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BOOK REVIEW Happiness Is.: Unexpected Answers to Practical Questions in Curious Times by Shawn Christopher Shea, M.D. HCI - October 2004
Reviewed by Dr. Jonathan Dolhenty
When the author of "Happiness Is." contacted me by e-mail and asked if I would be interested in reading and reviewing his latest book, I felt that I should warn him in advance regarding my views of traditional and contemporary psychiatry, some of which are posted on my website under the heading "The Psychiatric Game." So, to be fair and upfront with Dr. Shawn Christopher Shea, the author of the book, and provide him with full disclosure, I sent a rather lengthy response to him, outlining my philosophical positions about the theory and practice of psychiatry, about the concept of "mental illness" as usually defined, and my personal opinions regarding various "psychotherapies." Furthermore, I informed him that I was supportive of the ideas promoted by the iconoclastic-psychiatrist Dr. Thomas Szasz, the theories and practices developed by the "Cognitive Therapy" movement, and especially the procedures and programs utilized by the "Reality" therapists as developed by psychiatrist Dr. William Glasser back in the 1970s. I figured my advisory would cause any "normal" psychiatrist or mental health practitioner to take a pass on me and find a more sympathetic reviewer. Well, Dr. Shea is apparently not your "normal" psychiatrist and my warnings didn't bother him a bit; he sent the book, I read it, and here is my brief review of a delightful book that I recommend without any hesitation to anyone interested in improving his or her life and pursuing that sometimes elusive phenomenon we call "happiness." I know it's hard to believe, but here is a psychiatrist who can write an informative book for the common person in ordinary English, fill it with interesting anecdotes, compelling stories, and engaging personalities (including such diverse figures as the famous "elephant man" John Merrick, Saint Francis of Assisi, the mystical Julian of Norwich, ice skating champion Michelle Kwan, the celebrated Helen Keller, the Dalai Lama, and more), and entertain the reader with a witty style and appropriate humor, all while discussing a serious subject that is probably number one on anybody's list: What is happiness and how can we work toward achieving it? That, I suggest, is quite a feat, and Dr. Shea, in my opinion, pulls it off with flying colors. Even the clever subtitles that he uses throughout the book make their point in such a way that is both entertaining and memorable. An initial remark about the term "happiness" may be advisable, particularly for those who are within the same philosophical tradition as I am, that is, the Classical Realism of Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas. The term "happiness" as used by the author in his book is not quite the same as it is used, for instance, by Aristotle, who defines happiness as "action in accordance with virtue." Aristotle's definition is primarily an "ethical" definition and perfectly appropriate for the context in which that great philosopher employs that concept. On the other hand, Dr. Shea's use of the term "happiness" is perfectly appropriate within "philosophical anthropology" or that broad philosophical discipline which thinks about human beings and their activities in the widest sense possible. Many of the principles, for example, that the book's author discusses, have a philosophical foundation but are used in an applied or practical sense. There is no contradiction here between the two uses of the term "happiness" because the term is used in different, yet related, contexts. Dr. Shea's "happiness" is what most of us Classical Realists would refer to as "overall contentment" or, maybe, a "feeling of personal fulfillment." And these are certainly important objectives. One critic seems to think that "Happiness Is." doesn't contain anything really original. This is probably true in the sense that all the ideas contained within the text have been discussed many times in other works. I submit, however, that the way in which Dr. Shea utilizes these concepts and develops his model of the "human matrix" and applies the strategies suggested by his model to ordinary human situations is unique and, furthermore, probably more valuable to the general reader than the complicated "academic" models which have filled the literature of psychology and psychiatry for generations. Let's give the good doctor a break here. He makes it quite clear, at least to me, that his book is for the public at large, for the ordinary educated reader, for the common man or woman full of intellectual curiosity and a need for explanation and commonsense guidance, not for that narrow group of professionals whose writings may be sophisticated and "academic," but are largely ignored and dismissed by the general public as chimerical. The key concept presented in this book is a model which Dr. Shea calls the "human matrix." This matrix is "a set of systems whose ultimate composite functioning creates something new, something completely unique, a distinctive, one time only pattern with each passing second." It consists of five "wings": Biological, Psychological, Interpersonal, Environmental, and Spiritual. Each of these wings, in the ideal state, must be in healthy balance with all the others. There are a few "rules" which apply regarding this situation. For instance, there is the "Interdependence Rule" which states that "All wings of the human matrix intersect and are interdependent upon one another." There are three other rules which follow. Further on, there are the "principles" and "strategies." For example, the Cast a Wide Net Principle states that "No matter what the apparent cause of the immediate unhappiness, look at all wings of the matrix for contributing problems related to smaller yet still damaging matrix effects." Later, there are the "paradoxes," such as the Paradox of the Multiplicitous Knob which suggests that one "Eagerly change the wings of the matrix yet make changes with caution for every knob you change is two." (You'll have to read the book to see what this means!) I enthusiastically recommend Dr. Shea's book to all. It is a good "commonsense" read, a pleasant change within the so-called "self-help" genre, and a valuable contribution to practical philosophy and applied psychology. I have reviewed a lot of books over the past few years, but this one has got to be in the top of my "A-List."
To read an excerpt from this book CLICK HERE. Order at Amazon.com |
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