One Day University

What are the secrets to authentic happiness? How is it possible to live a good life? What sorts of activities and experiences contribute to humans flourishing? Join Professor Gendler on a fascinating tour through 2,500 years of thought on these questions. Tying together cutting-edge work in contemporary psychology and neuroscience with the profound writings of ancient philosophers, she will show you how deep reflection on these central questions can make life more meaningful and fulfilling. The course focuses on the insights of five major Greek and Roman thinkers: Socrates on self-knowledge, Plato on self-harmony, Aristotle on habit, Epictetus on self-reliance, and Cicero on friendship. You’ll learn how brain imaging studies help show the deep truth behind Plato’s suggestion that there are “parts” to the human soul, how contemporary research in social psychology confirms Cicero’s sage observations about the significance of friendship, and how the writings of Epictetus helped Vietnam POWs survive the conditions of their imprisonment.