How philosophy can save your life | Jules Evans | TEDxBreda

Summary

The speaker shares a personal journey of overcoming mental health struggles through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), inspired by ancient Greek philosophy. They explain how CBT's ABC model of emotions, rooted in Stoic philosophy, empowers individuals to challenge and transform their beliefs and emotional responses. The talk delves into the therapeutic wisdom of Socrates and Epictetus, emphasizing the importance of self-examination and the cultivation of virtuous habits for a meaningful life. It concludes by advocating for the integration of practical philosophy in modern education and therapy to complement CBT's focus on emotional well-being.

Takeaways

• 🌟 Ancient Greek philosophy, particularly Stoicism, has had a profound influence on the development of modern Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).
• 💡 CBT is a therapeutic approach that helps individuals manage their problems by changing the way they think and behave, drawing from the wisdom of ancient philosophers.
• 📚 The speaker's personal journey with substance experimentation and subsequent mental health struggles led them to discover and benefit from CBT.
• 👨‍⚕️ Albert Ellis, the founder of CBT, was inspired by ancient Greek philosophy, especially the teachings of Epictetus, to develop his ABC theory of emotions.
• 🔑 The ABC model in CBT suggests that it's not events (A) that cause emotional distress but our beliefs (B) about those events that lead to our emotional responses (C).
• 🤔 Socrates' philosophical method of questioning one's beliefs is a fundamental technique in CBT, encouraging individuals to examine and challenge their thoughts.
• 🏛 The Stoic philosophy emphasizes the importance of focusing on what is within our control, which is primarily our beliefs and reactions, not external circumstances.
• 📈 The speaker highlights the effectiveness of CBT through personal experience and its wide availability due to government support based on its evidence-based outcomes.
• 📘 The ancient Greeks believed in the power of habits and used techniques like maxims, journals, and fieldwork to instill philosophical principles into daily life, which mirrors CBT's approach to habit formation.
• 💭 The script suggests that while CBT is effective for short-term emotional issues, ancient philosophy provides a deeper exploration of virtue, character, and the meaning of a good life.

Q & A

How did the speaker's teenage experiences with drugs lead to mental health issues?

The speaker and their friends experimented with various drugs, which initially led to enjoyable experiences but eventually resulted in mental health issues among their group, such as psychotic breakdowns, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, and paranoia. The speaker personally started experiencing panic attacks in university.

What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and how did the speaker discover it?

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a psychological treatment that helps individuals understand how their thoughts and beliefs influence their emotions and behaviors. The speaker discovered CBT after researching treatments for social anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder, which they were diagnosed with by a therapist.

Who developed CBT and what was their inspiration?

CBT was developed by American psychologist Albert Ellis. His inspiration came from ancient Greek philosophy, particularly the stoic philosopher Epictetus, who said, 'Men are disturbed not by events, but by their opinion about events.'

What is the ABC theory of emotions as introduced by Albert Ellis?

The ABC theory of emotions states that A stands for Activating events (something that happens to us), B stands for our Beliefs (how we interpret that event), and C stands for the Consequent emotion (the feeling we have as a result of our interpretation).

How does the speaker describe the 'inner voice' and its impact on our emotions?

The speaker describes the 'inner voice' as a running commentary that makes judgments about events throughout the day, often unconsciously and automatically. This inner voice, if left unchallenged, can lead to negative interpretations and emotional problems.

What is the primary message from Epictetus that influenced Albert Ellis?

Epictetus' primary message that influenced Ellis is that we are not disturbed by events themselves, but by our interpretations of those events. This idea is central to Ellis' ABC theory of emotions.

How does the speaker relate the philosophy of Epictetus to personal resilience and control?

The speaker relates Epictetus' philosophy by discussing the division of life into two spheres: things we have control over (our beliefs) and things we don't (external events and other people's actions). The key to resilience is understanding this distinction and focusing on what we can control.

What techniques did the ancient Greeks use to create habits, and how does CBT incorporate similar methods?

The ancient Greeks used techniques such as creating maxims or catchphrases, keeping journals, and engaging in fieldwork or real-life practice to create habits. CBT incorporates similar methods by having individuals repeat ideas to form habits, keep track of their progress through journaling, and practice new behaviors in real-life situations.

