Frank Martela is a researcher, philosopher and an author, whose research focuses on understanding the conditions for a good life at individual, interpersonal, and collective levels. He has studied meaning in life, happiness, and human motivation with the aim of creating new ways of thinking that enhance people’s ability to live fulfilling lives, using writing as his primary tool. His work has been published in various academic journals within psychology, philosophy, and organizational research and he has been speaking at universities on five different continents, including Harvard and Stanford.
Currently, he serves as an assistant professor at Aalto University where he also teaches a course on The Art of Living. His book Stop Chasing Happiness – A Pessimist’s Guide to a Good Life was published in March 2025, while his previous book A Wonderful Life – Insights for Finding a Meaningful Existence (HarperCollins, 2020) has been translated to 29 different languages.
All of Frank’s activities aim to serve the quest to understand what to do, value, and aim for in this unfolding experience called human life.
photo © Marek Sabogal