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Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide.

Print Price: $35.00

Format:
Hardback
248 pp.
6.125" x 9.25"

ISBN-13:
9780199845217

Publication date:
February 2012

Imprint: OUP US


Happiness and the Good Life

Mike W. Martin

What is happiness? How is it related to morality and virtue? Does living with illusion promote or diminish happiness? Is it better to pursue happiness with a partner than alone? Philosopher Mike W. Martin addresses these and other questions as he connects the meaning of happiness with the philosophical notion of "the good life." Defining happiness as loving one's life and valuing it in ways manifested by ample enjoyment and a deep sense of meaning, Martin explores the ways in which happiness interacts with all other dimensions of good lives - in particular with moral decency and goodness, authenticity, mental health, self-fulfillment, and meaningfulness.

He interweaves a variety of examples from memoirs, novels, and films along the way, connecting his discussion of the philosophical issues to related topics that interest all of us: virtue, love, philanthropy, suffering, simplicity, balancing work and leisure, and much more. Drawing on wide-ranging and robust evidence, Martin also makes the case that we need a "politics of happiness" whereby government would apply the results of recent "happiness studies" in psychology to public policy.

Readership : Philosophers; their students at the undergraduate level (upper and lower division), and some graduate level courses. A wider audience of readers with an interest in the philosophical and pyschological issues related to happiness.

Preface
1. Loving Life
2. Valuing Happiness
3. Betting on Virtue
4. Authenticity
5. Happily Self-Deceived
6. Suffering in Happy Lives
7. Paradoxes of Happiness
8. Happy to Help
9. Shared Pursuits in Love
10. Balancing Work and Leisure
11. Simplicity
12. Felicity in Frankenstein
13. Personal and Political
Bibliography
Index

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Mike W. Martin is Professor of Philosophy at Chapman University, in Orange, California.
He specializes in applied ethics, and his books include From Morality to Mental Health: Virtue and Vice in a Therapeutic Culture (Oxford, 2006) and Meaningful Work: Rethinking Professional Ethics (Oxford, 2000).

Making Sense - Margot Northey and Joan McKibbin
The Pursuit of Unhappiness - Daniel Haybron
The Pursuit of Unhappiness - Daniel M. Haybron
What Is This Thing Called Happiness? - Fred Feldman

Special Features

  • Integrates philosophy with the new branch of psychology called "positive psychology."
  • Draws substantially on fiction, memoir, and film.
  • Accessible to a wide audience in practical and applied ethics.