I often tell my students that if they study philosophy and learn the canonical and contemporary theorists, they’ll win praise and affection from prospective partners at cocktail parties. Basically, I’m using the sex line to entice them into thinking hard about complex ideas, but what I mean is that studying philosophy will help them become engaging and interesting people, which is definitely one way to find and attract partners. Turns out, there’s another upside to thinking and talking about deep subjects. People who do so are apparently happier (whatever that means).
It’s hard to say whether thinking and talking about deep subjects actually makes a person happier or whether, what I suspect, is that people who are inclined to think and talk about deeper subjects are those who tend to be in positions with greater reflective control over their lives, but it’s still an interesting result…not anywhere near as amorphous and ridiculous as this cockamamie “experiment.”
Cruel Mistress 