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Health and Happiness takes a fresh interdisciplinary approach to the discussion of the relationship between health and happiness by examining how the topic is approached from both the field of philosophy and the field of psychology. With Important concepts explained clearly throughout and with features such as recommended reading, discussion points and key words, this book is essential reading for students studying philosophy of psychology, philosophy of medicine or the psychology of health and/or well-being.
List of contents
Introduction
Part I - Happiness and Wellbeing
Chapter one: Concepts of happiness and wellbeing
1.1. Happiness: subjective or objective?
1.2. Different accounts of wellbeing: hedonism, eudemonia, preference satisfaction, objective list account.
1.3. Can we measure happiness?
Chapter two: How to be happy
2.1. Wealth, religious or political affiliation
2.2. Identity and relatedness
2.3. Experience: joy and flow
Chapter three: The meaningful life
3.1. Mortality and boredom
3.2. Family life
3.3. Consumerism and existentialism
Chapter four: Happiness, rationality and wise choices
4.1. Epistemic and pragmatic rationality
4.2. Positive illusions and enhanced memories
4.3. Intuition and reflection in decision making
Chapter five: Happiness and adversities
5.1. Resilience
5.2. Wellbeing and the environment
5.3. Places of safety and therapeutic environments
Part II - Disease, distress and disability
Chapter six: Concepts of disease, distress and disability
6.1. Diseased bodies and disordered minds
6.2. Disability
6.3. Distress and loss of control
Chapter seven: Illness, disability and happiness
7.1. Happiness in chronic illness
7.2. Happiness and disability
7.3. Post-traumatic growth
Chapter eight: Health and the self
8.1. Health, autonomy and emotions
8.2. False and fragmented selves
8.3. Story-telling and physical and psychological health
Chapter nine: Recovery
9.1. Adaptation and acceptance
9.2. Redemption narratives
9.3. Agency lost and regained
Chapter ten: Benefits and costs of illness
10.1. Emotional benefits and costs
10.2. Cognitive benefits and costs
10.3. Adaptive advantages
Conclusion
References
About the author
Lisa Bortolotti is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Birmingham. She specialises in the philosophy of the cognitive sciences and she has written extensively on the limitations of human cognition (irrational beliefs, distorted memories, confabulation, self-deception). She also has active research interests in applied ethics, especially research ethics, reproductive ethics, animal ethics, happy and meaningful lives, autonomous agency.
Michael Larkin is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Birmingham, where he has worked as part of the Clinical Psychology Doctoral Training Program since 2004. He is a qualitative researcher with a particular interest in phenomenological and experiential approaches.
Summary
Health and Happiness takes a fresh interdisciplinary approach to the discussion of the relationship between health and happiness by examining how the topic is approached from both the field of philosophy and the field of psychology. With Important concepts explained clearly throughout and with features such as recommended reading, discussion points and key words, this book is essential reading for students studying philosophy of psychology, philosophy of medicine or the psychology of health and/or well-being.
