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Against Happiness is a thorough and powerful critique of the "happiness agenda," revealing the flaws of its concept of happiness and advocating a renewed focus on equality and justice.
List of contents
Preface
Introduction
Part I: Happiness Philosophy and Happiness Science1. Introduction: The Happiness Agenda
2. Varieties of Theories and Measures of Well-Being and Happiness
3. How Should We Think About the Emotion of Happiness Scientifically? Lessons from the Science of Fear
4. Why Averaging Happiness Scores and Comparing Them Is a Terrible Idea
Part II: Culture and Happiness5. Positive and Negative Emotions: Culture, Content, and Context
6. Happiness and Well-Being as Cultural Projects: Immigration, Biculturalism, Cultural Belonging
7. Happiness and Well-Being in Contemporary China
Part III: Race, Racism, Resignation8. Happiness, Race, and Hermeneutical Justice: The Case of African American Mental Health
9. Interpreting Self-Reports of Well-Being
Part IV: Conclusions10. Recommendations for Policy Use of Happiness Metrics
11. Universal Rights, Sustainable Development, and Happiness: Two out of Three Ain't Bad
Part V: Responses by Four Critics12. On Ersatz Happiness, by Jennifer A. Frey
13. Why the Analysis and Assessment of Happiness Matters, by Hazel Rose Markus
14. Three out of Three Is Better, by Jeffrey D. Sachs
15. What the Gallup World Poll Could Do to Deepen Our Understanding of Happiness in Different Cultures, by Jeanne L. Tsai
Notes
References
Index
About the author
Owen Flanagan, Joseph E. LeDoux, Bobby Bingle, Daniel M. Haybron, Batja Mesquita, Michele Moody-Adams, Songyao Ren, Anna Sun, and Yolonda Y. Wilson. With responses from critics Jennifer A. Frey, Hazel Rose Markus, Jeffrey D. Sachs, and Jeanne L. Tsai.
Summary
Against Happiness is a thorough and powerful critique of the “happiness agenda,” revealing the flaws of its concept of happiness and advocating a renewed focus on equality and justice.
