Happiness

Throughout the history of philosophy, various philosophers (and various schools of philosophical thought) have sought to define happiness.  It is most often associated with pleasure or well-being.

In most moral theories, happiness, understood in terms of pleasure, plays a role as an important end.  Nowhere is this more straightforwardly the case than in utilitarian moral theory(see Utilitarianism), which claims that actions is, morally speaking, right if and only if it maximizes happiness, or pleasure.  The view that happiness consists in a life of pleasure is classically referred to as hedonism.

Other schools of thought have sought to dissociate the concept of happiness with pleasure.

Aristotle, for example, held a view that centered around the concept of eudaimonia.  Although eudaimonia is often translated as ‘happiness,’ there are substantial conceptual differences between the Aristotelian concept of eudaimonia and our everyday, modern conception of happiness.  Perhaps most notably, eudaimonia involves living a life in accordance with virtue – a requirement that is notably absent from a concept of virtue defined purely in terms of pleasure.

The Stoics, in contrast to the hedonistic and eudaimonistic views, held that happiness consists in peace of mind, or mental tranquility.  Attaining this peace of mind, according to the stoics, involves becoming indifferent to the external circumstances of the world (which, inevitably, we cannot control) and learning to control our passions and emotions.  It also involves acceptance of, and resignation to, one’s lot in life.

Though these historical strands of thought offer interesting alternatives to our everyday concept of happiness, most modern accounts of happiness acknowledge pleasure as an important aspect of happiness (though not necessarily the sole aspect, as hedonism claims).