About this episode

Arthur Brooks discusses the components of a meaningful life and the modern meaning crisis.

Arthur Brooks is a Harvard professor, social scientist, and three-time New York Times bestselling author whose life's work centers on a single, urgent question: what actually makes a human life feel meaningful? In this conversation, we explore why depression and anxiety have surged since 2008, how technology has hijacked the part of the brain responsible for wonder and meaning, and what it looks like to live, as Arthur puts it, like his great-grandfather Leroy, present, bored at times, and genuinely alive. What moved me most in this conversation is how Arthur bridges the ancient and the scientific without losing either. We get into the three components of meaning, coherence, purpose, and significance, as well as the dangers of extrinsic reward, the psychology of calling, and why the formula most of us are running on is just slightly off. His answer to the meaning crisis is not complicated. Use things, love people, worship the divine. But getting there requires honest self-examination, and this conversation is a strong beginning. MUDWTR - Up to 43% off sitewide (and a free frother!) https://www.mudwtr.com/knowthyself [Code: KNOWTHYSELF] Try LMNT & get a free sample pack…

People in this episode

Host: André Duqum

Guest: Arthur Brooks

Topics covered

• meaning of life
• depression
• anxiety
• technology
• self-examination
• purpose

Keywords

• meaning
• coherence
• purpose
• significance
• extrinsic reward
• psychology of calling
• self-examination

Sponsors

MUDWTR, LMNT, BiOptimizers

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Harvard, New York Times

Products: MUDWTR, LMNT, BiOptimizers

Books & works: Know Thyself

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