JOY TO THE BRAIN
The Neuroscience of Happiness
"I've made an odd discovery. Every time I talk to a savant I feel quite sure that happiness is no longer a possibility. Yet when I talk with my gardener, I'm convinced of the opposite." Bertrand Russell
Can you be rich and happy? Can we see happiness inside the brain, and if so, what does it look like? Why does American culture so urgently promote unhappiness? If there are simple things people can do to make themselves happier (and there are), why will most people not do them?
In this class, students will learn what the leading edge of neuroscience can teach us about the nature of human happiness: what it is, how the brain creates it, and why the activities that enhance and diminish happiness might surprise us. We will focus on twelve distinct brain functions that promote and produce happiness. Students will not only learn about these distinct brain processes, but they will also experience them in each class, and they will learn how to practice happiness-generating skills for lifelong improvement outside the classroom and beyond.
This class will be taught by Thomas Lewis, M.D., and Marsha Angus, M.F.T. Marsha Angus is a psychotherapist and Zen Buddhist practitioner and teacher.
This class will meet Mondays from 10AM to noon, starting September 14, 2009. The class is part of the Fromm Institute for Lifelong Learning at the University of San Francisco. The class will meet in the Xavier Chapel at USF. Enrollment is open to students of the Fromm Institute.