Philosophy of Happiness

Reading	Notes
Text of Book I (Nature of Happiness)	Santas Notes Nic. Ethics, Bk I
Text of Book II (On Moral Virtue)	Santas Notes Nic. Ethics, Bk II
Text of Book III (On Choice)	Santas Notes Nic. Ethics, Bk III
Text of Book VII (On Pleasure)	Santas Notes Nic. Ethics, Bk VII
Text of Book VIII (On Friendship)	Santas Notes Nic. Ethics, Bks VIII & IX
Text of Book IX (More on Friendship)	Santas Notes Nic. Ethics, Bks VIII & IX

Epicurus (341-270 BC)

Reading

Text of Letter to Menoeceus

Video

BBC Video on Epicurus on Happiness Part I; Part II; Part III

For Stoicism (A Good Life is one of Reason and Self-Control: Living in Accord with Nature)

Reading

Stanford Encyclopedia entry on Stoicism

Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (IEP) entry on Stoicism

IEP entry on Marcus Aurelius (AD 121-180)

Stanford Encyclopedia entry on Seneca (4 BC- AD 65)

Video

BBC Video on Seneca on Anger Part I; Part II; Part III

For Modern Hedonism (A Good Life is one of Satisfying “Higher” Pleasures)

J. S. Mill (1806-1873)

Reading

Text of Utilitarianism (the point of life is happiness)

See esp. Chapter II (happiness as pleasure—higher vs. lower)

Text of On Liberty (happiness requires freedom)

See especially	Notes
Chapter II (free expression)	Santas Notes On Liberty II
Chapter III (choice of lifestyle)	Santas Notes On Liberty III

Video

PBS Affluenza video (on consumerism)

For Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)

Text of Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals (see after the Preface Section I, in which he argues that the point of life is not happiness)

For Henry David Thoreau (1817-62)

Walden see especially:

Chapter 2: Where I Lived, and What I Lived For

Chapter 11: Higher Laws

For Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)

Reading

Stanford Encyclopedia entry on Nietzsche (a general overview of N’s Philosophy)

Wiki Article on Nietzsche’s Philosophy (a philosophy of overcoming)

Video

BBC Video on Nietzsche on Hardship Part I; Part II; Part III

For Buddhism (suggested readings)

Thict Nhat Hanh

· Anger, Riverhead Trade, 2002 (ISBN 1-57322-937-7)

· Touching Peace: Practicing the Art of Mindful Living, Parallax Press, 1992 (ISBN 0-938077-57-0)

· Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life, Bantam reissue, 1992 (ISBN 0-553-35139-7)

Alan Watts

· The Wisdom of Insecurity, Vintage ed. 1968 (ISBN 0-394-70468-1)

· The Book - On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are, Vintage reissue 1989 (ISBN 0-679-72300-5)

· The Meaning of Happiness, Paperback. 1970 (ISBN 0-06-080178-6)

For Sartre (1905-80) (a must read for existentialism!)

Text of Existentialism and Humanism (a philosophy of radical freedom and choice)

William Clifford

Text of The Ethics of Belief (an essay on the immorality of belief without evidence)

William James

· Text of Dilemma of Determinism

· Text of The Will to Believe

For Cohen’s New Rational Therapy

· Introduction (contends that much of people’s unhappiness stems from bad reasoning)

· Santas Essay Willpower (referenced in Cohen’s book)

Final Project Requirements

Final Project Requirements

Final Project Abstract Form

11^th Hour	Devil Wears Prada	Network
American Beauty	Eternal Sunshine	Pleasantville
Affluenza	I ♥ Huckabees	Pursuit of Happyness
BBC Guide--Epicurus	Into the Wild	Truman Show
BBC Guide--Socrates	Little Miss Sunshine	Wall Street
BBC Guide--Seneca	Matrix	What the Bleep?
BBC Guide--Nietzsche	Memento
Burn After Reading	Miss Congeniality