Why does the speaker believe that we still need ancient philosophy despite the existence of CBT?

The speaker believes we still need ancient philosophy because it offers beautiful writing and profound insights into virtue and the meaning of life, which CBT does not cover. Philosophy encourages questioning and personal reflection on what constitutes a good life.

What role does habit formation play in both ancient Greek philosophy and CBT?

Habit formation plays a crucial role in both ancient Greek philosophy and CBT as a means to change behavior and thought patterns. Ancient Greeks turned philosophical principles into maxims and practiced them, while CBT uses repetition and real-life application to ingrain new behaviors and thought patterns.

Outlines

00:00

🌿 The Influence of Ancient Greek Philosophy on Modern CBT

The speaker, Laura Palma Montañez, shares her personal journey of how ancient Greek philosophy, particularly Stoicism, inspired the development of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). She discusses her teenage years experimenting with various substances, leading to mental health issues among her friends and panic attacks for herself. Her recovery began when she sought help from a therapist who diagnosed her with social anxiety, depression, and PTSD. Through self-research, she discovered CBT and joined a support group where she learned to manage her panic attacks and emotions. Intrigued by the origins of CBT, she learned that it was founded by Albert Ellis, who was influenced by the Stoic philosopher Epictetus. Ellis's ABC theory of emotions—Activating events, Beliefs, and Consequent emotions—was a cornerstone in Laura's recovery and understanding of how our interpretations of events shape our emotional responses.

05:01

🧠 The Power of Interpretation and Inner Dialogue

This section delves into the concept that our emotions are not solely dictated by events but by our interpretations of them. The speaker uses the example of someone frowning to illustrate how our immediate judgments can lead to negative emotions. The speaker suggests that by questioning these interpretations, we can choose our perceptions more wisely. However, this process is challenging because our interpretations are often unconscious and automatic, influenced by lifelong beliefs and opinions. The speaker compares this inner voice to a distorted 24-hour news channel, emphasizing the need to engage in a rational dialogue with our thoughts, as Socrates taught. This dialogue can help us recognize and challenge our negative beliefs, which the Greeks believed to be the source of much suffering.

10:01

🕊️ Epictetus's Philosophy of Inner Freedom and Resilience

The speaker introduces the Stoic philosopher Epictetus, a former slave who developed a powerful philosophy of inner freedom and resilience. Epictetus taught that life can be divided into two spheres: things we cannot control and things we can. He emphasized the importance of distinguishing between these two spheres for emotional well-being. The speaker shares how her own social anxiety was alleviated by shifting her focus from external validation to self-acceptance. The paragraph also touches on the Greek understanding of habit formation and the need for philosophy to be ingrained in daily practices. Techniques such as using maxims, keeping journals, and engaging in 'fieldwork' or real-life practice were employed by the ancient Greeks to instill philosophical principles into habits, mirroring modern CBT practices.

15:01

📚 The Relevance of Ancient Philosophy in Modern Life

In the final paragraph, the speaker argues for the continued relevance of ancient philosophy alongside modern psychological therapies like CBT. While CBT provides evidence-based strategies for emotional well-being, it lacks the depth on questions of virtue and the meaning of life that ancient philosophy offers. The speaker suggests that the beauty of ancient texts and their exploration of life's big questions make them invaluable. They advocate for the inclusion of practical philosophy in educational and corporate settings to foster not only self-improvement techniques but also critical thinking about what constitutes a good life. The speaker concludes with a call for individuals to engage with philosophy to shape their own understanding of a meaningful existence.

Keywords

💡Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a psychological treatment that helps individuals understand the connection between their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. It is a core component of the video's theme, as the speaker credits CBT with helping them overcome panic attacks and social anxiety. The video explains how CBT was inspired by ancient Greek philosophy and has been adapted into a modern therapeutic practice, making it accessible to millions.

💡Ancient Greek Philosophy

Ancient Greek Philosophy is the intellectual tradition that began in ancient Greece in the 6th century BCE. It is deeply intertwined with the video's narrative, as the speaker discusses how modern CBT was influenced by the teachings of Greek philosophers like Socrates and Epictetus. The philosophy's emphasis on self-examination and the control of one's beliefs is seen as a precursor to CBT techniques.

