GESM 121: Instrumentalizing Happiness Midterm

Aristotle

Virtue Ethics / Eudaimonia. Focused on the individual’s purpose (telos) and achieving flourishing through excellence (arete). Happiness is the “activity of the soul in accordance with virtue”

John Stuart Mill

Utilitarianism. Utilitarian philosopher known for advocating the greatest happiness principle, emphasizing the balance of pleasure over pain. Redefined utility by asserting that pleasures differ in quality, not just quantity. Famous quote: “better to be a human dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied”

Epicurus

Epicureanism / Tranquility. A philosophical system that advocates for the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain through modest living and the cultivation of friendships. Defined the goal of life as Atarxia (absence of mental pain) and Aponia (absence of physical pain). Emphasized simplicity and self-sufficiency (Autarkia).

Sigmund Freud

Psychoanlysis / Discontent. Focused on the tension between individual drives and the demands of society. Defined civilization as requiring the renunciation of instict (“cultural frustration”). 

Transforming “hysterical misery into common unhappiness”.

Plato

Allegory of the Cave. His work, The Republic, uses the cave metaphor to illustrate the struggle to move from the world of appearance (illusion) to the world of reality achieved through reason. Places tremendous emphasis on education.

Diderot

Diderot Effect. Described the cycle of compulsive consumption triggered by a single new purchase, leading to financial strain and servitude to objects.

Peter Singer

Effective Altruism. Argues that giving to charity is a moral obligation (duty), not a supererogatory act. Used the Kid in the pond thought experiment to illustrate the moral equivalence of not donating and allowing suffering. 

Seneca

Stoicism. An ancient Roman thinker whose works, such as De Vita Beata, focus on finding contentment regardless of circumstance, emphasizing tranquil, imperturbable detachment. Associated with the broader Hellenistic philosophy of Stoicism.

Utilitarianism

A normative ethical theory that falls under consequentialism, meaning the morality of an action is judged by its outcome.

Utility Definition

The maximization of pleasure/benefit and the minimization of pain/harm.

The Greatest Happiness Principle (or Principle of Utility)

The fundamental criterion that an action is right insofar as it promotes the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people affected.

The Felicific Calculus

Jeremy Bentham’s algorithm designed to quantify the potential pleasure or pain of an action. The calculation involves seven factors: Intensity, Duration, Certainty, Propinquity (nearness), Fecundity, Purity, and Extent.

Hedonism

The belief that pleasure is the only intrinsic good. Bentham’s version saw all pleasures as equal in value (quantitative hedonism). Mill distinguished between “lower” and “higher” qualities of pleasure.

Mill’s Key Qualities

Mill reduced the complexity of the calculus into three qualities: Desirability (happiness is desirable as an end), Exhaustiveness (nothing but happiness is desirable as an end), and Impartiality (each person’s happiness is equally desirable).

Trolley Problem

A thought experiment used to highlight the utilitarian focus on consequences, demonstrating the willingness to sacrifice a few for the greater good (e.g. sacrificing one to save five)

Virtue Ethics (Aristotle)

A character- or agent-based ethical system that focussed on the individual’s moral state and aims

Eudaimonia

Translated as “good spirit” or “human flourishing”, it is considered the highest good and the ultimate aim (telos) of life. It is achieved through the “activity of the soul in accordance with virtue”

Teleological Perspective (Telos)

The belief that all things (including humans) have a natural end or purpose. The human telos is to use reasoning well.

Arete

The Greek term for excellence or virtue. Happiness results from excellence in using the mind.

The Golden Mean

The ethical principle that moral virtue is the desirable middle between two extremes: a vice of deficiency and a vice of excess. For example, courage is the mean between cowardliness and rashness. Practical wisdom (phronesis) is the intellectual virtue needs to find the mean.

Moral and Intellectual Virtues

Moral virtues (like Courage, Generosity, Temperance) are acquired by practice and habit. Intellectual virtues (like theoretical wisdom and practical wisdom) are different categories of excellence in using reason.

Aristotle’s Categories of Character

Classifications of the moral state of an agent: Virtuous (acts rightly due to disposition/habit), Continent (acts rightly despite contrary inclination), Incontinent (tries but fails to do what is right), and Vicious (no interest in trying to do what is right.

Epicureanism

A person hedonistic philosophy aimed at maximizing personal pleasure and minimizing personal pain, achieved primarily through tranquility and self-sufficiency.

