Episode · Modern Wisdom · 2026-10-24
Books mentioned on Positive Psychology Founder: How To Stop Your Negative Thoughts - Martin Seligman - #1167
Dr. Martin Seligman is a psychologist, professor at the University of Pennsylvania, pioneer of positive psychology, and author.
Chris Williamson recommended What You Can Change and what You Can't by Martin E. P. Seligman, and discussed Agency by Martin Seligman. Martin Seligman discussed The Iliad, The Torah by David J. Zucker, Bible, and The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind by Julian Jaynes.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Agency
Discussed“This is the new book. How is it different from optimism? Uh, how have you come to conceptualize that?”
Where to get it
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The Iliad
The Iliad by Homer is an ancient Greek epic poem that chronicles the fierce battles, heroic deeds, and tragic human costs surrounding the final weeks of the Trojan War.
Discussed“If you look at just Homer, the Greeks, if you look at the older Homer, which is the Iliad, in which Achilles doesn't do it, but the gods get Achilles to do it. Achilles is not agentic. A hundred years later, you've got Odysseus, the clever, wily, agentic person.”
Where to get it
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The Torah
The Torah by David J.
Discussed“And what I had done in chapter 9 is I look at agency in the Torah. Well, the five books of Moses are not very agentic. God basically does the heavy lifting and the heavy lifting and the heavy lifting and the heavy lifting.”
Where to get it
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Bible
The Bible is a foundational anthology of sacred texts comprising ancient narratives, laws, poetry, and prophetic writings that form the cornerstone of Judeo-Christian faith and Western morality.
Discussed“So here's an example from the Bible, from Hebrew. In the Torah, go beyond the Torah. After the Torah, the word teshuvah occurs for the first time. Teshuvah means repentance, that you can redo your life.”
Where to get it
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The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind
The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind by Julian Jaynes is a classic 1976 work that posits a provocative hypothesis about the historical development of human consciousness and psychological self-awareness.
Discussed“one major hypothesis, this is of Julian Jaynes' wonderful book called "The Bicameral Mind" about 50 years ago. He was a teacher of mine. Jaynes argued that consciousness itself, this thing inside of us”
Where to get it
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What You Can Change and what You Can't
Recommended“Well, my favorite book of yours is What You Can Change and What You Can't. And maybe not quite as obscure.”
Where to get it
