A new positive psychology: A critique of the movement based on early Christian thought

In this review we argue in favour of further integration between the disciplines of positive and clinical psychology. We argue that most of the constructs studied by both positive and clinical psychology exist on continua ranging from positive to negative (e.g., gratitude to ingratitude, anxiety to calmness) and so it is meaningless to speak of one or other field studying the “positive” or the “negative”. However, we highlight historical and cultural factors which have led positive and clinical psychologies to focus on different constructs; thus the difference between the fields is more due to the constructs of study rather than their being inherently “positive” or “negative”. We argue that there is much benefit to clinical psychology of considering positive psychology constructs because; (a) constructs studied by positive psychology researchers can independently predict wellbeing when accounting for traditional clinical factors, both cross-sectionally and prospectively, (2) the constructs studied by positive psychologists can interact with risk factors to predict outcomes, thereby conferring resilience, (3) interventions that aim to increase movement towards the positive pole of well-being can be used encourage movement away from the negative pole, either in isolation or alongside traditional clinical interventions, and (4) research from positive psychology can support clinical psychology as it seeks to adapt therapies developed in Western nations to other cultures.

Positive psychology is a growing, global research field of psychology that has flourished in the last decade, but its tourism applications are underexplored. Researchers in positive psychology investigate topics such as well-being, happiness, optimism, humour, positive emotions, character strengths and similar topics that broadly relate to quality-of-life research. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a detailed introduction of positive psychology to the tourism reader, to identify and analyse specific research linkages and present key challenges for the future development of positive psychology and tourism research. Three linkages are highlighted: (1) positive psychology research on happiness and its use in conceptualising and measuring fulfilling, happy tourist experiences; (2) positive psychology character strengths and their potential to embellish global tourism education values and (3) positive psychology research on humour and its value in promoting a productive tourism workplace. The incipient linkages therefore relate to a variety of tourism contexts – tourists and their experiences, tourism workers and managers and tourism students and educators. Two key challenges for future development of tourism and positive psychology research are presented: (1) challenges of overcoming insularity (the need to reach out and learn from other fields and disciplines, to further embrace non-Western perspectives and adopt a greater array of research methods) and (2) challenges of connecting with health (the need to integrate subjective benefits of tourism and positive psychology with physical health indicators to better explain optimal human functioning). The chapter ends with a brief synthesis and a call for future research.

Positive Psychology rapidly developed into an influential field of study and intervention, initially situated in Psychology, and later becoming multidisciplinary. Research interest in the study of (psychological) well-being has gained global popularity, with increasing salience in Africa. Although the global trends of these developments are relatively well-known, a bibliometric analysis of positive psychology research in Africa was necessary to shed light on the present hotspots and trends and future trajectories in this region of the world. The data source of the present bibliometric analysis study was Scopus, from which Positive Psychology and well-being research literature from Africa between 1983 and 2023 were searched. Using biblioshiny and VOSviewer, the 622 extracted articles were analysed, from which findings about the current condition, research hotspots, and thematic developmental patterns could be made. Africa experienced an initial slow growth period from 1983 until 2005, after which a rapid growth in research productivity, relevance and impact was experienced. In this regard, the results show that the focal point of scientific productivity is South Africa, with the dominance of South African institutions, particularly the North-West University, from where most positive psychology research is produced and cited. Even with potential access to international journal, African researchers seem to prefer to place their publications in the regional journals such as Journal of Psychology in Africa and South African Journal of Psychology. The research reviewed tends to be characterised by more dominant thematic clusters of positive psychology, psychological well-being, and subjective well-being, with a focus on human individuals. An increasing concern for contextual factors and potential antecedents and dynamics of well-being is also observed. The findings provide a good map from which identification of future research priorities can be deduced. As such, we speculate that future positive psychology research in Africa ought to be concerned with the following: greater distribution and intercountry collaborations across the continent, questions of conceptual clarity of terms, better understanding of contextual factors which influence well-being, and well-being research embracing the complexity of bio-psycho-social-ecological well-being, and science concerned with health-promotion interventions.

