What drives human progress, and why does it surge in some eras and stall in others, even under similar conditions? In “Agency: The Psychological History of Human Progress,” psychologist Martin E.P. Seligman, Ph.D., the founder of positive psychology, offers a bold answer: the missing variable is not economic, political, or geographic, but psychological. Across 2,500 years of history, Seligman identifies agency, the belief that we can shape our own future, as the hidden engine behind innovation, resilience, and societal flourishing.

Drawing on six decades of research, Seligman breaks agency into three components: efficacy, the confidence to act now; optimism, the expectation that effort will pay off; and imagination, the ability to envision new possibilities. From ancient Athens and the Enlightenment to the Civil Rights Movement and today’s AI revolution, he traces how the rise and fall of these forces has quietly shaped the course of civilizations and why strengthening them matters so much now.

As concern grows about mental health, the attention crisis, and the future of work, Seligman makes the case for shifting from a model focused on pathology to one centered on human potential. He also explores how emerging technologies, including AI, might measure and amplify agency at scale, for personal growth, clinical practice, and collective progress.

Seligman is the Zellerbach Family Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, where he directs the Positive Psychology Center. Seligman will be in conversation with James O. Pawelski, Ph.D., professor of practice and director of education in the Positive Psychology Center.