David Eagleman, Director, Laboratory for Perception and Action, Baylor College of Medicine, and author of Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain
“Edelman marries his scientific mind with his poetic eye to give us the neuroscience that matters the most: an understanding of our own lives.”
Ben-Ami Scharfstein, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, Tel-Aviv University, and author of Art Without Borders: A Philosophical Exploration of Art and Humanity
“For all its seriousness, ambition, and learning, Shimon Edelman’s The Happiness of Pursuit is an extraordinarilyhuman book. It is ambitious because he bases his view of the nature of happiness on what for many of his readers will be an unusual conception of the relation between the brain, the Self, and the body. Happiness, says Edelman, is not simply a state of mind one tries to attain, but an unceasing activity. That is, whenever it does attain its goal, after a pause for savoring its success it must change its goal for a new one. The Happiness of Pursuit shows Edeman to be a witty, resourceful, raconteur. You never forget his presence. He leans out of his book as if he were at an open window beckoning to us to come inside and listen.”
Dan Lloyd, Brownell Professor of Philosophy, Trinity College
“The ancient injunction to ‘Know thyself’ gets a lively update in Shimon Edelman’s eclectic examination of ‘knowing’ and ‘self’ through the lens of twenty-first century cognitive science. It’s human to wander thoughtfully through real and imaginary landscapes, learning as we go—this is happiness, embodied in Edelman’s witty odyssey, which provokes the very pleasures it describes.”
Nature
“Taking passages by luminaries including Homer, William Shakespeare and Jorge Luis Borges as touchstones, Edelman powers along on his ‘quest for an algorithmic understanding of happiness’, revealing that it is this computational journey that constitutes the good life.”
Salon
“From Bayes’ theorem of probability to Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ Edelman offers a range of references and allegories to explain why a changing, growing self, constantly shaped by new experiences, is happier than the satisfaction any end goal can give us. It turns out the rewards we get for learning and understanding the workings of the world really make it the journey, not the destination, that matters most.”
New Scientist
“The Happiness of Pursuit is for fans of enquiries into the nature of the brain, mind—and happiness itself…. [Edelman] offers a happy addition to the classic recipe of ‘self-knowledge, self-improvement, and, eventually, selfless conduct’—a coherent notion of the self.”
The Winnipeg Free Press (Canada)
“Edelman’s explanations of just how the mind works…are dense but fascinating…. Without resorting to empty enthusiasm he demonstrates just what a marvel the mind is. He is especially good at explaining how facial recognition works (‘analogy rules all’) and how babies learn language (‘language is also a game that plays people’).”
Toronto Star (Canada)
“The Cornell University psychology professor demonstrates that the more we understand how the brain operates the better we will understand how our minds process information, knowledge that will make us happy – at least momentarily. We are strivers, forever moving to the next challenge, and that’s the key. Edelman’s traipses through all fields of human endeavour.”
Post and Courier
“[Edelman] paints a picture about how new knowledge of our brains can inform our ability to achieve happiness…. [He] weaves together his scientific expertise about our knowledge of how the brain works with references to Ulysses, Walt Whitman’s poetry and Edelman’s own passion for the Southwest desert.”
The Guardian (UK)
“[A] cultured and often witty account of brain science and our potential for feeling good. The conclusion is that happiness is to be found in the journey (learning, etc) rather than the destination, at which proverbial advice we arrive after many interesting facts and provocative thoughts on evolution, language, the self and decision-making.”
Greater Good
“An owner’s manual for the mind … an entertaining one.”
Book News
“[An] accessible volume on the science of the brain and mind.… Drawing on hard science, literature, and observations of the human condition, the work presents a readable narrative covering both physical and psychological aspects of happiness.”
CHOICE
“Edelman provides a wry, gentle, sometimes frolicking overview of neuroscience by describing the amazing feats of humans’ computational brains without flow charts, fMRIs, equations, or drawings of the synapse…. How is this book distinct from other recent efforts to explain what brings joy? The greatest empirical hits of contemporary happiness studies are not the focus of this by turns literary adventure (think Homer’s Odyssey with a touch of sci-fi), philosophical treatise, and psychological account of what we know and hope to know. Edelman’s seven quirky chapters explore why human happiness occurs by speculating how the brain creates the mind. Fans of Douglas Hofstadter’s writings will enjoy this book.”