💡Epictetus

Epictetus was a Greek Stoic philosopher who lived in the 1st century AD. His teachings are central to the video's message, as he is quoted saying, 'Men are disturbed not by events, but by their opinion about events.' This idea directly influenced the development of CBT's ABC theory of emotions, where 'A' stands for activating events, 'B' for beliefs, and 'C' for consequent emotions.

💡ABC Theory of Emotions

The ABC Theory of Emotions is a fundamental concept in CBT, introduced by Albert Ellis, the founder of CBT. It posits that it is not events (A) that directly cause emotional responses (C), but rather our beliefs (B) about those events. The video uses this theory to explain how changing one's interpretation of events can lead to different emotional outcomes, which is a key strategy in overcoming emotional distress.

💡Activating Events

Activating events, or 'A' in the ABC model, refer to external circumstances or occurrences that can trigger an emotional response. The video explains that it is not the events themselves that cause distress, but rather our interpretations of them. This concept is crucial for understanding how CBT helps individuals change their reactions to life's challenges.

💡Beliefs

In the context of the video, beliefs are the 'B' in the ABC model and represent the internal interpretations or judgments we make about activating events. The video emphasizes that it is often our beliefs that lead to emotional distress, not the events themselves. By challenging and changing these beliefs, individuals can alter their emotional responses.

💡Emotional Resilience

Emotional resilience is the ability to adapt and recover from challenging situations. The video discusses how the teachings of Epictetus and the practice of CBT can foster resilience by helping individuals recognize what is within their control and what is not, thus promoting a sense of inner freedom and autonomy.

💡Inner Voice

The 'inner voice' refers to the continuous stream of thoughts and judgments that occur in our minds throughout the day. The video suggests that this inner voice often operates unconsciously and can be a source of distorted beliefs. CBT aims to make individuals aware of this inner voice and to challenge its accuracy, leading to more rational and helpful beliefs.

💡Habits

Habits are routine practices that are repeated regularly and tend to become automatic. The video connects the concept of habits with the Greek word 'ethos,' emphasizing that philosophy and CBT are not just about changing beliefs but also about forming new, beneficial habits. Techniques such as maxims, journals, and fieldwork are discussed as methods for creating and reinforcing these habits.

💡Fieldwork

Fieldwork, in the context of the video, refers to the practical application of philosophical and therapeutic principles in real-life situations. It is a technique used in both ancient Greek philosophy and CBT to reinforce learning and to test the effectiveness of one's beliefs and habits in various life contexts.

💡Virtue

Virtue, in the video, is discussed as a concept that is integral to ancient Greek philosophy but is less emphasized in modern CBT. Virtue refers to moral excellence or goodness, and the video suggests that while CBT focuses on short-term emotional relief, philosophy also addresses long-term questions of character and the good life.

Highlights

Ancient Greek philosophy inspired modern Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).

CBT has made the therapeutic wisdom of the ancient Greeks accessible to millions.

Philosophy can aid in 'taking care of our souls' as Socrates suggested.

The speaker's personal story of overcoming challenges with the help of philosophy.

Experimentation with various chemicals led to mental health issues among the speaker's friends.

The speaker experienced panic attacks and anxiety in university.

A therapist diagnosed the speaker with social anxiety, depression, and PTSD.

CBT was discovered as a potential treatment for the speaker's conditions.

Albert Ellis, the inventor of CBT, was inspired by ancient Greek philosophy.

Epictetus' philosophy on how opinions about events disturb men influenced Ellis.

The ABC theory of emotions: Activating events, Beliefs, and Consequent emotions.

Our emotions are not automatic but a result of our interpretations of events.

The importance of questioning our inner voice and its interpretations.

The speaker's journey to meet Albert Ellis and express gratitude for CBT.

The concept of inner freedom and resilience as taught by Epictetus.

Epictetus' philosophy of dividing life into controllable and uncontrollable spheres.

The idea that we only truly control our beliefs, not external events.

The importance of turning philosophy into habits for lasting change.

Ancient techniques for creating habits, such as maxims and journals, mirror CBT practices.

The need for practical application of philosophy, or 'fieldwork', in real-life situations.

CBT's rediscovery of ancient wisdom and its foundation on evidence-based practices.

The value of ancient philosophy beyond CBT for understanding virtue and the meaning of life.

