Justin Shenk

Shenk doesn’t exclude Vaillant himself from his ruminations on happiness. While Vaillant’s approach to all of this has been optimistic – constantly seeking new sources of funding to continue and expand the study, out of faith that it would reveal factors that predict healthy aging and happiness – Shenk paints a picture of a man every bit as complex as his subjects. Vailant is a professional success, apparently happy, but he has several failed marriages and troubled relationships with his children. Vaillant calls himself “a disconnected, narcissistic father,” yet when asked “What have you learned from the Grant Study men?” Vaillant answered, “That the only thing that really matters in life are your relationships to other people.” Vaillant symbolizes one of Shenk’s main points: that self-knowledge doesn’t necessarily bring either happiness or power. Recognizing and studying the dysfunctions in one’s own life doesn’t give one the power to fix them.

via The pathos of studying happiness : bioephemera.

This is a great introduction to an article by Joshua Shenk on happiness.