Lorraine is a philosopher, author, and professor at Middlebury College in Vermont. A specialist in both contemporary and historical moral psychology, her current research focuses on theories of happiness and well-being. She is the author of the trade book, The Art of the Interesting, and two academic books, Eudaimonic Ethics and The Philosophy of Happiness.
The Art of the Interesting: what we miss in our pursuit of the good life and how to cultivate it explores how we can make our lives better by making them more interesting, and why we should.
“Lorraine Besser has done a remarkable job of integrating philosophy and psychology to suggest, for the first time, a crucial new element of the good life beyond the traditional philosophical ends of happiness and meaning – psychological richness. The idea is that an interesting, varied life is an end and value in itself.
—Alison Gopnik, author of The Scientist in the Crib, columnist WSJ and Prof. of Psychology and Philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley
This is an exceptionally rich and creative idea.”