The call for more practical philosophy in educational and corporate settings.

Transcripts

Transcriber: Laura Palma Montañez Reviewer: Maricene Crus

So I'm going to tell you how ancient Greek philosophy

inspired modern Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or CBT.

And how through CBT

millions of people have got access

to the therapeutic wisdom of the ancient Greeks.

We are realizing that philosophy can help us as Socrates put it:

"To take care of our souls."

So I'm going to begin by telling you my story

of how philosophy helped me through the most difficult phase of my life.

So when I was a teenager in the mid 1990s,

my friends and I were -

I guess you could describe us as amateur neuroscientists.

We liked to experiment on our own brains

with various different chemicals every weekend.

So we began our experiments with marijuana and we had some interesting results,

and then we moved on to experimenting with LSD, also quite interesting,

and eventually we were experimenting with MDMA,

amphetamines, ketamine, magic mushrooms,

all thrown into our neural chemistry like ingredients into a druid's cauldron.

I mean, we had some great times

and hilarious visionary and even spiritual experiences.

But then I noticed some of my raver friends

were beginning to wipe out.

My best friend had a psychotic breakdown when he was tripping.

He was just 16 and locked up and diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.

Other friends developed bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, paranoia.

And then in my first term at university

I started to get panic attacks.

I didn't know what a panic attack was,

I just knew I'd be in a quite unthreatening situation

and I'd suddenly feel this full-bodied existential terror.

And that undermined my confidence

because I didn't know who I'd be from one day to the next,

and it also made me more socially anxious

because I was never sure when panic was going to jump out and humiliate me.

And my real terror

was that I had done some permanent damage to the chemical balance in my brain,

in which case maybe there was nothing I could do about it.

Maybe I'd ruin my life before the age of 21.

So all the way through university I'd became more and more miserable

and then I graduated and I hit rock bottom.

I became a financial journalist. (Laughter)

I got a job reporting on the German mortgage bond market.

This is what happens if you mess around with drugs. (Laughter)

My kind parents sent me to see quite an expensive therapist trying to help me,

and he diagnosed me as suffering from social anxiety, depression

and post-traumatic stress disorder.

I think he was being paid per diagnosis. (Laughter)

He wasn't able to help me,

so I went away and researched those conditions for myself

and found they could apparently be treated by something called

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or CBT.

I also discovered there was a CBT support group

for people who suffered from social anxiety

that met near me every Thursday evening in London.

So one Thursday I went along.

I found ten people sitting in a circle

and there wasn't actually a therapist present,

but someone in that group had illegally downloaded a CBT course

for social anxiety from the Internet.

So we listened to that course and practiced the exercises

and did the homework and encouraged each other on,

and for me, at least, it worked.

I stopped having panic attacks after a few weeks

and I began to understand how to transform my emotions.

So I became fascinated by CBT and I wondered where it had come from.

I discovered it had been invented by an American psychologist

named Albert Ellis, who lived in New York.

So one day in 2007, I got on a plane to New York

and I went to interview him.

By that stage he was 92, old, frail and sick,

and it turned out to be, sadly, the last interview he ever gave.

He died a few months later.

But I got to thank him in person

for inventing this therapy that had saved my life.

And I asked him where it had come from.

Ellis told me he had trained as a Freudian psychoanalyst in the 1950s,

but he'd become frustrated with how little progress his patients seemed to make.

So he looked around for other ways to understand the emotions

and he turned back to his first great love:

ancient Greek philosophy.

He'd been particularly inspired by a line from a stoic philosopher called Epictetus.

Epictetus said:

"Men are disturbed not by events, but by their opinion about events."

That inspired Ellis' famous ABC theory of the emotions.

A stands for the Activating events, something that happens to us.

B stands for our Beliefs, how we interpret that event,

and C stands for the Consequent emotion that we feel through our interpretation.

It often feels that our emotions just happen to us

automatically and involuntarily in response to an event,

that it's just an action and a reaction.

Let's say we're walking down the street

and we pass someone frowning,

we immediately feel offended and angry.

It feels that we're going straight from A to C.

But if you look at that event closely,

what happened was you interpreted it a certain way.

You thought: "That person is frowning at me.

They're looking down on me in some way.

