American Lawyer, Law Schools Try to Address the Happiness Issue:
The second- and third-year students who signed up for “Well-Being and the Practice of Law” at Duke University School of Law this fall may be getting more than they bargained for. Four weeks in, they’ve already tackled Aristotle (as part of a consideration of the philosophical roots of happiness) and renowned psychologist Albert Maslow, the founder of “humanistic” psychology (in a review of pre-World War II scientific research on happiness).
Also on the syllabus: G.W. Allport’s “Personality: A Psychological Interpretation,” first published in 1937, plus several studies that examine lawyers and job satisfaction. By the end of the semester, the class will have plowed through several works by University of Pennsylvania professor Martin Seligman, the guru of positive psychology, as well as sections devoted to law as a profession, the different career paths available within the field and how law firms are run as businesses.
“We don’t come in here and do jumping jacks and yoga for three hours,” says Daniel Bowling, a senior lecturing fellow at the law school who developed and teaches the course. “This is a serious class. We’re trying to describe more than prescribe.” He says the approach and substance of the course is rooted in science — primarily the growing body of research on positive psychology. While it may not be contracts law, Bowling insists that a comprehensive consideration of the role that well-being plays in the legal profession is a legitimate subject of academic inquiry. “This is not a form of self-help … or an experiment,” he says. At the same time, Bowling adds, as they learn more about these matters and about themselves, those who take his class may improve their law school and career experiences because they’re better equipped to make smart choices.
- Wall Street Journal Law Blog, Intro to Happiness Studies: The New Law School 101?