Illness, Pain, and Health Care in Early Christianity

Reviewed by: In the Eye of the Animal: Zoological Imagination in Ancient Christianity by Patricia Cox Miller Steven D. Smith Patricia Cox Miller. In the Eye of the Animal: Zoological Imagination in Ancient Christianity. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018. Pp. 271. $79.95. ISBN 978-0-8122-5035-0. Miller's book is a welcome contribution to the growing field of animal studies in antiquity. Over the space of an introduction, five chapters, and a brief afterword, Miller masterfully elucidates a tension in early Christian literature between an anthropocentric rhetoric that disparages non-human animal life and a persistent tendency in these same texts to think about animals "in terms of their emotional, ethical, psychological, and behavioral continuities with human beings" (4). Miller's brilliant close readings of patristic texts are thoroughly informed by a broad range of theoretical insights from leading thinkers in the field of animal studies. Miller appears equally at home with the works of Jean-Christophe Bailly, Jacques Derrida, and Maurice Merleau-Ponty as she is with the poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke and Wallace Stevens, all of whom here enter into a rich dialogue with the likes of Origen, Ambrose, Augustine, Basil of Caesarea, and Gregory of Nyssa, among others. The Introduction lays out the problem of the conflicting attitudes towards human-animal relationality in early Christian thought and literature and nicely situates the book's theoretical orientation. Chapter 1, "Animals and Figuration," uses birds as a case study for the various roles (spiritual, ethical, Christological) that animals play in the zoological imagination of early Christian writers. Miller's discussion of the dove is especially interesting, because she shows how Christian writers de-eroticized and spiritualized what was traditionally a symbol of potent sexuality. Chapters 2 and 3 share the title "The Pensivity of Animals," with a focus on "zoomorphism" and "anthropomorphism," respectively. Chapter 4, "Wild Animals," engages with the figuration of animals in the literature of monastic asceticism; Miller's recurring interest in the subversive quality of animal fabulae works well with the book's overall thesis. Chapter 5, "Small Things," employs the insights of "new materialism" to focus on the "vibrant materiality" of worms, mosquitos, flies, and frogs within the early Christian zoological imagination. In the brief afterword, Miller brings together her various readings of the ambiguous attitudes towards non-human animals in patristic literature and synthesizes them under the sign of a Christian kosmos that harmonizes and seeks affinity between its dissimilar parts. The great value of Miller's work is its delineation of how early Christian literature provides evidence of a lively discourse that ran contrary to and even disrupted the conventional anthropocentric view of the kosmos, a view inherited from the Greco-Roman philosophical tradition. The passages that Miller collects and analyzes in this volume illustrate without a doubt that patristic writers celebrated human entanglement with non-human animal life, "even when those relations are paradoxically presented as both positive and negative in the same text" (192). But early Christian writers were not alone in antiquity in presenting such an ambiguous or paradoxical relationship with non-human animal life. Though she deftly traces continuities between the patristic texts and modern ideas about human-animal entanglement, Miller misses an important opportunity to engage more deeply with the inheritance of non-Christian writers from the Roman Imperial period who sometimes shared with their Christian counterparts a sympathetic fascination with the natural world that contrasted sharply with the [End Page 374] conventional disparagement of non-human animals as "irrational creatures" (ἄλογα ζῷα). Miller duly notes parallels and differences between passages from patristic texts and similar passages from non-Christian writers such as Pliny and Aelian. But if, as Miller concludes, early Christianity heralded "a rhetoric of cosmic resemblance, connection, harmony, and affinity that does not debase animals but includes them . . . in the material and spiritual enchainments that are the created order" (194), then the book would have benefitted from a more searching inquiry into how the Christian writers were responding to, modifying, or consonant with their non-Christian counterparts in the creation of this new rhetoric. Finally—and it may seem churlish to note this, but it must be said—a more careful editorial...