They shouldn't! How rude! How offensive!"

And that interpretation let you feeling offended and angry.

Once we realize how our interpretations lead to our emotions,

we can hold our interpretations up to the light

and ask if they're definitely accurate or wise.

We could ask ourselves, for example:

"Was that person definitely frowning at me?

Maybe they were just frowning.

And if they were frowning at me, so what?

Does that mean that I have to take their bad mood with me

through the rest of the day?"

We can start to choose our perceptions, our interpretations more wisely

and this will affect how we feel.

So that might sound quite simple, quite easy.

Unfortunately, it's not quite that easy because all of the time

our interpretations are unconscious and automatic.

We have a kind of running commentary,

an inner voice that's going through our head all through the day,

making judgments about the things that are happening to us.

Usually we don't question that inner voice, we don't even notice it.

That inner voice would be made out with all the beliefs and opinions

we've heard since we were children and we'd internalized it.

We assume that running commentary, that inner voice,

is always completely accurate and true.

But, unfortunately, it isn't; it often gets things wrong.

You can think of that inner voice, that running commentary,

as like a sort of 24-hour news channel, constantly commenting on your life,

but in a very distorted and biased way,

it never really checks its facts.

Now if you have emotional problems like depression,

that would be because, probably,

your inner commentary is jumping to very negative conclusions.

You might assume, for example, that everyone dislikes you

or that everything you turn your hand to will fail.

So according to the Greeks, then,

what often causes suffering is our own beliefs.

We are our own imprisoners,

our own torturers.

We cling to our negative or toxic beliefs

even when they hurt us or even kill us.

So how do we free ourselves from our self-made prisons?

Well, according to Socrates, the father of Greek philosophy,

what we need to do is learn how to ask yourself questions,

not just assume that that inner voice is always telling the truth,

learn how to engage it in a rational dialogue.

So that's what Socrates tried to teach to his fellow Athenians.

He engaged them in a dialogue in Athens,

getting them to think, perhaps for the first time,

about their unexamined beliefs and values and life philosophy.

And likewise, if you go to see a cognitive therapist,

they'll also engage you in a rational dialogue

asking you questions, getting you to examine your beliefs.

You can do that for yourself as well.

Asking yourself questions and learning to perceive, perhaps for the first time,

the bars of your prison cell, your own beliefs.

Do we really have control over ourselves?

Can we really choose how we react to things?

Aren't we the slave of circumstances,

the slave of our DNA, of our childhood, of our social-economic situation?

So let me tell you to explore that question

a little bit more about this philosopher Epictetus.

He lived in the first century AD and he was actually a slave,

his name meant "acquired."

To be a slave in the Roman Empire

meant you had very little control over your external life and your situation.

And yet Epictetus developed a philosophy of inner freedom and resilience

which is still very powerful today.

The secret of his philosophy of resilience

was to divide all of life into two spheres:

those things that we don't have complete control over

and those things that we do.

And he said the secret of resilience is to know the difference

between those two spheres.

So what we don't have complete control over in life?

According to Epictetus we don't control the weather,

the government, the economy;

we don't control other people.

We have some influence over them,

but they remain to some extent out of our control.

We don't control our own bodies.

We can try and remain healthy and we should,

but we all get injured sometimes, we all get sick,

we're all getting older, and we all eventually die.

And we don't have control over our reputations either,

we can put a lot of effort into trying to manage our online reputations,

but to some extent they are beyond our control.

So what then we control, according to Epictetus?

Well the only thing that we control according to him is our beliefs.

And he thought that emotional problems come from two mistakes

that humans often make.

Firstly, they try to exert complete control

over something in that first area, something external.

They insist that something in their external life must be a certain way.

And then when it proves beyond their control,

they feel frustrated and helpless and angry.

Or they fail to take control over zone 1, over their own beliefs and thoughts.

Instead, they use something in the external world

as an excuse or an alibi.

They said: "I had no choice because this happened to me or because of that."

For example, when I had social anxiety,

I was very fixated on what other people thought of me.

I thought: "They must approve of me and if they don't, it's a disaster."

Well, that was a classic recipe for feeling very anxious

and alienated and out of my control.

I'd made myself a slave of something external,

a slave of other people's opinions.

And the antidote to that was always in my control.

