Category: Happiness
We’re excited that you’ve joined the conversation! At HMU, we want to continue the great authors’ conversations in a contemporary context, and this blog will help us do that. We look back to Aristotle and the early philosophers who used reason and discourse to gain wisdom and now we endeavor to do the same every day.
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May 29, 2026
Thanks to Alissa Simon, HMU Tutor, for today’s post.
Today’s blog continues a theme from the previous two weeks. You can find those blogs here and here.
I am still using chapter three of Candide as the basis for my definition of charity. Charity has many potential definitions such as “benevolent goodwill toward or love of humanity;” “generosity or helpfulness toward the needy or suffering;” or “the theological virtue by which humans love God above all things.” Charity can be synonymous with compassion,
May 1, 2026
Thanks to Chinyere Okoh, a 2026 Fellow in Ideas, for today’s blog.
Beyond the Silence
by Chinyere Okoh
I find myself alone in a still room,
where shadows seem to stretch and exhale with me.
The quiet carries a single, fragile question that lingers in the air:
Where am I?
The voice feels both distant and familiar,
as though it belongs to me and yet echoes from somewhere beyond. » Read more about: Rebuilding Connections: Book Review of Together by Vivek H. Murthy, MD »
April 17, 2026
Thanks to Natalie Sum Yue Chung, HMU 2026 Fellow in Ideas; PhD Candidate in Climate Policy, Princeton University
Walden; or, Life in the Woods (1854) by Henry David Thoreau: review by Natalie Sum Yue Chung
There are books we read, and then there are books that read us—that somehow knew us before we knew ourselves. Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden; or, Life in the Woods” (1854) has been such a companion throughout my life.
» Read more about: Finding Walden: A Personal Reflection on Thoreau’s Masterwork »
October 10, 2025
Thanks to Alissa Simon, HMU Tutor, for today’s review.
While I’ve always loved Jane Austen’s characters, it was only after becoming an adult that I understood Austen’s complex social commentaries. I’ve read most of her works multiple times. For some reason, however, I never picked up Persuasion. So, in honor of Austen’s 250th birthday this year, I read that final novel. As usual, I identify with the strong female voice.
September 26, 2025
Thanks to Alissa Simon, HMU Tutor, for today’s post.
Recently, I attended a conversation on one of my favorite topics: happiness. The University of Chicago’s Graham School hosted author and professor Arthur C. Brooks in their Enduring Excellence series. I was fortunate enough to attend.
Interviewed by journalist and professor Tyler Mathisen, Brooks addressed many of the concerns of our age. The conversation began with questions of how Brooks himself stays happy and what happiness means to him.
August 29, 2025
Thanks to Estella Achinko, a 2025 HMU Fellow in Ideas, for today’s blog.
I have always been fascinated by the way nations rise and fall. Whether it’s the brutal rule of totalitarian regimes in Europe, the iron-fisted dictatorships of Africa, or the complex democracy of the United States, governance has remained a delicate, often unpredictable experiment. History does not provide a single blueprint for a successful state—only cautionary tales and fleeting moments of prosperity.
» Read more about: The Success of a Nation: Rethinking the Ideal State »
July 11, 2025
Thanks to Alissa Simon, HMU Tutor, for today’s post.
Much has been written about Marcus Aurelius. And rightly so. His pithy, poignant distillations offer advice that impacts daily life to this day. He touches on birth, death, virtue and vice, and many other topics of great importance. Though important, according to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, his writings may not be as straightforward as some want us to believe.
May 23, 2025
Thanks to Alissa Simon, HMU Tutor for today’s post.
I recently explored The Handbook of Epictetus with a group led by David Saussy of Symposium Great Books Institute. As with many texts, I gained a lot of ideas by exploring it with a group. We used close textual analysis and slow reading to better understand a number of Epictetus’s thoughts. While short in length,
May 2, 2025
Thanks to Alissa Simon, HMU Tutor, for today’s post.
While the Syntopicon includes happiness, it does not have a separate section dedicated solely to joy. I am curious about these emotions, how they might be similar or different. To me, joy seems more ephemeral, less permanent but more impactful whereas happiness is more of a state of long-term satisfaction.
According to Merriam-Webster, joy can be: the emotion evoked by well-being,
January 10, 2025
Thanks to Jennifer-NeToi Claiborne, a 2024 HMU Fellow in Ideas, for today’s post.
Leadership, at its essence, is a humanities practice, an ongoing inquiry into the human condition and a commitment to connect with others in meaningful, transformative ways. My journey into leadership began with a desire to not only teach but also guide and inspire others. As an educator, I have always viewed teaching as an inherently leadership-driven role: shaping minds,