What Is This Thing Called Happiness?, Paperback by Feldman, Fred, Like New Us...

What Is This Thing Called Happiness?, Paperback by Feldman, Fred, ISBN 0199645930, ISBN-13 9780199645930, Like New Used, Free P&P in the UKAccording to an ancient and still popular view -- sometimes known as 'eudaimonism' -- a person's well-being, or quality of life, is ultimately determined by his or her level of happiness. According to this view, the happier a person is, the better off he is. The doctrine is controversial in<br>part because the nature of happiness is controversial. In <em>What Is This Thing Called Happiness?</em> Fred Feldman presents a study of the nature and value of happiness. Part One contains critical discussions of the main philosophical and psychological theories of happiness. Feldman presents arguments<br>designed to show that each of these theories is problematic. Part Two contains his presentation and defense of his own theory of happiness, which is a form of attitudinal hedonism. On this view, a person's level of happiness may be identified with the extent to which he or she takes pleasure in<br>things. Feldman shows that if we understand happiness as he proposes, it becomes reasonable to suppose that a person's well-being is determined by his or her level of happiness. This view has important implications not only for moral philosophy, but also for the emerging field of hedonic psychology.<br>Part Three contains discussions of some interactions between the proposed theory of happiness and empirical research into happiness.<br>