We’ve become wealthier, healthier, safer, smarter and long-lived over the last 60 years but, surprisingly, no happier. But if those things don’t seem to work, how should we pursuing happiness instead?

In this lecture Michael explains what we can and should mean by the word ‘happiness’, how it gets measured, why nature doesn’t want us to be permanently happy (and often gets in the way) and what the latest research suggests we should be doing. Michael concludes that happiness isn’t hopeless, we’ve just been pursuing it the wrong way.