Ataraxia

The goal of the theory of Epicureanism; a state of tranquility of mind or freedom from mental disturbance.

Aponia

The state of absence of physical pain

Autarkia

Self-sufficiency; the ability to provide for oneself and be contented with little, rendering one fearless of fortune

Katastematic Pleasures

Static pleasures achieved when pain has been removed (e.g. the state of not being thirsty). Ataraxia is a Katastematic pleasure.

Epicureanism Categories of Desires

Natural and Necessary: Essential for life, health, and happiness (e.g., food, shelter, friendship, freedom from fear)

Natural but Unnecessary: Desires that merely vary pleasure but are not needed (e.g., gourmet food, romantic love, luxury clothing)

Unnatural and Unnecessary (Empty): Not rooted in nature; cause anxiety and should be avoided (e.g., fame, wealth, power, status)

Psychoanalysis (Civilization and Its Discontents)

Freud's theory detailing the fundamental tension between the individual and the demands of society

Id, Ego, Supergo (Fredian Understanding of the Mind)

The Id is the primal, instinctual self driven by the Pleasure Principle. The Ego is the rational self, capable of reason. The Superego is the moral self, reflecting internalized societal standards and ethics.

Drives

The Life Drive (Eros) represents connection and creativity; the Death Drive (Thanatos) represents aggression and destruction.

Reality Principle

The Ego’s capacity to assess the external world and delay gratification of the Id’s demands in order to successfully function within society

Reasons for Unhappiness

Unhappiness stems from our mortality, the brute force of nature, and the suffering caused by other people

Tension between Society and Individual Desires

Civilization is built upon a constant, unresolvable tension requiring the individual to renounce instinct (cultural frustration) in order to live communally

Methods of Finding Happiness/Relief (Freud)

Freud suggested various methods for managing unhappiness, including romantic love, religion/faith, intoxicants, art/beauty, gratification of base desires, and productive work (sublimation)

Effective Altruism

A movement, heavily influenced by utilitarianism and Peter Singer, focused on maximizing the good one does in the world.

Kid in the Pond

The core thought experiment of Effective Altruism arguing that the failure to donate to effective charities is a moral wrong, equivalent to standing by while a child drowns because you don't want to ruin your clothes

Supererogatory Acts vs. Duties

EA argues that altruism must be re-categorized from a supererogatory act (optional) to a duty or obligation

Earning to Give

The strategy of choosing the most high-paying job possible in order to donate the largest sums of money to charity

Longtermism

The belief that we have a moral obligation to minimize existential risk and maximize positive outcomes for future generations (e.g., 10,000 years away), often justifying sacrifices in the present

Positive Psychology

The modern field focused on positive emotions and flourishing, and methods of measuring well-being.

Subjective Well-being (SWB)

An individual's evaluation of their life satisfaction, combined with a high rate of positive emotions (affect) and a low rate of negative emotions

Objective Well-being (OWB)

Measurable, external factors such as income, healthy life expectancy, marital status, and education

Hedonic Adaptation / Hedonic Treadmill

The concept that individuals tend to return to a stable, genetically predetermined happiness set point regardless of extreme positive or negative events. The heritability of this stable component approaches 80%

Flow Theory

A state of deep engagement in an activity (between boredom and challenge) where one loses the sense of time and self. This state is related to creativity

PERMA (Authentic Happiness)

Seligman's model outlining five elements of well-being: Positive Emotion, Engagement (Flow), Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment

Plato’s Allegory of the Cave

An analogy for the painful process of education and enlightenment.

The World of Appearance vs. Reality

The allegory illustrates the struggle to move past the world of shadows (appearance/illusion) and enter the world of truth and reality through reason

Symbolism: Prisoners (Allegory of the Cave)

Prisoners represent those living in ignorance. Puppeteers represent those who manipulate reality (marketers, politicians, media). The Fire represents false knowledge. The Sun represents ultimate enlightenment and reality

Hedonic Happiness

Defined by high positive affect and low negative affect; emphasizes sensorial experience and fleeting pleasures

Eudaimonic Happiness

A lifestyle characterized by the pursuit of virtue/excellence, meaning/purpose, and resulting in fulfillment or flourishing

Happiness as an Industry / Merchandise

The monetization of happiness concepts within a market economy

The Good Life / Quality of Life

Broad concepts concerning deeper, more sustaining pursuits that often involve the rejection of worldly goods