Researching is the study of key principles and areas of focus within positive psychology, positive emotions, and global theories of Happiness and Well-being. The purpose of positive psychology in the conditions of global transformation of society is the scientific study of what enables individuals and communities to thrive and flourish. Traditional psychology has been primarily focused on identifying and treating mental illness, while positive psychology aims to understand and promote well-being, happiness, resilience, strengths, and virtues. It explores topics such as positive emotions, engagement in activities that provide a sense of flow and meaning, positive relationships with others, character strengths and virtues, and the cultivation of a meaningful life. Positive psychology research seeks to uncover factors that contribute to human flourishing in order to enhance individuals' quality of life and promote overall well-being. The methodologyof studying positive psychology is based on various research methods, including analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, systematization, and abstraction. Through the process of analysis, researchers examine existing theories and empirical evidence related to positive psychology. They seek to understand the underlying principles and concepts that contribute to well-being and flourishing. By synthesizing this information, researchers can develop a comprehensive understanding of the factors that impact individual and collective happiness. Induction involves observing patterns or trends from specific examples or cases in order to make generalizations or form theories about positive psychological phenomena. Researchers may analyze data from surveys, experiments, or other sources to identify commonalities or relationships between variables that contribute to well-being. Deduction involves starting with a general theory or hypothesis about positive psychology and deriving specific predictions from it. Systematization is another important method used in studying positive psychology. It involves organizing existing knowledge into coherent frameworks or models that provide a structure for understanding various aspects of well-being. Abstraction is also crucial for advancing positive psychology as a scientific discipline. It involves extracting essential concepts, principles, or patterns from empirical findings and theoretical frameworks. Results of the research on the meaning of positive psychology in modern society have shed light on the importance of well-being and flourishing in individuals' lives. It has highlighted the need to go beyond a focus solely on mental illness and pathology, and instead emphasize the promotion of positive emotions, engagement, relationships, character strengths, and meaning. The findings suggest that positive psychology can have significant implications for individual happiness and overall societal well-being. By understanding the factors that contribute to human flourishing, researchers can develop interventions and strategies to enhance individuals' quality of life. Moreover, positive psychology offers a valuable framework for addressing the challenges faced by modern society. As societies undergo rapid transformations due to technological advancements, globalization, and changing social dynamics, it is crucial to cultivate resilience and adaptability. Positive psychology research provides insights into how individuals can navigate these changes effectively by fostering positive emotions, building strong relationships, developing their character strengths and virtues, finding purpose in their lives. This knowledge can help individuals not only cope with adversity but also thrive amidst societal transformations. Additionally, studying positive psychology helps us understand how societal factors impact individual well-being. It highlights the significance of social connections, supportive environments for personal growth, and promoting equitable opportunities for all members of society. Overall, the research on the meaning of positive psychology in modern society highlights its relevance in promoting well-being at both individual levels as well as societal levels by emphasizing resilience, strong relationships, and meaningful engagement with life's challenges.

