Conceptions of Happiness

Conceptions of Happiness, Revised Edition presents the thesis that happiness does not mean just one thing but many, and that these many meanings have been studied, described, argued, and practiced throughout the centuries in many climes and places. When asked if one is happy, people answer according to their own conception of happiness. Their conception may differ from that of the interrogator, who may not be unaware of this fact. People may also deem themselves happy differently at different times in their lives, depending upon their circumstances and on their own estimate of themselves. Therefore, to think that there is just one meaning of happiness spanning a lifetime does not correspond to the facts of life as we know and experience them. This book presents many views of happiness as espoused by their original founders and developers.

Ignacio L. Götz is the Lawrence A. Stessin Distinguished Professor Emeritus at New College of Hofstra University. He is the author of many books and scholarly articles in philosophy and religion, including Technology and the Spirit (2001), Faith, Humor, and Paradox (2002), and Jesus the Jew(2009).