Use Reason to Seek Happiness, Advises Professor

Summer is a great time to dive into books that challenge conventional thinking, spark innovation, and deepen understanding of the ever-changing business landscape for leaders. This series features some of the newest titles by faculty and alumni. For more recommended reading, check out the books on Dean Andrew Karolyi’s shelf. 

“Much of our life is spent seeking happiness and contentment and navigating hurdles and challenges. One of the most powerful and underutilized tools for this journey is one that we all possess: namely, the ability to reason.”

So begins Reason to Be Happy: Why Logical Thinking Is the Key to a Better Life (Torva 2024), by Kaushik Basu, a professor in the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management in the SC Johnson College of Business and the Carl Marks Professor of International Studies in the Cornell University College of Arts and Sciences.

For readers dealing with major crises or wanting to let go of anger in personal relationships, Basu recommends turning to logic. Through thought experiments and puzzles, the book discusses the Prisoner’s Dilemma; perceptions of attractiveness on Miami Beach; collective action; and other scenarios to argue that thinking clearly can help readers develop a happy life and improve the world.

According to one reviewer, the book is “an accessible and highly readable guide to using game theory both in personal or business life, and in policy.” Another remarks that the book is compelling, eminently readable, and makes brilliant points and that its appeal “lies not in the answers it provides but in the questions it asks.”