#radicalhappiness

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Radically Happy Lynne Segal’s book ‘Radical Happiness: Moments of Collective Joy’ appeared on the literary scene in 2018. In this book Segal, a professor of psychology and gender studies at ‘Birkbeck College’ London, adamantly refutes despair. Instead she insists that we must never stop imagining and struggling for alternative - and, yes, even utopic - spaces and futures. This urging could not come at a more opportune time. As study after study has shown levels of individual misery, depression, anxiety, loneliness and isolation are at all-time highs in the Anglo-American world. Meanwhile, the billion-dollar happiness industry continues to thrive, from positive psychology to mindfulness and the wellness movement: think Gwyneth Paltrow’s ‘GOOP’ and the explosion and popularity of ‘TED’ talks endlessly exhorting one to foster a positive outlook. Happiness, Segal gently reminds us, is not something we find; nor can it be bought on the market. Radical happiness is produced by cultivating and reaffirming our ties to one another and to the world. ‘Radical Happiness’ is not a gloomy book. Rather, after diagnosing the ills of the current Anglo-American political and social landscape it offers us hope, reminding us of the wealth of resources on which we can draw in order to continue struggling for alternative futures. Taking us back to the ancient Greeks, Segal underscores Aristotle’s notion of happiness or eudamonia as a form of human flourishing; it derives from activities we desire to do for their own sake, which are both noble and good. Happiness was thus conceived as activity, not a static emotional state. This is a crucial insight and one that could potentially reorient our understandings of pleasure and joy in the present. ‘Radical Happiness: Moments of Collective Joy’ by Lynne Segal. #neonurchin #neonurchinblog #dedicatedtothethingswelove #suzyurchin #ollyurchin #art #music #photography #fashion #film #words #pictures #neon #urchin #radicalhappiness #eudaemonia #professorofpsychologyandgenderstudies #birkbeckcollege #radicalhappinessmomentsofcolletivejoy #feminist #lynnesegal https://www.instagram.com/p/CKLupngl5OZ/?igshid=6mnyuzw85xn2

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Radically Happy 'Radical Happiness' is an engaging, enlightening read for anyone who wants to ponder the links between personal dissatisfaction and political disengagement — and possible remedies. The idea of collective happiness as the root of much satisfaction is simple, but deceptively hard to write about, let alone achieve. Segal succeeds in inspiring on many levels, and while she is writing from the political left, and from a feminist point of view, her sources range far beyond her personal history and feminist and Marxist theorists to include citations and references to many writers and thinkers on utopias and on the nature of democracy. Segal, a professor of psychology and gender studies at ‘Birkbeck College’ London, recounts her own experience as a leftwing feminist and activist to back up her wider point about the power of mass movements - which in this book means gatherings of real people. This collectivist mindset was once far more prevalent than it is now. Segal reminds us how things have changed by examining the focus on individualism in western societies which leave many feeling isolated and left behind among all the consumerism and commodification. We can all benefit from thinking about, and achieving, collective joy through joining with like-minded fellow humans, whether we are organising a charity jumble sale or marching for women’s rights. 'Radical Happiness: Moments of Collective Joy’ by Lynne Segal. #neonurchin #neonurchinblog #dedicatedtothethingswelove #suzyurchin #ollyurchin #art #music #photography #fashion #film #words #pictures #neon #urchin #radicalhappiness #eudaemonia #professorofpsychologyandgenderstudies #birkbeckcollege #radicalhappinessmomentsofcolletivejoy #feminist #lynnesegal https://www.instagram.com/p/CKLulcnFId1/?igshid=v8s3xspergfi