Episode · Conversations with Tyler · 2026-04-01
Books mentioned on Arthur Brooks on Reinvention, Religion, and the Science of Happiness
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Tyler Cowen discussed The Meaning of Your Life by Arthur C. Brooks and Who Really Cares by Arthur C. Brooks. Arthur Brooks discussed The Principles of Psychology by William James and Leisure, the Basis of Culture by Josef Pieper.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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The Meaning of Your Life
Discussed“He has an important new book out called The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness.”
Where to get it
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The Principles of Psychology
Discussed“He wrote The Principles of Psychology, and he separated the psyche into the I-self and to the me-self.”
Where to get it
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Who Really Cares
Discussed“Now, your 2007 book, Who Really Cares?, it had a data-backed thesis that was correct at the time, that political conservatives are more generous than political democrats”
Where to get it
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Leisure, the Basis of Culture
Discussed“What I’m thinking about right now for the next spiral, I’m reading the work of Josef Pieper, the great mid-20th-century German philosopher who wrote Leisure: The Basis of Culture.”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (1) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
Plugged The Meaning of Your Life
“Before the last question, just to put in another plug for your book. It is available on Amazon and many other places. It is called The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness.”