The Happiness of Pursuit by Shimon Edelman

Despite the commonplace comparison, the mind isn’t just like a computer; it truly is one, best defined as a bundle of computations carried out collectively by the brain’s neurons. But the brain is also the organ with which we experience emotions, such as happiness. In The Happiness of Pursuit, cognition expert Shimon Edelman draws on philosophy, literature, and brain science to argue that we can use our best understanding of the mind to increase our chances of being happy. Viewed through his lens, happiness isn’t a program we fulfill or a destination we reach, but a continuous journey.

A book like no other in cognitive science—witty, learned, and accessible—The Happiness of Pursuit stands to be a classic, pushing the limits of our knowledge of the brain.