
A New Science of Happiness: The Paradox of Pleasure
Thursday, October 8, 2015
The New York Academy of Sciences
Presented By
Presented by The Nour Foundation, The New York Academy of Sciences, and Wisconsin Public Radio's nationally-syndicated program To the Best of Our Knowledge
Video of the full event is available on the Nour Foundation's YouTube channel.
The pursuit of happiness is enshrined in the founding document of our nation as a fundamental and inalienable right. Yet nowhere is the method of this pursuit clearly defined. What, exactly, does it mean to be happy, and how can such happiness be sustained over the long-term? Can happiness be accurately gauged or measured? How does the paradoxical relationship between happiness and pleasure shape our quest to lead the good life? And what does modern science have to tell us about this universal yet elusive pursuit? Attorney and author Kim Azzarelli, historian Darrin McMahon, and social psychologist Barry Schwartz join forces to share their research and insight on happiness, pleasure, and the coveted good life.
*Reception to follow.
Featuring
Kim Azzarelli, JD
Adjunct Professor at Cornell Law School and Founding Partner of Seneca Point Global
Author of "Fast Forward: How Women Can Achieve Power and Purpose"
Darrin McMahon, PhD
Professor of History at Dartmouth College
Author of "Happiness: A History"
Barry Schwartz, PhD
Dorwin Cartwright Professor of Social Theory and Social Action at Swarthmore College
Author of "The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less"
Moderator
Steve Paulson
Executive Producer, Wisconsin Public Radio's nationally-syndicated program To the Best of Our Knowledge
Registration — Individual Lecture Prices
Member | $5 |
Member (Student / Postdoc / Resident / Fellow) | $5 |
Nonmember | $15 |
Nonmember (Student / Postdoc / Resident / Fellow) | $7 |
Presented by
Media Sponsor
This event is part of the From Knowledge to Wisdom series.
Moderated by journalist Steve Paulson, Executive Producer of Wisconsin Public Radio’s nationally syndicated program To the Best of our Knowledge, this timely and engaging three-part series at the New York Academy of Sciences brings together an array of leading scientists, philosophers, and scholars for an interdisciplinary investigation into the evolving nature of the human condition and the ultimate quest to discover how to lead the good life.
To learn more about each lecture and to purchase tickets, click on the links below.
- • A New Science of Happiness: The Paradox of Pleasure October 8, 2015
- • The Moral Animal: Virtue, Vice & Human Nature, December 9, 2015
- • Cultivating Character: The Art of Living, February 3, 2016
Speakers
Featuring
Kim Azzarelli, JD
Adjunct Professor at Cornell Law School and Founding Partner of Seneca Point Global
Author of "Fast Forward: How Women Can Achieve Power and Purpose"
Kim Azzarelli is a business, philanthropic, and legal advisor focused on advancing women and girls. Together with Ambassador Melanne Verveer, Azzarelli is a co-founder of Seneca Women and co-author of the upcoming book Fast Forward: How Women Can Achieve Power and Purpose. She is chair and co-founder of Cornell Law School's Avon Global Center for Women and Justice, and a partner at Seneca Point Global. Prior to her work with Seneca, Azzarelli served as senior vice president of the Newsweek Daily Beast Company. She has also held senior philanthropic and legal roles at Goldman Sachs and Avon, respectively. At Goldman, she led the billion-dollar donor advised fund, Goldman Sachs Gives. At Avon, she served as vice president for legal and public affairs and corporate secretary. Prior to joining Avon, Azzarelli practiced corporate and securities law at Latham and Watkins. Azzarelli is an adjunct professor at Cornell Law School, where she teaches the course "Women, Law and the Economy." She is an author on matters relating to women and girls, including Sustainable Development, Rule of Law and the Impact of Women Judges, co-authored with Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Azzarelli is a graduate of Cornell Law School, Cornell University, and Friends Seminary High School in New York City, where she resides.
Darrin McMahon, PhD
Professor of History at Dartmouth College
Author of "Happiness: A History"
Darrin M. McMahon is the Mary Brinsmead Wheelock Professor of History at Dartmouth College. He is the author of Happiness: A History, which has been translated into twelve languages, and was awarded Best Books of the Year honors for 2006 by The New York Times, the Washington Post, Library Journal, and Slate Magazine. He authored Divine Fury: A History of Genius, a history of the idea of genius and the genius figure published in 2013 with Basic Books. McMahon has taught as a visiting professor at Yale, Columbia, NYU, the École Normale Supérieur, and the University of Potsdam. He is a regular contributor to Live Happy magazine, and his essays and reviews have appeared in such venues as The New York Times, The New York Times Book Review, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe, Slate, New Republic, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and The Literary Review.
Barry Schwartz, PhD
Dorwin Cartwright Professor of Social Theory and Social Action at Swarthmore College
Author of "The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less"
Barry Schwartz is a professor of psychology at Swarthmore College, in Pennsylvania. He has been there since receiving his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania in 1971. Schwartz has written ten books and more than 100 articles for professional journals. In 2004, Schwartz published The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less. It has been translated into twenty-five languages. Schwartz has published articles in sources as diverse as The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, the Chronicle of Higher Education, Scientific American, and the Harvard Business Review. He has appeared on dozens of radio shows, including NPR's Morning Edition and Talk of the Nation, and has been interviewed on the Lehrer News Hour (PBS), The Colbert Report, and CBS Sunday Morning. Schwartz, with colleague Ken Sharpe, has also written Practical Wisdom: The Right Way to Do the Right Thing. Schwartz spoke about the paradox of choice at TED in 2005 (a talk viewed by more than 8 million people), and he spoke about practical wisdom at TED in 2009 (viewed by more than 2 million). His new book, Why We Work, has just been published.
Moderator
Steve Paulson
Executive Producer, Wisconsin Public Radio's nationally-syndicated program To the Best of Our Knowledge.
Steve Paulson is the executive producer and an interviewer with To the Best of Our Knowledge, the Peabody Award-winning radio program produced at Wisconsin Public Radio and syndicated nationally by Public Radio International. Paulson has written for Salon, Slate, Huffington Post, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Independent and other publications. His radio reports have also been broadcast on NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered. His recent book, "Atoms and Eden: Conversations on Religion and Science," was published by Oxford University Press.
Travel & Lodging
Our Location
The New York Academy of Sciences
7 World Trade Center
250 Greenwich Street, 40th floor
New York, NY 10007-2157
212.298.8600
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