At any moment I could say: "I'd prefer for other people to like me,

but that's somewhat out of my control, I can still accept myself

and like myself and do the right thing regardless."

As soon as I thought like that, I felt less anxious and out of control

and more calm and in control.

So let's say you're here at a TED Talk today and you have a light bulb moment.

You think: "Now I understand how to live my life."

The problem is that that might change you for a few days or a few weeks,

but then you'll probably go back to the person you were before

because we're very forgetful creatures,

we tend to sleepwalk through the day, as Socrates put it.

And that's a problem for philosophy. Can we really change ourselves?

The Greeks actually understood to what extent we are habit-based creatures,

and they understood that if philosophy is going to change us,

it can't be just beautiful ideas,

it has to be changed into ingrained habits.

So the word "ethics" in Greek

is very closely connected to the word "ethos," which means "habits."

And I'm going to end by telling you a few of their techniques

for creating habits.

One technique they used, for example, was the maxim.

They would try to make their philosophy easily memorizable

by turning it into maxims, catch phrases like proverbs or mantras.

Things like, "Know thyself"

or "Everything in moderation"

which students would repeat out loud to themselves

over and over until they became ingrained habits.

They'd also write it down in little handbooks

which they'd carried with them through the day called "enchiridions."

CBT uses a very similar technique;

you repeat ideas over and over until they become ingrained in your habits.

They'd also keep journals; at the end of the day

the trainee philosopher would write down in their journal

what they'd done well, what they'd done badly.

The idea of that is that we sleepwalk through the day,

we don't realize what we've done or even who we are.

So the journal is a way of keeping track of what you're actually doing

and also keeping track of your progress.

Are you really making progress in weakening bad habits

and strengthening good habits?

Epictetus said: "If you have a bad temper and you're trying to improve it,

count the number of days in which you've managed not to lose your temper

and if you get to 30 days, you can consider you're making progress.

So CBT uses a very similar technique of the journal.

The third technique that the Greeks used was fieldwork.

It's not enough just for your philosophy to be purely theoretical,

you have to go out and practice it in real life situations.

Epictetus said to his students:

"You may be very good in the lecture room,

but drag yourself out into practice and you're miserably shipwrecked.

So you need to practice in all of different situations of your life.

Likewise, in CBT, there's a big emphasis on changing

not just your thoughts but your behavior.

It's called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

So when I was trying to overcome social anxiety,

it wasn't enough to challenge my anxious beliefs in the safety of the therapy room.

I had to go out and practice in real life situations,

to go to parties, for example,

or practice public speaking,

so eventually one day I might be able to do things like this.

So there are some other ways then

that CBT has rediscovered the wisdom of the ancient Greeks

and CBT put it on a firm evidence base

which persuaded governments to put a lot of money

into making CBT more available.

In my own country they put half a billion of pounds

into making CBT free on the National Health Service.

So if we have this new evidence-based version of the ideas of the Greeks,

do we then still need ancient philosophy?

Perhaps now we have CBT we don't need the Greeks anymore.

I think, finally,

it is worth going back to ancient philosophy for two reasons.

First of all,

the ancient Greeks and Romans wrote beautifully.

The works of Plato, Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus

are some of the most beautiful works we have in Western literature

and that beauty makes it very persuasive.

And secondly,

CBT, though it created a wonderful short-term therapy for emotional problems,

it left some things out.

It left out any ideas of virtue.

What does it mean to have a good character,

a good life, a good career,

a good company or a good society?

And it also left out higher questions.

What's the meaning of life? What does it mean to flourish?

Now the ancient Greeks and Romans they answered those big questions

about what a good life looks like, what a good society looks like,

but they had various different answers,

they didn't just have one answer.

Plato thought a good life is a life that's close to God.

Epicurus thought a good life was a life full of happiness here on Earth.

Aristotle thought a good life was a life very much engaged with your society.

So I don't think psychology is ever going to prove one answer to that question

of "What is a good life?"

We'll never find one scientific formula.

And that's why I think we need philosophy,

that's why I'd like to see more practical philosophy

in our schools, universities and companies as well.

So we learn not just techniques for changing ourselves

but also we learn how to ask questions about what it means to live a good life

so we can make up our own minds.

Thank you.

(Applause)