Watch the highlight reel of the lecture livestream 'Human nature and potentials' by Dr. Fan Yang!
Then watch the full lecture here: https://www.youtube.com/live/JPWkPW0WSZY?si=rIQMHIc8CRFGE7Oi
Fan Yang is a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Chicago, the principal investigator of the Human Nature & Potentials Lab, and the lead investigator of the Moral Transcendence project at the Center for Practical Wisdom.
Yang's talk focused on concepts of happiness, meaning, and self-transcendence from a psychological research perspective. She discusses the range of her research results in various projects including how awe and flow contribute to wise reasoning. She notes life is marked by challenges and hardships, an undeniable reality of human existence that leads some thinkers to ponder the preference of never being born. While substantial research efforts have focused on making life more tolerable, her research investigates ways to enhance our living experiences, making them truly enjoyable and worthwhile. Findings reveal promising pathways not only towards a tolerable life but also towards an elevated one, encompassing profound experiences of feeling good (characterized by happiness, meaning, and awe) and the pursuit of being good. The most encouraging aspect is that these elevations are not unreachable luxuries but well within the reach of each individual, aligning with our deeply rooted nature and untapped potential.
