From our earliest days, we are socialized through stories, songs, and images. As we get older, we are introduced more formally to the disciplines of literature, history, philosophy, and religion, and to the study of music, theatre, film, and the visual arts. Yet we have only scant scientific knowledge of the effects of these cultural pursuits on our well-being. The positive humanities is a new field that seeks to understand how we can advance the conceptualization and evidence-based cultivation of well-being through engagement in the arts and humanities in various contexts. In this session, we will examine the conceptual underpinnings, empirical progress, and future directions of the positive humanities.