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This book presents a discussion of happiness that takes the shape of a dialogue between contemplative knowledge and practice or the wisdom traditions and the social sciences. It examines the different definitions of happiness in relation to wisdom traditions and the impact of these traditions on current research. It explores topics such as the pursuit of a good life, the pursuit of eudaimonia and the meaning of economic and social suffering from the perspective of the social sciences. It further discusses how the social sciences can meet people's aspirations towards a world of higher well-being in our time, and what the future challenges are. The book includes both theoretical and empirical contributions on the matter and opens up a new line of transdisciplinary research. Overcoming barriers between disciplines and fields of knowledge, the book presents a beneficial cross-fertilization to achieve a wiser model of man.

Abstract*This paper is based on different previous presentations, in particular Understanding and compassion. Towards an integration between spiritual and sociological knowledge S.P.A. Annual Conference, Anaheim (CA, USA), 18th August 2001, unpublished; "Contemplative knowledge and sociological understanding", panel Contemplative understanding: a challenge to the sociological perspective, Sociological Practice Association (S.P.A.) Annual conference "Using Sociology for Good Purposes", San Francisco (CA, U.S.A.) August 17th 2004; unpublished. Both have been reviewed and integrated for the recent Workshop Wakeful inquiry: experiencing contemplative sociology in science and practice, held a the ISA RC46 Conference "Clinical Sociology: Improving Lives and Communities through Analysis and Intervention" Madrid, 16-19 March 2013.Note: the pronoun indicating the first person singular is always written in minuscule character

AbstractThe aim of this paper is to trace a pathway connecting contemplative knowledge and practices with the social sciences. Contemplative knowledge and practices offer material for reflection in social science even concerning their very foundation. I'll found an opportunity for meshing our disciplinary tools with this knowledge as I introduced it in a health promotion program. The result will be a transdisciplinary confluence of different lines of inquiry contributing to a new perspective of self and social action.First of all I will give a definition of contemplative knowledge and practices. Then, I will make a bridge between the contemplative approach and the social sciences, showing the contribution that symbolic interactionism can play. I will illustrate the perspective drawing on an action research program calledAurigaaimed at smoking cessation and reduction among health professionals. The aim of this paper is focused on the specification of the conceptual background in which such kind of program has been developed. Finally, I outline some implications it could represent for what might be called transformative sociology.I believe that contemplative knowledge could contribute to disentangle some of the unanswered questions and concerns in the social sciences, once they dismiss for a while their scientistic perspective. The secular redefinition of tools mainly belonging to the wisdom traditions represents an innovation that can reshape what we intend by the self and experience, contributing to what is called the "social transformation from within," a pragmatic and wise approach to change at any level.

Intro -- Foreword -- Foreword: Toward Contemplative Social Science -- Contents -- List of Figures -- List of Tables -- 1: Introduction -- Part I -- Part II -- References -- Part I: Transdisciplinary Foundations for Contemporary Social and Economic Transformation -- 2: In Search of a New Compass in the Great Transition: Toward Co-designing the Urban Space We Care About -- Introduction -- The Blockchains as a Challenge. What They Are and How They Work -- The Risks of Divisive Thinking: "Alternative Something" is the Illness, Not the Remedy. -- An Enactive Approach in Social Sciences -- Conclusive Remarks -- References -- 3: Navigating the Great Transition Via Post-capitalism and Contemplative Social Sciences -- Economies in Transition -- Post-capitalism -- Radical Approaches in Dialogue with Contemplative Social Sciences -- Bibliography -- 4: Having, Being, and the Commons -- Bibliography -- 5: Par Cum Pari: Notes on the Horizontality of Peer-to-Peer Relationships in the Context of the Verticality of a Hierarchy of Values -- Definition and Description of the Peer-to-Peer Social Dynamic -- The Ethical Evaluation of P2P Dynamics: P2P is a Social Process Based on Equipotentiality -- Passionate Production as a Superior Modality of Value Creation -- The Non-Reciprocal Logic of Peer Production -- Peer-to-Peer in the Light of the Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church -- Bibliography -- 6: Economics Beyond the Self -- Buddhism in the Context of Global Capitalism -- Principles of Buddhist Economics -- Realizing Buddhist Principles in Business -- Conclusion -- References -- 7: The Koan of the Market -- Introduction -- The Usual Mindfulness-and-the-Economy Story -- Critique #1: There Is No "Essential" Market -- Critique #2: There Is No Airplane to Florida -- Conclusion -- References -- 8: Epistemology of Feminist Economics -- Introduction