Description
Book SynopsisAccording to an ancient and still popular view -- sometimes known as ''eudaimonism'' -- a person''s well-being, or quality of life, is ultimately determined by his or her level of happiness. According to this view, the happier a person is, the better off he is. The doctrine is controversial in part because the nature of happiness is controversial. In What Is This Thing Called Happiness? Fred Feldman presents a study of the nature and value of happiness. Part One contains critical discussions of the main philosophical and psychological theories of happiness. Feldman presents arguments designed to show that each of these theories is problematic. Part Two contains his presentation and defense of his own theory of happiness, which is a form of attitudinal hedonism. On this view, a person''s level of happiness may be identified with the extent to which he or she takes pleasure in things. Feldman shows that if we understand happiness as he proposes, it becomes reasonable to suppose that a pe
Trade ReviewReview from previous edition Feldman is a charming writer, with a knack for compelling and often amusing thought experiments. * The Guardian *
a terrific piece of work, a real tour de force. The writing is exceptionally clear, the discussion exceptionally straightforward and sensible, the criticism of other philosophers' accounts of the nature and value of happiness exceptionally careful and insightful, and the presentation of Feldman's own account exceptionally interesting ... of interest to philosophers at all levels of sophistication' * Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews *
Table of ContentsPART ONE - SOME THINGS THAT HAPPINESS ISN'T; PART TWO - WHAT HAPPINESS IS; PART THREE - IMPLICATIONS FOR THE EMPIRICAL STUDY OF HAPPINESS
