A Field Guide to a Happy Life: 53 Brief Lessons for Living

By Massimo Pigliucci

By an acclaimed Stoic philosopher, a modern reimagining of an ancient manual for happiness.

In his latest project, the philosopher and author Massimo Pigliucci takes inspiration from Epictetus’ Enchiridion, an ancient Greek how-to manual for living a happy life, where ‘happy’ means eudaemonia – that is, a life worth living. In A Field Guide to a Happy Life, Pigliucci reboots the original manual with modern examples and science, retaining the insight and aims of the original: life needs to be lived for what it is, and not what we wish it to be; we control only our judgements and adopted values, and nothing else; the point of a human life is to be helpful to the human cosmopolis; and if we follow this advice we will achieve ataraxia, a state of enlightened serenity.

A brief, powerful guide to seeking the life worth living, A Field Guide to a Happy Life is not merely a self-help book for succeeding in one’s own life, but a guide to creating a better world.