The Meaning of Happiness: The Quest for Freedom of the Spirit in Modern Psychology and the Wisdom of the East
About this product
Deep down, most people think that happiness comes from having or doing something. Here, in Alan Watts’s groundbreaking third book (originally published in 1940), he offers a more challenging thesis: authentic happiness comes from embracing life as a whole in all its contradictions and paradoxes, an attitude that Watts calls the “way of acceptance.” Drawing on Eastern philosophy, Western mysticism, and analytic psychology, Watts demonstrates that happiness comes from accepting both the outer world around us and the inner world inside us — the unconscious mind, with its irrational desires, lurking beyond the awareness of the ego. Although written early in his career, The Meaning of Happiness displays the hallmarks of his mature style: the crystal-clear writing, the homespun analogies, the dry wit, and the breadth of knowledge that made Alan Watts one of the most influential philosophers of his generation. Read more
Editor's Take
Goodreads reviewers generally describe The Meaning of Happiness as insightful, challenging, and worth reading for people interested in Eastern philosophy, Western psychology, and Alan Watts’s ideas about acceptance and inner freedom. Several reviewers call it one of his stronger books, while a few note that it is more of a philosophical crossover text than an easy mainstream self-help read.
On Reddit, one Alan Watts reader said this was one of his easier books to read, suggesting it is approachable compared with some of Watts’s other work.
Amazon-style product interest appears to align with the Goodreads feedback: readers praise the book’s clarity, its treatment of happiness as acceptance rather than achievement, and its blend of Eastern and Western thought.
YouTube: search results surfaced multiple YouTube videos that appear to discuss or present this book, including one titled “The Meaning of Happiness: The Quest for Freedom… by Alan Watts · Audiobook preview” and another titled “Book: The meaning of happiness by Alan W. Watts.”
Price History
Specifications
| Topic | Happiness |
Product Details
| Publisher | New World Library |
| Publication date | August 25, 2018 |
| Edition | 3rd |
| Language | English |
| Print length | 280 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1608685403 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1608685400 |
| Item Weight | 2.31 pounds |
| Dimensions | 5.25 x 0.75 x 8 inches |
| Best Sellers Rank | #102,728 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #59 in Comparative Religion (Books) #258 in Eastern Philosophy (Books) #667 in Happiness Self-Help |
| Customer Reviews | 4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars (472) |
