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Happiness and Wellbeing From a Philosophical Point of View

Happiness and Wellbeing From a Philosophical Point of View. Dan Weijers. What (Really) Matters?. What advice would you give a child?. What (Really) Matters?. Wellbeing. The good life. Happiness. The meaning of life. Theories of Wellbeing….

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Happiness and Wellbeing From a Philosophical Point of View

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  1. Happiness and WellbeingFrom a Philosophical Point of View Dan Weijers

  2. What (Really) Matters? • What advice would you give a child?

  3. What (Really) Matters? Wellbeing The good life Happiness The meaning of life

  4. Theories of Wellbeing… • Explain what ultimately makes a person’s life go better for them

  5. One Thing or Many? • One simple thing: • Just pleasure • One complex thing: • Informed, authentic, and morally based positive feelings • A list of things: • Happiness, friendship and truth

  6. Subjective vs Objective • Does just our personal opinion matter? • Or can we be wrong?

  7. Who Are We to Say What is Objectively Good for Us?

  8. Theories of Wellbeing Desire/Life Satisfaction Flourishing Objective List Mental State (Hedonism)

  9. Mental State Theories • Folk: get pleasure now! • Philosophers: maximise pleasure over your entire life • Key: All that matters is how you feel (your mental states) • Psychological measure = affect balance (e.g. PANAS) Well-being Happiness +ve net balance of good over bad mental states Especially hedonism

  10. What about Truth & Freedom? • Compare two lives • Same experiences • Different reality • Double agent partner • Sponsored children all died • Whose life is better? • What should we do about a happy slave?

  11. Desire/Life Satisfaction Theories Having most or more of your desires satisfied Happiness Well-being • Based on desire/preference-satisfaction • Informed: adequately informed desires only • Ideal: desires that fit some objective criteria only • Key: All that matters is getting what you want (or should want) • Psychological measure = life satisfaction (e.g. Diener’s satisfaction with life scale) Sometimes

  12. Is the Satisfaction of Our Desires Good for us? • How would “omniscient you” advise yourself? • Having a desire satisfied does not seem valuable unless it is the right desire

  13. Objective List • E.g. W.D. Ross’ account: • Knowledge, Pleasure, Virtue and the proper apportionment of pleasure to virtue • Can’t we explain knowledge with pleasure or desire-satisfaction?

  14. Flourishing Theories • Developing one or all of your species’ fundamental traits • Aristotle: Flourishing is the soul expressing virtue • E.g. cowardice – courage - rashness • Key: All that matters is being the best you can be (given that you’re a human) Well-being Flourishing Developing & expressing natural capacities

  15. Why is Fulfilling Our Natural Capacities Good? • Is excellence in reasoning or long-distance running better for us? • Unnatural things can be good for us too! • E.g. Pacemakers, wings etc.

  16. Best Theory of Wellbeing? Desire/Life Satisfaction Flourishing Mental State (Hedonism) Objective List

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