things of the Spirit. --Mark P. Shea, Author, By What Authority?
About the Author
Robert J. Spitzer, S.J., Ph.D. is the former president of Gonzaga University and the founder of the Magis Institute, which educates the public about the relationship between physics, philosophy, reason, and faith. He is the chief education officer of the Ethics and Performance Institute, which delivers web-based ethics education to corporations and individuals, and President of the Spitzer Center for Ethical Leadership, which delivers similar curricula to non-profit organizations. He is the author of Healing the Culture, Five Pillars of the Spiritual Life, and Ten Universal Principles.