ICL: How to Live a Good Life – the Modern Search for Happiness and Meaning - April 03 – May 22

How to Live a Good Life – the Modern Search for Happiness and Meaning – Instructor George Owen

The course begins with early primary resources from ancient Greek thinking - Aristotle, the Stoics, and the Epicureans, and moves quickly to other resources from both West and East, including philosophical, religious, and psychological. Soon we are info many wonderful modern resources. Modern research in recent decades has given us vast information from the social and even biological sciences that help with the goals mentioned in the title above, ranging from the "Harvard Study of Adult Development" ongoing across over eighty years to the new modern "Positive Psychology" and its help and enhancement of life for thousands. Some criticisms of seeming obsession with happiness now in American culture (presented mainly from the NY Times column "The Stone") will be included for balance. OPTIONAL: Those in class interested may join George for lunch and an easy hike after some classes. (Oh! Instructor Owen claims to need this class himself as much or more than other students!)

George Owen is known in ICL primarily for his courses on hiking in the Southern Appalachians. His own background for this current course originates in graduate work on masters degrees from Emory and Scarritt/Vanderbilt, with interest in religions, philosophy, and schools of psychotherapy. His career began in hospital administrative positions, and went on to years as a pastor in The United Methodist Church and the Unitarian-Universal Fellowship. During this time George particularly enjoyed taking in-service continuing education courses in counseling. He and his former wife Sandy raised two sons and have four grandchildren. George laid out and supervised over 125 miles of local U.S. National Forest trails in his outdoors avocation, served ten years part summers as a guide in the Swiss Alps in retirement, and is currently president of the Mountain High Hikers trekking club and co-chairs the large Signs Committee of the Benton MacKaye Trail Association..