Tal Ben-Shahar

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Tal Ben-Shahar (also known as Tal David Ben-Shachar) is a freelance speaker and writer.

He is on the faculty of the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya in Israel. In the past, he was a non-tenured lecturer at Harvard University Psychology department. He holds a PhD in Organizational Behavior from Harvard University. His dissertation, completed in 2004, is titled “Restoring Self-Esteem's Self-Esteem: The Constructs of Dependent and Independent Competence and Worth.”^[1] Additionally, he holds an A.B. degree from the University in Philosophy and Psychology. His undergraduate thesis, completed in 1996, is titled “Honesty Pays: Bridging the Gap Between Moral Theory and Practice.”^[2]

Tal is a veteran of the Israeli Defense Forces^[3] and works with the The David Project to "leads courses on how to understand the Middle East conflict, how to defend Israel in debates, and how to advance peace and justice in the Middle East by spreading civil society to a region that needs it."^[4]

He has taught a course titled "Positive Psychology" at Harvard in 2006, which attracted over 800 students.^[5]

Ben-Shahar published several books:

“Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment" (published by McGraw Hill).
“The Question of Happiness: On Finding Meaning, Pleasure, and the Ultimate Currency“ (Writers Club Press, Aug 2002)
“A Clash of Values: the Struggle for Universal Freedom", on the Arab-Israeli conflict (self-published by Writer’s showcase, New York, in 2002)
“Heaven Can Wait: Conversations With Bonny Hicks", published in 1998 by Times, Singapore.

Ben-Shahar appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on August 9th, 2007.