300Reviews The bilingual dictionary receives cursory treatment in this book even though the writing of bilingual dictionaries usually preceded the writing of monolingual dictionaries in the early history of lexicography. Dozens and dozens of problems unique to bilingual lexicography are neglected or ignored in this book even though the bilingual dictionary is an important tool for international understanding by virtue of its contribution to translation and interpretation. The title of the book might well have included the word "monolingual" in order to read Dictionaries. The Art and Craft of Monolingual Lexicography. Nevertheless, Landau has created what may be the best book ever published for the teaching of lexicography. It has just the right mix of simplicity and complexity. The author combines accessibility for the novice with professional considerations of interest to those already in the discipline. Roger J. Steiner University of Delaware * * * A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. Arndt, William F., F. Wilbur Gingrich, and Frederick W. Danker. 2d ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979. xl + 900 pp. $42.50. Shorter Lexicon of the Greek New Testament. Gingrich, F. Wilbur, and Frederick W. Danker. 2d ed. Chicago: U Chicago P, 1983. xii + 221 pp. $20.00. Why make a dictionary for the Greek words of the New Testament and other early Christian writings? Why not use existing dictionaries of ancient Greek? One reason is that including only the words of these Christian writings makes possible more thorough treatment than could be given in the same space to a more comprehensive vocabulary. But a more important reason is that the Greek of these writings is not classical Greek. At least as long ago as the seventeenth century, Reviews301 scholars noticed the differences between the Greek of the New Testament books and that of most literary writings of the first century, which used much the same Greek as the writings of the Classical period several hundred years earlier. Some ascribed the differences to the influence of Hebrew on Christian writers; others contended that it was a purer Greek, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. It was not until the 1890s, when non-literary writings in first-century Greek were discovered, particularly in Egyptian papyrus records and letters, that the Greek of the New Testament was recognized for what it was—the everyday Greek of the Hellenistic world of the first century A.D., known as koine, "the common language." As the English of today differs from that of Chaucer, Koine differed from Classical Greek in vocabulary, word forms, and grammar. To help read Koine Greek, grammars and dictionaries have been made, though none yet covers the whole corpus of writings in Koine. The Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (hereafter GELNT) is the latest product of a long line of philological dictionaries developed by New Testament scholars and their critics. The first dictionary of New Testament Greek was a Greek-Latin glossary published in 1 522. New Testament words were first explained in English in 1639. The present work is a lineal descendent of a Greek-German dictionary published in 1910. This was revised, first in 1928, by another German scholar, Walter Bauer, and his editions with their thorough scholarship came to dominate the field. The first edition of GELNT (1957) was a translation and adaptation of Bauer's fourth edition (1952). The present work is augmented in part from Bauer's fifth edition (1958). It is the product of more than fifteen years of revision by W. Wilbur Gingrich, professor emeritus of Greek and religion at Albright College, Reading, Pennsylvania, and by Frederick W. Danker, a professor in the Department of Exegetical Theology, New Testament, at Christ Seminary-Seminex and at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. How well does GELNT meet the needs and expectations of its prospective users? As a measure of this, the reviewer will use the findings of a survey that he conducted in 1967 to learn what users of New Testament lexicons wanted. 302Reviews Does the dictionary cover all the texts being studied by scholars of the New Testament and Early Christian writings? All respondents to the survey, of...

