Read more
Life's Values offers new analyses of the nature of pleasure, happiness, well-being, and meaning in life. Recognizing how individuals have different priorities, Goldman explains what is of ultimate value in our lives and argues that making our desires rational - relevantly informed of what it's like to satisfy them - maximizes well-being.
List of contents
- Introduction
- 1: Pleasure
- 2: Happiness
- 3: Well-Being
- 4: The Meaning of Life
- 5: Conclusions
- Appendix: Desire
About the author
Alan H. Goldman earned his B.A. at Yale and his Ph.D. at Columbia. He has taught at the University of Miami for 25 years and at the College of William & Mary for 15 years. Prior to this, he worked at Columbia, Ohio University, and University of Idaho, held visiting positions at University of Michigan, University of Colorado, and University of Auckland, and also holds a post-doctoral fellowship at Princeton. Goldman is the author of nine books, the most recent being Practical Rules, Reasons from Within and Philosophy and the Novel, and of roughly 150 articles in epistemology, ethics, and aesthetics.
Summary
Life's Values offers new analyses of the nature of pleasure, happiness, well-being, and meaning in life. Recognizing how individuals have different priorities, Goldman explains what is of ultimate value in our lives and argues that making our desires rational - relevantly informed of what it's like to satisfy them - maximizes well-being.
Additional text
Alan Goldman's book is an important contribution to the philosophical literature on the topics listed in the subtitle. It is carefully written and argumentatively rich, and I highly recommend it.
