Philosophy Talk returns to the Marsh Theatre in Berkeley for a brand-new pair of live recordings:

12:00 pm - The Science of Happiness with Emiliana Simon-Thomas
Positive psychology is an emerging science that investigates the qualities, attitudes, and practices that enable people to thrive and be happy. So what does this research reveal about human happiness? Are some of us just born with happier dispositions than others? How (if at all) do health, wealth, family relations, and community ties affect our happiness? Do happy people have a better or worse grip on reality than unhappy people? And is happiness something really worth pursuing? John and Ken get happy (scientifically) with Emiliana Simon-Thomas, Science Director of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley. (BUY TICKETS)

3:00 pm - Extreme Altruism with Larissa MacFarquhar
We can all agree that helping others is great, a deed worth doing. But devoting too much to helping others – too much time, too many resources – may gets you labelled an oddity, a freak. How much can morality demand of us? Is it good to live as moral a life as possible, or do we lose something – devotion to one’s family, for example – by adhering to extreme moral principles? Can somebody be both fully rational and also a saintly type? John and Ken lend a hand to New Yorker staff writer Larissa MacFarquhar, author of Strangers Drowning: Grappling with Impossible Idealism, Drastic Choices, and the Overpowering Urge to Help. (BUY TICKETS)

With special musical guests Tin Cup Serenade.

Tickets can be purchased online, in person through The Marsh's box office, or by phone: 415-282-3055.

The Marsh is located at 2120 Allston Way, just around the corner from the Downtown Berkeley BART station.