The Surprising Science of Lasting Happiness - Professor Paul Bloom

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Many psychologists and philosophers believe that people are hedonists, seeking pleasure and avoiding pain. But what about our appetites for spicy foods, hot baths, horror movies, sad songs, BDSM, and hate reading? How can we explain our choices to suffer-in pursuits such as art, ritual, sex, and sports, and in longer-term projects such as training for a marathon or signing up to go to war? Drawing on research from developmental psychology, social psychology, anthropology, and behavioral economics, I suggest that we are driven by non-hedonistic goals; we revel in difficult practice, we aspire towards moral goodness, and we seek out meaningful lives.
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Paul Bloom is Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto, and Brooks and Suzanne Ragen Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Yale University. Paul Bloom studies how children and adults make sense of the world, with a special focus on pleasure, morality, religion, fiction, and art. He has won numerous awards for his research and teaching. He is past-president of the Society for Philosophy and Psychology, and co-editor of Behavioral and Brain Sciences. He has written for scientific journals such as Nature and Science, and for popular outlets such as The New York Times, The Guardian, The New Yorker, and The Atlantic Monthly. He is the author of six books, including his most recent, The Sweet Spot: The Pleasures of Suffering and the Search for Meaning.
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Links:
- Check out our next event: theweekenduniversity.com/events
- Paul’s website: paulbloom.net
- Paul’s books: paulbloom.net/#books

[@7788Sambaboy]

I will stop whatever I am doing...anytime - to listen to Professor Bloom talk. Always interesting, well thought out, well researched, insightful...his books (read them all) are incredibly well written and enlightening.

[@RafalReyzer]

Suffering is pleasure. Pain and carnage a fascination. The thrill of danger is what we secretly desire. The glory of victory, and reaching, ever reaching further is what we live for.

[@Clem62]

Thank you for including musicians in the flow state. For some reason we often get left out even when, I think, it's the best example.

[@punkisdad1607]

It's the best feeling

[@seanwebb605]

I'm happy that Bloom returned to us in Canada and here in Toronto, but I can't understand why he would leave a post at an elite university.

[@SaltyFrank]

23:35 That's it I'm getting a massage to fight diseases, you convinced me.

[@SaltyFrank]

6:11 Birds have dry tongues and love hot peppers.

[@seanwebb605]

Paul Bloom you're back in Canada. Tim Hortons does really well with the Smile Cookie promotion. Yeah, you can enjoy yourself and make a contribution to a cause. Cookies over ice bucket challenge than you very much. lol

[@Justybow]

9:13 11:32 14:00

[@naetek6430]

SO BORING HONESTLY