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Theories of Happiness On the Origins of Happiness and Our Contemporary Conception Inaugural-Dissertation zur Erlangung der Doktorwürde der Philosophischen Fakultät der Rheinischen Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Bonn vorgelegt von Ryan Hanlon Bremner aus Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.A. Bonn, 2011 Gedruckt mit der Genehmigung der Philosophischen Fakultät der Rheinischen Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn Zusammensetzung der Prüfungskommission: Prof. Dr. Hans-Joachim Pieper (Vorsitzender) Prof. Dr. Christoph Horn (Betreuer und Gutachter) Prof. Dr. Wolfram Hogrebe (Gutachter) Prof. Dr. Theo Kobusch (weiteres prüfungsberechtigtes Mitglied) Tag der mündlichen Prüfung: 16.07.08 2 Acknowledgments More than a few people offered me great assistance in my time in Bonn, and I am sure that I will not be able to remember everyone I ought to thank. Alexander Brenig, Stephan Cursiefen, Phillip Disselbeck, Miriam Ossa, Corinna Mieth, Katja Thierjung and others each bore part of the burden of proofreading reams of German papers and applications, including many related to this dissertation. My adviser, Prof. Dr. Christoph Horn, as well as Jörn Müller, Thomas Müller, and Jacob Rosenthal were a great help to me in clarifying my ideas for the dynamic affective standard theory. It seems that through the years virtually the entire faculty of the Philosophisches Seminar in Bonn has offered me assistance in one way or another. For their support I would like to thank Prof. Dr. Rainer Stuhlmann-Laeisz, Prof. Dr. Theo Kobusch, and especially both Prof. Dr. Christoph Horn and Prof. Dr. Wolfram Hogrebe. Without their strong and wide-ranging support throughout the past five years, this dissertation would not have been possible. I also owe thanks to the Oberseminar of Prof. Dr. Horn for offering constructive comments on this and other manuscripts. I should especially like to thank Anna Schriefl for sharing her expertise in all things classical at a particularly important moment in the development of this essay. I owe thanks to Riad and Nicole Gholmié for their unwavering support over the last two years in Bonn. I also enjoyed the strong support of Joe, Linda, Christine and Maureen Bremner, during my time in Bonn and before. I also owe them my thanks with regard to this dissertation, as each contributed much to the tiresome job of proofreading, as did Fred Ketchum. Gregor Damschen, Phillip Disselbeck, Alexander Brenig and Samar Gholmié all assisted in the proofreading of the German summary of this dissertation, and Samar did much more than that. I would especially like to thank her for her patience and support over the final months of writing. 3 Dedication For Prof. Dr. Christoph Horn Thank you for your tireless support during my years in Bonn. 4 Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS ...................................................................................................................... 5 CHAPTER 1: WHY WE NEED THEORIES OF HAPPINESS ....................................................... 7 WHOSE TERRITORY IS THIS ANYWAY? ............................................................................................... 8 WHY IS HAPPINESS A PHILOSOPHICAL TOPIC? .................................................................................. 11 THE PURPOSE OF THIS ESSAY ............................................................................................................ 15 CHAPTER 2: EMANCIPATION FROM EVOLUTION I – THE ADVENT OF PHILOSOPHY .................................................................................................................................... 18 PRE-PHILOSOPHICAL HAPPINESS ...................................................................................................... 21 THE EVOLUTION OF DESIRE .............................................................................................................. 24 THE ADVENT OF PHILOSOPHY AND THE PHILOSOPHICAL TURN ........................................................ 29 CHAPTER 3: EMANCIPATION FROM EVOLUTION II – CHRISTIANITY AND THE TRAGEDY OF ENLIGHTENMENT HAPPINESS ........................................................................ 50 THE ENLIGHTENMENT ....................................................................................................................... 53 THE EVOLUTION OF DESIRE (AND NOT HAPPINESS) .......................................................................... 57 CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................................... 68 CHAPTER 4: HOW TO BEGIN A PHILOSOPHICAL INVESTIGATION OF HAPPINESS: METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES ........................................................................................................ 74 USAGE OF ‗HAPPINESS‘ AND ITS COGNATES ..................................................................................... 76 Happy Persons vs. Happy Lives .................................................................................................. 77 Relational Happiness ................................................................................................................... 78 Behavioral Happiness ................................................................................................................. 79 Being and Feeling Happy ............................................................................................................ 80 ‘Happiness’ ................................................................................................................................. 81 METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................................ 84 Normative Adequacy ................................................................................................................... 85 Scientific Naturalism ................................................................................................................... 86 Reconstructive Analysis ............................................................................................................... 87 THE SUBJECTIVE-OBJECTIVE DISTINCTION ....................................................................................... 88 CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................................... 93 CHAPTER 5: TRADITIONAL THEORIES OF HAPPINESS ...................................................... 95 THREE THEORIES OF HAPPINESS ....................................................................................................... 97 Hedonistic Theories ..................................................................................................................... 97 Life-satisfaction Theories .......................................................................................................... 101 EXTERNAL ELEMENTS IN THEORIES OF HAPPINESS ......................................................................... 105 EVALUATIVE HAPPINESS - HAPPINESS AND MORALITY .................................................................. 111 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................... 115 CHAPTER 6: EMOTIONAL-STATE THEORY .......................................................................... 117 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................... 126 CHAPTER 7: PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO HAPPINESS ...................................... 128 ED DIENER‘S APPROACH................................................................................................................. 132 DANIEL KAHNEMAN‘S ―OBJECTIVE HAPPINESS‖ ............................................................................ 139 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................... 144 5 CHAPTER 8: THE DYNAMIC AFFECTIVE STANDARD THEORY...................................... 145 HAPPINESS AND JUDGMENTS OF POSITIVE AFFECT ......................................................................... 145 HAPPINESS: JUDGMENTS VS. STANDARDS ....................................................................................... 148 THE DYNAMIC NATURE OF THE INDIVIDUAL STANDARD ................................................................ 156 CONTRADICTORY AND CORRECT JUDGMENTS?............................................................................... 160 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................... 163 CHAPTER 9: CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................... 166 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................................. 171 6 Chapter 1: Why We Need Theories of Happiness Most people who dedicate their lives to attaining happiness don‘t know what it is they are looking for. And I do not mean not knowing ―the way‖ to happiness that so many books in the popular press claim to illuminate. I am talking about what happiness is. The authors of such books speak to the question of what causes happiness, in other words, what factors in our lives, or aspects of our attitudes result in happiness. These claims, of course, depend
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