New 鈥淚n Focus鈥 episode on Faith & Reason features Dr. Arthur C. Brooks and Father Dave Pivonka, TOR, on purpose, technology, suffering, and the Catholic response.
Brooks, whose latest book,听, examines why so many people struggle to find purpose and significance, speaks with Father Pivonka about loneliness, depression and anxiety among young people, the effects of smartphones and screen-mediated life, suffering, relationships, prayer, beauty, and the science behind the human search for meaning.
鈥淲e are made to love and be loved,鈥 Brooks says. 鈥淭his is the essence of what it actually means to be alive, which is, I believe, what it means to be in God鈥檚 image.鈥
Brooks argued that the widespread loss of meaning in modern culture is not simply a social problem but also presents Christians with an opportunity.
鈥淚 believe that American Catholicism is literally what the world needs,鈥 Brooks says. 鈥淲here we see the crisis of depression and anxiety among young people and not so young people, that鈥檚 the opportunity for evangelization.鈥
The conversation draws heavily from Brooks鈥 research into happiness and human flourishing.
Father Pivonka and Brooks also discuss suffering and the modern tendency to treat pain and difficulty as signs that something has gone wrong. Brooks argues instead that suffering can become one of the places where people discover the deepest meaning of their lives.
鈥淚f you spend your life trying to exempt yourself from suffering, trying to avoid the pain in life, you will avoid the meaning of your life,鈥 Brooks says.
The conversation turns repeatedly to Brooks鈥 Catholic faith. He speaks openly about attending daily Mass, prayer, the influence of his Christian father, and his conviction that faith provides answers to the human need for significance, relationship, and love.
Brooks is an internationally recognized social scientist, bestselling author, and one of the world鈥檚 leading voices on happiness and human flourishing. He is an endowed professor of the practice of Medicine, Health, and Society at Vanderbilt University and a senior fellow at Harvard Business School. His books include the聽New York Times 产别蝉迟蝉别濒濒别谤蝉听The Meaning of Your Life,听Build the Life You Want, co-authored with Oprah Winfrey, and聽