Positive psychologists can study the relation between some of the discipline's core dimensions and aversive outcomes, including youth violence. Dimensions such as gratitude, forgiveness, sense of meaning, altruism (or at least apparent altruism), prudence, and humility have received attention within positive psychology, and evidence is reviewed suggesting that these may also deserve empirical attention in terms of their relation to youth violence and even their potential to reduce youth violence. Keywords: positive psychology, violence, youth, character strengths Positive psychology as a field of study has shown remarkable growth over the last 15 years. The field now has its own journal (Journal of Positive Psychology); graduate programs (e.g., University of Pennsylvania, University of East London, Claremont Graduate University); dedicated scholarships and research grants; international conferences each year; researchers from Europe, the United States, and other regions; and wide sales for some of its textbooks (e.g., Peterson, 2006; Snyder & Lopez, 2007). One topic receiving little if any attention within this growing field is the application of positive psychology to research on youth violence. However, a positive psychology approach to youth violence research may not only be possible, but beneficial. We will argue for research explicitly linking some core constructs from positive psychology with research on youth violence. These constructs may reduce or at least predict reduced levels of youth violence. Admittedly, positive psychology and youth violence research may initially seem incompatible. Definitions of positive psychology tend to focus on the scientific study of positive traits and well-being (and sometimes positive institutions; e.g., Seligman, 2002). This definitional focus may seem to exclude a focus on youth violence. Bringing Balance to Positive Psychology by Studying Aversive Outcomes However, applying positive psychology to youth violence research may help bring balance to positive psychology. A persuasive case has been made by Wong (2009, 2010; see also Linley, Joseph, Harrington, & Wood, 2006) that more balance is needed in positive psychology. In particular, he argued that positive psychology focuses on the human appetitive system. In other words, the discipline tends to focus on goals that motivate approach, goals such as happiness and character strengths. These foci, of course, have value. However, Wong has argued that a balanced approach must also integrate the aversive system that helps people avoid or cope well with undesirable outcomes. Well-being requires not only approaching positive goals, but also avoiding negative outcomes or at least dealing well with negative outcomes. An exclusive focus on strengths and positive emotions ignores significant parts of human life. All humans must not only approach appetitive outcomes, but also avoid aversive outcomes. Building a sustainable future for individuals (O'Brien, 2008) requires not only building the good, but also avoiding the bad. In a sense, the tendency to ignore human tragedy and pain within positive psychology is surprising given the fact that resilience research (which presupposes the existence of tragedy that must be overcome) has been accepted by some to be within the domain of positive psychology (e.g., Yates & Masten, 2004). Furthermore, if positive psychology studies only appetitive constructs, the discipline may overrepresent concerns and causal agents especially relevant for the societal elites and ignore the social issues and barriers to the good life that are more common among the nonelite (e.g., poverty, hunger, violence; Wong, 2007). Thus, a balanced positive psychology will seek to promote strengths and happiness while simultaneously reducing aversive outcomes. Youth violence is clearly an undesirable outcome. As such, it has been largely ignored within positive psychology. …

Reviewed by: The Silencing of Slaves in Early Jewish and Christian Texts by Ronald Charles Mary Ann Beavis ronald charles, The Silencing of Slaves in Early Jewish and Christian Texts (Routledge Studies in the Early Christian World; London: Routledge, 2020). Pp. xvii + 272. $124. This book sets out to examine a wide range of early Jewish and Christian texts in which enslaved figures are represented and, according to Charles, rendered silent, by their authors, “who had no intrinsic interest in slaves . . . used, abused, and silenced their enslaved characters to articulate their own social, political, and theological visions” (p. 1) The Jewish texts considered all belong to the so-called Pseudepigrapha: Sibylline Oracles, Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, Testament of Job, Letter of Aristeas, Jubilees, Joseph and Aseneth, and Wisdom writings that include Ahiqar, 3 Maccabees, Pseudo-Phocylides, and the Sentences of the Syriac Menander. The early Christian writings are both canonical and extra-canonical: 1 Corinthians, Philippians, Philemon, the Gospels, Acts, the Passion of Perpetua and Felicitas, Acta Perpetuae, Letter of the Churches of Lyons and Vienne, and the Acts of Andrew. C. approaches these texts through the lenses of Michel-Rolph Trouillot’s Silencing [End Page 330] the Past: Power and the Production of History (Boston: Beacon, 1995), and Subaltern studies, to “uncover small tales constructed around slaves, or better, to consider how particular narratives could be understood differently if the reader pays attention to enslaved persons in their characterizations in the texts” (p. 12). Not surprisingly in a project that covers so much ground, the results are uneven. In my reading, several “small tales” stand out: the slave woman in the Testament of Job who gives her own loaf of bread to Satan, disguised as a stranger, when Job snubs him (7:5). Admittedly, the woman is rebuked for her kind act, but by Satan, hardly a reliable character. C. pays special attention to the slave characters—an unnamed slave girl and Malchus, the male slave of the high priest named in John 18:10—who figure in the scene of the denial of Peter (Mark 14:66–68; Matt 26:69–71; Luke 22:56; John 18:15–26), meticulously detailing the unique features of each narrative. C. highlights both the devalued figure of Rhoda (Acts 12:1–16) and the unnamed fortune-teller of Acts 16:16–18, characters often neglected by interpreters. Although all act/speak truthfully (and, in the case of the slave woman in Testament of Job, righteously), their words are dismissed, like the true words of the women disciples in Luke 24:11. Similarly, the slave Felicitas is sidelined by the freeborn Perpetua in the Passion, and both women are silenced in the Acts. In the Acts of Andrew, the body of the slave woman Euclia is used, abused, and discarded to preserve the chastity of her Christian mistress Maximilla: “The body of the elite woman is protected, while the body of the slave is exploited” (p. 196). Several of C.’s interpretive moves are less compelling. Some of the references to slaves in the pseudepigraphal writings he includes are slight or nonexplicit, as with the figure of Hermon in 3 Maccabees 5, who “is not explicitly called one [a slave] in the text” (p. 47). The observation that “he is an administrative person, who is in danger of being killed because of the king’s caprice” (p. 47), suffices to explain his vulnerability. C. adopts the traditional, but highly contested, hypothesis that Onesimus (Phlm 10) was a runaway slave, although why a fugitive slave would seek refuge by visiting a Roman prisoner is not explained. C. assumes that Epaphroditus (Phil 2:19, 25; 4:18) was a freedman (and thus outside the scope of the study), although he could just as likely have been enslaved or freeborn. To be sure, Eusebius’s construction of Blandina as a Christ figure whose death has cosmic significance (p. 182) subordinates her to a “highly theologized salvation history” (p. 183), but this is no different from his portrayal of other martyrs, enslaved or free. Charles’s study features a conclusion that thoroughly summarizes his analysis, chapter by chapter, seemingly in response to the critiques of...

