Ezekiel Emanuel, bioethicist and fellow at the Center for American Progress, discussed a well-known piece he wrote for The Atlantic called “Why I Hope to Die at 75,” saying he doesn’t actually want to die at that age.
Emanuel said his focus was on what would happen if he were to “stop taking medical care where the purpose of that medical care was to keep me alive past 75.”
“My thinking is really about what is important in life. Is it the number of years you live, or is it what you do in those number of years?” Emanuel told HuffPost Live at Davos on Friday. “The reason I’m concerned about how long one lives is that as you live longer, various disabilities and limitations intrude.
Below, live updates from the 2015 Davos Annual Meeting:
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“I talk about happiness as a skill. It’s actually something that can be cultivated,” he said. “Everything we’ve learned about the brain suggests it’s no different than learning the violin.. if you practice, you’ll get better at it.”
Richard Davidson, professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, touted the importance of being mindful, especially in the workplace.
“I think people in leadership positions are starting to understand the importance of [mindfulness practices],” Davidson said. “The cost of burnout is enormous, the cost of employee turnover is enormous.”
University of Chicago President Robert Zimmer spoke about his school’s bid for the Obama presidential library, saying it’d be more fitting for the establishment to go in Illinois than New York.
“Columbia [University] is a very good place, but Chicago’s a better place for this library,” Zimmer said.
“As you know the Obamas have very deep history with the community on the South side of Chicago,” he added. “It’s a reflection of their roots and what drove them. I think it’s a very natural place. Of course they decide, and we hope that’s what they decide.”
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“It’s very difficult. You see this controversy playing out on many different campuses over the last couple of years,” Salovey said.
Salovey said he thinks people want to live in an environment where others are respectful and they’re not offended, but being offended can be a learning experience.
Peter Salovey, President of Yale University, told HuffPost Live about “emotional intelligence” and a model he pioneered 25 years ago.
“The idea behind emotional intelligence… is that our emotions are a source of information,” Salovey said. “They help us make decisions, they help us regulate ourselves, they help us solve problems.”
“Some people pay attention to this, and some people ignore it, and some people try to suppress it,” Salovey said.
Salovey said teaching people how to read the emotional signals of themselves and others will give them “a leg up.”
At @bcg bfast w @AshishJThakkar @amcafee & @nathanblec from @airbnb staying in a #Davos Airbnb w its own funicular! pic.twitter.com/yeOt1Gt2z9
— Arianna Huffington (@ariannahuff) January 23, 2015
David Gelles said he devotes a chapter in his book to “McMindfulness,” or a watered-down version of mindfulness practices.
“Inasmuch as people are really practicing and doing the work, it’s still going to work its magic,” Gelles said.
