DECISIONS WITH HEART AND MIND: Balancing Reason and Emotion in Decision Making to Cultivate Happiness and Success. Applying Epicurean Philosophy And ... (Book 4 of the "SKILLS of HAPPINESS" Series).

"DECISIONS WITH HEART AND MIND" is designed to help you improve your decision-making skills by providing advice on two levels. The first level focuses on the formation of desires and emotions, while the second level enhances critical thinking by providing practical techniques for evaluating alternatives. The suggestions are based on the Epicurean philosophy, verified by contemporary science, and applied in modern life. Mainstream psychology and neuroscience support that desires and emotions substantially impact decisions. Research shows that emotions govern reasoning, even when people choose aversive options. In short, reason cannot make choices in the absence of emotions.

Once desire and emotions are realized by reason, a conscious process of practical reasoning initiates a cost/benefit analysis for each alternative. Deductive competence can lead to new choices or the anticipation of the consequences of selecting one or another option. This process triggers emotive responses and generates corresponding feelings, which can bias decisions nonconsciously. One can influence these emotions by adopting healthy beliefs that underlie desires and emotions. In this model, there is no necessary conflict between reason and emotion. Healthy emotion can support rational thought and often does.

This book is part of the "Skills of Happiness" series, which contains the most exciting content from my lifelong book "EPICURUS AND THE PLEASANT LIFE."