Hooked on a Feeling: The Values and Limits of Happiness

by Nancy L. Etcoff

"Hooked on a Feeling" examines the value and limits of happiness, and questions whether it is really the goal of life to experience as much pleasure as possible. The realisation of pleasure or happiness has become the sole standard for assessing a life. But what does happiness consist of? Whilst some people are happier than others, this seems almost entirely the result of inherited personality traits and genetic differences. In other words, most people are happy and are born that way. For the unhappy few, more money, a new home, liposuction or a facelift will not make them happier. Written in an accessible manner, this book shows that happiness is no longer an inscrutable topic but a distinct human emotion that can be studied. The book questions the long-held idea that pleasure is our purpose. While valuing pleasure, Nancy Etcoff also seeks to dethrone it.

Hardcover

First published February 14, 2004

About the author

Nancy Etcoff serves as Practicing Psychologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Psychiatry. At the Massachusetts General Hospital, Ms. Etcoff served as Director of the Program in Aesthetics and Well Being. She has conducted research on the perception of beauty, emotion, well-being and the brain for more than 20 years, culminating in numerous awards and research papers in professional journals including Nature, Cognition and Neuron. She also maintains a private practice in clinical psychology, and serves as a consultant to corporations and organizations on the subjects of both well-being and beauty. She serves as a Member of Advisory Board of The First Thirty Days Inc. She serves as Faculty Member of the Harvard Medical School and the Harvard University Mind/Brain/Behavior Initiative where she teaches a seminar on "The Science of Happiness." Ms. Etcoff's critically acclaimed popular science book, Survival of the Prettiest: The Science of Beauty is the subject of a one-hour Discovery Channel program.