Thinking, Fast and Slow - by Daniel Kahneman

Another breeding ground for novel-thinking, self-assesment and of how we think about social behaviour.

Concepts are explained from the perspective of behavioural economics and psychology. Some can be found, in different words, in philosophy.

It simply enlarges the significance of both areas of study. Individual and social behaviour is evaluated from two ends producing similar conclusions.

Behaviour is a product of biology and environment. The mind is a series of electrical impulses that live in the brain and are ruled by physical laws. There’s nothing supernatural about it.

Its study from a social science perspective grants scientific method to questions that have been asked by philosophy. “What is the meaning of life?” “What is happiness?” These are historically debated by philosophers. To behavioural economists, they’re measurable experiments.

Two selves, the experiencing and the remembering, shape the perception of happiness. They expose how complicated it is to reach a quick, objective answer.

Flow state, when seen as the engine of happiness, is a representation of the experiencing self. The more our focus lives in it, the better we feel about anything.

This is not what usually happens to us. We struggle to focus on the experiencing self and our focus is pushed by genetics and evolution towards the remembering self. The one that sources pleasant emotions but also the one that makes our thoughts wonder in the past and in the future. The source of anxiety, fears and doubts. The ingredients of an unhappy life.