Anthropology News published an article of mine today as part of their series on health, well-being and happiness. It argues that the dominant, consumption-based vision for the good life in North America is making us sick and that, moreover, our individualist model for understanding health and well-being all too often compounds rather than helps the problem.
That’s the bad news. The good news is that there’s a new way of thinking about the good life that actually sets us on to a much better path for health and well-being. We can see it in the work of writers like Mark Bittman and Laurie David, and articulated brilliantly by the philosopher Albert Borgmann. Theirs is a vision of a good life characterized by activities that engage and connect us to each other and the world around us.
The article is publicly available at this link http://www.anthropology-news.org/index.php/2012/03/15/towards-a-new-model-of-health-and-well-being/ if you’d like to read more!
March 15, 2012 at 5:36 pm
I agree ; ninety -five percent of the activities I get involved with – are ways to connect with everything around me:) Great post and I look forward to sharing more with you:)
March 15, 2012 at 6:36 pm
Thanks for your comment Jon. I’d love to know more…what do you do to feel connected? And when do you feel most connected? What does that feel like?
March 16, 2012 at 9:14 pm
Great article at Anthropology News. Could we re-post it at Energy Bulletin (energybulletin.net) ? We are concerned on sustainability and reducing energy usage (= consumerism).
We are non-profit and not associated with any business or political party. We always give attribution and a link back to the original. We get about 10,000 visits on weekdays (about 24,000 pageviews).
Thank you! Our address is energybulletin@postcarbon.org .
March 16, 2012 at 9:30 pm
Bart, thank you very much for your comment and your interest in the article. I’d be delighted if you re-posted it at Energy Bulletin- I’m happy to learn about the work you’re doing and look forward to spending some time on the site. Best wishes, Lisa
March 17, 2012 at 12:35 am
POSTED! http://energybulletin.net/stories/2012-03-17/towards-new-model-health-and-well-being
I wrote: “Much of our energy use and consumption are irrelevant for happiness. What author Lisa Reichenbach calls “focal practices” are just as much a technology for dealing with energy issues as are the high tech gimmicks coming out of a laboratory. “