Happiness has been described in many ways: from a feeling of joy, flourishing, tranquillity, a state of attunement, a sense of accomplishment, and endorsement of a life as positively good.
Kant tells us that happiness is something we should be worthy of. Aristotle thinks happiness is our proper purpose or end in life. And J. S. Mill suggests that, while happiness amounts to pleasure and freedom from pain, it ought also to involve noble feelings, such as the pleasures of the intellect and of morality.
Happiness is also linked to authenticity. Can we plausibly be considered happy if we are, in reality, plugged into a virtual reality designed to make us feel content, when all our achievements and relationships are mere illusions conjured up by a supercomputer? Doesn't genuine happiness require that we not be deceived or fooled? As J.S. Mill argued, is it not better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied?
We will engage with many interesting questions that happiness raises, such as its subjective nature, our emotional perception and knowledge about the world, and our efforts and activities that can contribute to the good life. Along the way, we will be introduced to the familiar philosophical literature on happiness, classical as well as contemporary, including the emotional state, life satisfaction and value theories, and will be critically reflecting on the reasons we have for being happy and how to be responsive to such reasons.