2015-2016学年高中英语 Unit2 What is happiness to you？How to let happiness find you素材 牛津译林版选修6.docVIP

How to let happiness find you An education that encourages emotional intelligence may not be as daft as it sounds if we are to make the most of this age of affluence, argues philosopher AC Grayling We are richer than ever but no happier, so the experts tell us, prompting renewed discussion about what happiness is, in the hope that public policies can be devised to promote it. Not only does increasing wealth fail to make us happier, the experts add, but one of the reasons for increased wealth, namely the individualistic and competitive demands of todays predominantly market societies, actually makes us unhappier. Code to joy: lessons in schools have been shown to reduce depression, bullying and other problems Professor Richard Layard, of the London School of Economics, is a leading proponent of the idea that public policy can make a real difference to the quantum of happiness in society. He has shown that increased incomes, better housing, possession of cars and television sets, and all the other appurtenances of well-furnished life are not what make people happy, at least once they have risen above a certain material level. In his lecture at Cambridge University earlier this week, Lord Layard argued that happiness should be taught in schools. He said that schools should raise childrens emotional intelligence and thereby help them to understand what makes for happy lives. On the basis of empirical research, he is able to point to programmes that have reduced depression, bullying and other problems in a number of schools, which consequently enjoy a calmer and more collegial atmosphere. There is no doubt that these ideas have much to recommend them, but they need to be couched in the right terms to avoid giving the impression that the aim is to package and supply happiness as if it were some sort of commodity. If matters were that easy, and happiness were just a matter of mild euphoria and indifference to lifes vicissitudes, the answer would be to put Prozac in