Week 2: the philosophy of happiness - college Flashcards
What are the 2 philosophical questions about happiness?
(1) What is happiness, some definition
(2) What value does happiness have or bring
What is the philosophical definition of happiness?
An internal balance between eudaemonic and hedonic well-being
What are 2 different views of happiness and what do they mean
- Happiness has instrumental value; it brings other good stuff
- Intrinsic good –> Happiness is valuable in itself
How is happiness viewed within philosophy?
It is an intrinsic good and instrumental values are WRONG!
What is the Aristotle view of happiness (3)
Happiness lies in the excellent use of our reason in practical and theoretical life
Eudaimonia is a combinatie of living well and fairing well (having some luck)
Can only be achieved by the end of your life
What is the Cynics view of happiness? (2)
(1) Happiness consists in simple pleasures, detachment of performance and a tranquil state of mind
(2) Living life in accordance to (your) nature (following your own values and norms and not based on social expectation)
What is the epicurus view of happiness (2)
(1) Absence of pain and suffering matters most
(2) Only simple pleasures help because most other pleasures result in some sort of suffering
What is the stoics view of happiness (3)
(1) Luck and fortune are wholly irrelevant
(2) Virtue alone is necessary and sufficient for happiness, passions are not allowed and emotions are false judgements
(3) Daily exercise and practices to train virtue
What is welfare hedonism and its 2 sub-streams (3 answers in total)
Welfare hedonism = the balance between positive and negative experiences
(1) Preference hedonism - an experience is pleasurable if it is in accordance with one’s preferences
(2) Attitude hedonism - if an experience is pleasurable depends on one’s attitudes
What are 2 pro’s of welfare hedonism?
(1) Reliance on how one feels is intuitively strong
(2) It allows for individual variation, the individual is expert
What are the 3 con’s of welfare hedonism?
(1) Experience machine
(2) Source of pleasure should have some relevance
(3) Diversity of sources and strengths of philosophy
What is preference satisfaction and its 3 subforms? (4 answers in total)
(1) Well-being consists in the satisfaction of desires or preferences
(2) Unrestricted satisfaction –> any preference that is satisfied adds to well-being
(3) Succes theory –> only preferences to do with our own life counts to well-being
(4) Informed desire –> un- or misinformed desire satisfaction is not enough for well-being (we need all info to judge if something made us happy)
What are 3 con’s of preference satisfaction?
(1) People may have silly preferences
(2) There will always be new preferences and desires
(3) Forever chasing of desires, opposite to cynic & stoic detachment
What are objective list theories and its 2 sub forms? (3)
(1) Well-being consists in meeting certain criteria independent of subjective experience and preference
(2) Aristotelian eudaemonic theory –> living well and fairing well
(3) Capabilities theory –> 10 essential things for happiness
What are 2 con’s of objective list theories?
(1) Risk of paternalism
(2) How do we justify items that are on or not on the list
