HAPPINESS OVERVIEW
The search for happiness is high on the list of themes in the humanities
We say “oh well, as long as they’re happy”
What defines happiness?
Is joy equal to happiness? Can we be happy without joy?
HEDONISM
Happiness is the sum total pleasures experienced during one’s lifetime.
Hedonism-happiness is equivalent to physical pleasure and to the possession of things that provide us with pleasure
Home and society might try to teach us less selfish values, but instinct prevails
LITERARY HEDONISM
Shakespeare-Eat, Drink and be Merry
Robert Herrick-Gather Ye Rosebuds
“Carpe Diem”- seize the day
HEDONISM ASSUMPTIONS
Everyone deserves as much pleasure as possible
Pleasure is automatically good No amount of pleasure is ever too much The absence of pleasure is a misfortune for
which compensation is due
Big earnings theory- an “earning” is considered the pleasure owed to a deserving person for services rendered or unpleasant chores completed
EPICUREANISM
Happiness is avoiding pain Assumptions
Pleasure is good, but not the only good (sometimes we may pass over many pleasures when greater discomfort accrues to us as a result of them).
Temperance No one can sustain pleasure over prolonged
periods of time Avoid excess, seek out controllable, nonphysical
pleasures (humanities)- treasures one “ cannot lose”
CRITICISMS
Definition of pleasure is too limited
Hedonists claim human nature but there are those who choose to live otherwise, are they “freaks”?
Just as rooted in self-interest as Hedonism just different mask
Should be detached in order to avoid pain, isolated
Hedonism Epicureanism
STOICISM
Don’t plan ahead for a life of unlimited pleasure nor should you expect to avoid pain through discipline and moderation.
Pain is intrinsic to living Best possible action is to prepare for the
worst and develop a technique for dealing with it.
Nothing is under our control expect the way we think about things.
Romans embraced this concept/lifestyle, no excess, bare necessities
STOICISM AND CHRISTIANITY
Blended perfectly, the idea that only the soul, not the body mattered
Christian martyrdom deeply rooted in stoic principles
Prosperity does not last forever, seeks not pleasure but inner peace.
CRITICISM OF STOICISM
If pain is temporary, then so is happiness Critics say stoics secretly want everyone else
to be miserable too Schadenfreude- German term for the
pleasures derived from the misfortune of others
ARISTOTLE’S VIEWS-”WHAT AM I DOING THAT MAKES MY LIFE GOOD?”
Not moment to moment, but a characterization of how one’s life is being conducted
If we are living a good life along the way, we know we are on the right path
What gives us pleasure or joy at one moment cannot be happiness because we can always think of something that would be better
If we allow reason to be our guide we will always do the right thing.
That way we can guarantee we are living the good life
May have regrets, but doesn’t mean that life was not a happy one
Happiness Reason and Virtue
ARISTOTLE
Role of government is to see that citizens are happy
Offer protection How can
government reasonably protect the state if it sometimes uses unreasonable methods?
Assumes that a society with citizens’ welfare as the sole concern of government would be on its way to happiness.
Societies are much more complex, bureaucracy
Can’t rely on government to make you happy
Government’s Role Reconsidered…
MO
DELS
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LIV
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History is filled with remarkable examples of how good lives managed to overcome horrible barriers.
Anne FrankMartin Luther King Jr.Gandhi
BUDDHIST PATHS
Develop teachings of Siddhartha into 4 noble truths… Life is filled with pain The cause of pain is
frustrated desire There is a way out of
pain The way out is the
Eightfold Path
Adds a larger perspective and a more expansive concept of bliss
Nirvana is attainable in one lifetime
Move beyond 4 Truths to help others
Hinayana (little ferryboat)
Mahayana (big ferryboat)
DA
LA
I LA
MA
Leader of Tibetan Buddhism Practices Mahayana Tranquility is achieved
through acceptance of everyone else, not burning desire to change them.