This chapter seeks to answer the question is why certain early Christian writers do not enlist the stereotype of the dangerous female sorceress evident elsewhere, especially given the widespread rhetorical war on “heretical” movements, groups that supposedly favored women’s participation and leadership. Instead early Christian writings depict women consistently as victims of men’s magic rather than as magicians themselves. In an effort to understand this peculiarity of early Christian rhetoric, the chapter first provides a context for it by surveying depictions of magic from a variety of ancient non-Christian sources. Next, it examines depictions of magic from diverse early Christian sources, drawing attention to the pattern of male magician and female victim that emerges throughout. Finally, the chapter considers the ideological function of “magic” in early Christian rhetoric and explores possible reasons why Christian writers gendered magic the way they did.Keywords: early Christian writings; female sorceress; gender; magic

The aim of this chapter is to explore the relation between the professional specialty of counseling psychology and positive psychology. Following a brief historical overview of counseling psychology, we explore its theoretical convergence with positive psychology and examine how the ideas from positive psychology have been received by counseling psychologists. We argue that although counseling psychology has its roots in ideas that are consistent with positive psychology, the profession has developed a broad practice range in recent decades accommodating a diversity of ways of working, many of which prioritize working with distress and its origins over seeking to enhance and build on existing strengths. As such, the positive psychology movement can offer a new impetus for the profession of counseling psychology to reexamine its fundamental assumptions and reflect on its training curriculum. Based on this overview, we conclude that further bridges need to be built between positive psychology and counseling psychology. Our goal is to encourage counseling psychologists to engage more fully with the ideas and research of positive psychology.

