Last time I claimed that research on happiness without an evolutionary psychology approach was useless. Since I’m in the minority here, it’s only fair that I explain myself. I already gave you the short version. So consider this the long version. We can give different kinds of explanations for psychological phenomena, moving back and forth … Continue reading Giving something a name is not an explanation

There is a lot of happiness research. The empirical studies in this field are probably only matched by the number of definitions of “happiness” and the number of theories claiming to explain the empirical studies. Some numbers: “Happiness” has about 2 million results on google scholar; “well-being” more than 4 million, the Oxford Handbook of … Continue reading Filling the happiness gap

This project is my public attempt to figure out how to lead a less miserable life (or a happier life). More specifically, I will try to figure out how happiness works and what that means in practical terms. I have a nagging suspicion I will get stuck in the "how happiness works" part, but let's be … Continue reading The Journey Begins