Learned helplessness theory stemmed from many years of research into the depressive illness, which had personal importance for Seligman, whose experience of depression led him to recognize he himself was prone to pessimism and melancholy. He was convinced to follow his own advice, and alter his perception of the situation. In doing so, he was influenced by psychological theories espousing the notion that humans can learn to overcome adversity through the practice of optimism. This became the “positive psychology” movement. Albert Ellis began to explore those who are happy to find out what makes a happy life. He found that there is not a single recipe for happiness, yet there are three different types of a happy life: the “pleasant life”, based on socializing and sexual pleasure; the “meaningful life”, based on work for something greater than oneself; and the “good life”, based on personal growth.
Mind and brain
In many cultures around this world, there is the view that humans have a soul that exists independently of the physical body. For Greek philosophers, the soul was also viewed as the seat of our reasoning abilities - what we would call our minds today. While Aristotle...