Some aspects of “second-generation” Positive Psychology are analyzed and their origins explored. In particular, Seligman’s importation of the concept of eudaimonia from Aristotelian ethics is critiqued and found to be problematic. This conclusion is reached through an examination of the concept of eudaimonia as it was employed in ancient philosophy. COUNT NO ONE HAPPY: EUDAIMONIA AND POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY One would have to be downright churlish to regard the Positive Psychology movement with complete disdain. After all, is not a movement comprising a group of bright, accomplished researchers doing their best to identify and promote the well-being of humanity worthy of endorsement and even praise? We certainly feel that it is. And the faintness of our praise coupled with our criticisms of various aspects of the movement should not be taken as broad advocacy of human misery or the lachrymose life of the tortured artist or creative genius. Even the Buddhists, who see suffering as inevitable and ubiquitous, give hope for a better day and a means of achieving it. What follows, rather, is intended in the spirit of friendly and constructive criticism, a contribution to the perennial and essential discussion about how we are to conceive the good life, a discussion that was given recent impetus by leaders of the Positive Psychology movement. Positive Psychology is a vigorous, well-funded, and rapidly evolving movement. So dynamic is the movement that critique becomes difficult, given the speed with which the target moves. Though the volume that introduced Positive Psychology, a special issue of the American Psychologist that appeared in 2000, gave lip service to such concepts as citizenship, love, wisdom, and courage, it seemed to be in essence about promoting those states, traits, and institutions that would foster good health and subjective well-being. Guignon’s (2002) critique of this volume indicated that important human virtues were either neglected or absent entirely, especially some central to the philosophical life, namely the important virtues of reflection or critical examina\\server05\productn\T\THE\25-1\THE107.txt unknown Seq: 2 24-OCT-05 11:25 82 Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psy. Vol. 25, No. 1, 2005 tion and honesty or truthfulness. But Positive Psychology circa 2000 was a work in progress. Within the blink of an eye Peterson and Seligman (2004) seemingly had covered all the bases with their list of 24 “Virtues in Action Strengths” that included “judgment/critical thinking” and “integrity/honesty.” So given that Positive Psychologists now are promoting all the virtues that have ever been thought to be constitutive of the good life, is there still a problem? In morphing from students of hedonism into inquirers into the broader and deeper currents of human well-being, Positive Psychologists, in all likelihood, were reacting to or anticipating the challenge that the movement sometimes comes off as a shallow “happiology” (cf. Lazarus, 2003; Woolfolk, 2002). To this end, there has been a sincere effort to add some gravitas. Notably, Seligman (2002a) has distinguished among the “pleasant life,” the “good life,” and the “meaningful life.” The pleasant life is concerned with maximizing pleasure, about creating, maintaining, and intensifying positive feelings, what we might call first-generation Positive Psychology. According to Seligman, the good life, however, is not about maximizing positive emotion, but is a life wrapped up in successfully using your signature strengths to obtain abundant and authentic gratification. (Seligman, 2002a, p. 249) The good life thus results from using one’s “highest strengths.” Seligman goes on to identify the good life with Csikszentmihalyi’s (1990) concept of “flow,” a state in which we subjectively seem to merge with the activity, losing a sense of separateness or agency. The sense of the passage of time is altered, as well, as we dissolve into the moment and time seems to stop. Participating in an activity in this fashion has a certain mystical ring to citizens of cultures predicated on Cartesian mind-body splits and individualistic, person-centered concepts of consciousness. Yet, even the most experientially fragmented Westerner can point to some experience in which something akin to a loss of boundary between self and external world seems to have occurred. Athletes talk about being in the “zone” and musicians refer to being “one with the music.” And, of course, Csikszentmihalyi and others have conducted much research on the experience of flow. Flow does seem qualitatively different from the feelings of satiation after a satisfying meal or the joy of saving money on one’s auto insurance. So far so good. Seems like we might be headed into Zen territory, an appealing and familiar destination for many Westerners seeking a better and more coherent life. But at this juncture, somewhat incredibly, Seligman goes on to identify absorption in the moment with the philosophy of Aristotle and the key concept of Aristotelian ethics, eudaimonia. Seligman gives a highly idiosyncratic interpretation of this concept from Greek philosophy: \\server05\productn\T\THE\25-1\THE107.txt unknown Seq: 3 24-OCT-05 11:25

Positive media psychology is a specialized area of media psychology based on the theories and constructs of positive psychology. Its purpose is to explore the potential of media technologies to support human flourishing through research and development. Positive media psychology strives to move away from psychology's problem‐centric medical model to a balanced and holistic approach to understanding mediated experiences. Positive media psychology explores questions such as “How do people benefit?” and “How can we make it better?” By using a positive psychology paradigm, researchers and developers will be better able to evaluate and harness the power of media technologies to impact lives and society for the better.

