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A Brief History of Happiness

ISBN: 978-1-405-15312-6

May 2008

Wiley-Blackwell

208 pages

Description

In this brief history, philosopher Nicholas White reviews 2,500 years of philosophical thought about happiness.

  • Addresses key questions such as: What is happiness? Should happiness play such a dominant role in our lives? How can we deal with conflicts between the various things that make us happy?
  • Considers the ways in which major thinkers from antiquity to the modern day have treated happiness: from Plato’s notion of the harmony of the soul, through to Nietzsche’s championing of conflict over harmony.
  • Relates questions about happiness to ethics and to practical philosophy.
About the Author
Nicholas P. White is Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Irvine.
Features

  • A brief history of happiness, reviewing 2,500 years of philosophical thought about the concept.
  • Addresses key questions such as what happiness is and whether or not happiness should play such a dominant role in our lives.
  • Considers the ways in which major thinkers from Plato and Aristotle through to Nietzsche and Freud have treated happiness.
  • Relates questions about happiness to ethics and to practical philosophy.