Happiness Fall 2017 Class Notes
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Jump to navigationJump to searchAUG 29
Audio from class: First section, parts a and b [1], Second section [2] [3]
- Course Introduction
- Some Problems of Happiness: notes
- Small Group Response / Peer introductions
- Course Mechanics and Assessment
- Course websites: alfino.org, courses (courses.alfino.org) and wiki (wiki.gonzaga.edu/faculty/alfino)
- Submit Roster Information
- Grading Schemes & Assignments
- Some values of anonymity / non-anonymity in developing philosophical skill.
AUG 31
Note on Method
- Today's readings come from a history of happiness and a contemporary philosophical reflection on "living well" -- one of our core methods in the course will involve this kind of interdisciplinary study.
- In your group exercise today, you will be working with methods such as: generating cases, ordering cases by principles, "pumping intuitions".
- Thought experiment are part of a contemporary philosophers' toolkit. Nozick's "Experience Machine" is a thought experiment.
Some notes on Teaching Methods and Advice
- transparency and anonymity -- Saint names, pseudonyms, dropboxes, peer review, sharing student work, grade distributions
- Note on finding audio. In each class day's notes.
- Note on finding old class notes. At bottom of main wiki page.
- prep cycle -- check out "focus" notes on reading list, read, come to class, follow study questions from class, make notes in light of class, repeat.
- Note your responses to things in your notes so that you can go back and collect them for the My Philosophy of Happiness paper.
- Mark or note your readings so that you can answer study questions for use in short answer (Q&W) exercises and essay exams.
Cahn and Vitrano, "Living Well"
- considers how various philosophers would evaluate the contrast between the fictional cases of Pat and Lee
- Taylor and Frankfurt: P&L are equal. "living in accord with your desires" / according to what you love
- Living well: tied to distinctions between
- "successful lives" vs. "wasted lives"
- lives pursuing "intrinsically valuable" goals
- lives that are "works of art"
- fame and achievement vs. mission and meaning vs. satisfaction with one's own activities
- concern about the possibility of ideology or cultural bias.
- Wolf's list: computer games and crossword puzzles not on the list, but why not, asks Haidt?
- why disparage making money, swimming, driving cool cars?
- why do philosopher's think they can put philosophy at the top of the list?
- Example of Phil Saltman: Does happiness require maximizing accomplishment? Can unhappiness be associated with resignation from challenge?
- Cahn and Vitrano's answer: p. 21.
Small Group Work
- What is the relationship between happiness and achievement? Between happiness and using your talents? Is it an option, a favored option, a necessity?
Some general notes on Classical Views and the problem of criteria for living well
- Note how happiness emerges as a concern in Greek culture -- (and in other cultures -- will be looking at Buddhism later)
- Plato's (Socrates') view as exemplified in the Symposium -- finding happiness in the search for good accounts of things; knowledge.
- Structure of Symposium -- Love and Happiness as being drawn toward a transcendent and complete reality. (and later in Christianity)
- Specific term of Socrates' view -- eros --> desire --> lack vs. happiness --> fulfillment --> possession (self) -- problem of Alcibiades
- Aristotle's view -- telic, developmental, but also privileging the rational, similar problem as Plato. Not an account of happiness for the masses.
- Raises the question of criteria for living well -- How might it be true that happiness and realizing our nature are related? unrelated?
McMahon, "Chapter 1: The Highest Good"
1. Classical Greek Models of Happiness
Key theme: Greek cultural break with accommodation to destiny. Recognition of possibility of control of circumstances determining happiness.
Implicit historical narrative: Classical Greek philosophy has a point of connection with Periclean Athens, but develops Athenian cultural values in a radically new way. This begins a distinctive kind of narrative about happiness in the West.
- 1. The Greek Cultural Model
- Connection of the culture with tragedy, appreciation of fate, happiness as gift of gods.
- Dionysian culture
- Post-Socratic Schools -- Hellenism and Hellenistic culture (we'll be returning to some of these schools later in the course)
- 2. The Greek Philosophical Models in Greek Philosophical culture: Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, and Zeno.
- A. Plato - Symposium gives us picture of Plato's view.
- Contrast the Symposium with the cult of Dionysius
- Reasoning our way to the Good (Happiness). Symposium as purification ritual (Summary including Alcibiades twist). bad desire/good desire. We will find real happiness in the pursuit of transcendent knowledge.
- Object of desire is transcendent. (Reminder about Platonic metaphysics.) "intellectual orgasm" (36)
- McMahon: "radical reappraisal of the standards of the world" 37
- B. Aristotle (note McMahon pp. 41ff and Aristotle reading)
- end, function, craft, techne. Hierarchy of arts.
- end vs. final end -- the universal good is the final end, not relative. sec. 6-7.
- happiness as activity of the soul in accordance with virture (def., but also consequence of reasoning from nature of human life)
- Section 13: nature of the soul. two irrational elements: veg/appetitive and one rational. Note separation/relationship.
- As M notes, Aristotle's focus on the rational part of the soul leaves him with a similar problem as Plato -- a model of happines that few (not the Alcibiades in the world) will attain.
- Is the Greek Classical model of happiness (as seen in the Symposium and Aristotle's thought), a revelation of truth about happiness or the beginning of a repressive line of thought in happiness studies?
- If happiness requires a disciplined practice, how do you maintain solidarity with those who do not maintain the discipline (the Alcibiades problem)? Possible weakness of an individual enlightenment model of happiness.
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