Positive Psychology is a recent branch of psychology the purpose of which was summed up in 2000 by Martin Seligman and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi as psychology of positive human functioning .The goal of Positive Psychology is to achieve a scientific understanding and effective intervention to build thriving in individuals, families and communities. What's right about instead of what's wrong with motivate the psychologists to learn how to build the qualities that may help individuals and communities not just to endure and survive but also to flourish.Psychologists are trying to help people to actualize their potentialities of becoming happy and satisfied within the range of possibilities available in their respective cultures. Positive Psychologists have proposed the revolutionary ideas of focusing on human strengths and virtues in place of emotional problems and mental illnesses to improve our well being. This seems entirely in line with the objectives of World Health Organization which states that:Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity (WHO, 1946).Positive Psychologists have taken this objective seriously and have attempted to define the positive experiences, attitudes and emotions that can give us greater well being and happiness. Enhancing the life of enjoyment (pleasant life), creating the life of engagement (good life) and promoting the life of affiliation (meaningful life) are the goals of Positive Psychologists.But when we look at these objectives in the context of our Indian heritage, certain questions arise in our minds and we find some important things missing.Firstly Positive psychology promises to achieve immediate results quickly by applying simple scientific facts to emotional problems and principles of human nature (nurturing human strengths and savoring positive experiences). Can we get instant solution to those problems whose seeds are buried deep inside our level of consciousness? If yes, then it will not be sustainable and only be for a short period of time.Secondly As mentioned earlier according to Positive Psychologists, the highest human good is happiness but it is highly questionable in the light of the complexity of existence. Can we relieve ourselves from the worries, anxieties and tensions of our daily hurried living by the skills of emotional well being? Or it may add another dimension of obligation when being happy or achieving mastery over ones emotional life becomes a new duty and modem standard.Thirdly Positive psychology focuses more on the positive aspect of human nature and considers that Psychology is not just the study of pathology, weakness, and damage; it is also the study of strengths and virtues. Treatment is not just fixing what is broken; it is nurturing what is best. But focusing either on positive or negative side of human life will be half of the entire story. Positive Psychologists and therapists argue that they are simply trying to rebalance the negative thoughts and habits with positive ones. The question here arises that do we want our thoughts and habits to get interfered with in this manner? Will it not leave certain things unsettled and disconcerting? Does it not give an idea of social and emotional engineering? Human being is the combination of strengths and weaknesses. Life is not all rainbows and joy. While positive things are what humans tend to focus on, negative things are still a part of the order of life and nature. Sometimes negative emotions and experiences may be more urgent and therefore override positive ones. This would make evolutionary sense. Since negative emotions often reflect immediate problems or objective dangers, they should be powerful enough to force us to stop, increase vigilance, reflect on our behavior, and change our actions if necessary.Fourthly In Positive psychology happiness, satisfaction and wellbeing is possible without following the hard earned path of self realization. …

Positive psychology has received increasing attention in rehabilitation counseling research and practice. The rehabilitation counseling philosophy shares a similar emphasis of personal assets and strengths, which provides a solid foundation for the integration of positive psychology into the professional practice of rehabilitation counseling. In this article, the guest editors present their rationale for developing this special issue on positive psychology and rehabilitation research. They highlight some of the exciting findings reported in the articles included in this special issue on positive psychology and rehabilitation research. The goal of this special issue is to stimulate thinking and discussion about applying positive psychology theory, research, assessment, and interventions in rehabilitation counseling for promoting overall well-being, quality of life, and happiness for people with chronic illness and disabilities.