Lunch With Books: First Lunch With Books Revisited, The Paradox of Happiness

January 16, 2024
12:00pm - 1:00pm

Cold weather update: At this point, despite the weather, we have decided to go ahead with the LWB program at the Library. So you are welcome to join us in-person at noon (do be careful), OR if you prefer to watch live from the warmth and safety of your home, you may do so below.

Jan. 16, 2024: First  Lunch With Books Revisited—The Paradox of Happiness

On Jan. 14, 1976, Paul Elbin, then president of West Liberty State College, gave a talk about a book he wrote entitled, The Paradox of Happiness. The talk, given under the auspices of the Friends of the Library, was to be the first in a distinguished and beloved series that continues to this day at the Ohio County Public Library. Elbin delivered the very first Lunch With Books presentation. Today, we will celebrate the 48th birthday of our favorite library program and also discuss rebuilding a Friends of the Library group.

Our instructor will be David Sanchez, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Associate Director, Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation University of Pittsburgh.

Dr. David Sanchez, along with two other professors, helped create the "Happiness and Human Flourishing" course for the PItt Nursing program. The instructors said the course is a response to a national health crisis in which, for the first time since the early 20th century, the U.S. is experiencing a reduction in life expectancy overall and particularly in vulnerable communities.

The class explored the “happiness crisis” in the modern west, which is experiencing “historic levels of depression, anxiety and lack of meaning,” the NUR 1014 class description reads, noting that Aristotle wrote that “Happiness is the meaning and purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” The modern west, however, is facing a happiness crisis. We are experiencing historic levels of depression, anxiety, and lack of meaning. Cultures around the world and throughout history have had a lot to say about the nature of happiness. . The course examines conceptions of happiness while developing a “capacious definition of happiness as ‘human flourishing’” and exploring the “pre-conditions necessary” to promote this. The ultimate goal is to help students “reflect on their own lives and how they might construct flourishing lives in college and beyond.”

Featured Book:

Watch LIVE on YouTube: