In defense of the hedonistic account of happiness

Philosophical Psychology 24 (2):261-281 (2011)
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Abstract

Although the concept of HAPPINESS plays a central role in ethics, contemporary philosophers have generally given little attention to providing a robust account of what this concept entails. In a recent paper, Dan Haybron sets out to accomplish two main tasks: the first is to underscore the importance of conducting philosophical inquiry into the concept of HAPPINESS; the second is to defend a particular account of happiness?which he calls the ?emotional state conception of happiness??while pointing out weaknesses in the primary competing accounts of happiness, including the hedonistic account. I argue against his claim that the emotional state conception of happiness is superior to the hedonistic conception of happiness. In the course of defending the hedonistic account of happiness against Haybron's attacks, I provide my own explanation for why the study of happiness is important to ethics

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Citations of this work

Happiness.Dan Haybron - forthcoming - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Not More than a Feeling.Kevin Reuter, Michael Messerli & Luca Barlassina - 2022 - Thought: A Journal of Philosophy 11 (1):41-50.
Happiness, pleasures, and emotions.Mauro Rossi - 2018 - Philosophical Psychology 31 (6):898-919.
How successfully can we measure well-being through measuring happiness?Sam Wren-Lewis - 2014 - South African Journal of Philosophy 33 (4):417-432.

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References found in this work

Welfare, happiness, and ethics.L. W. Sumner - 1996 - New York: Oxford University Press.
On being happy or unhappy.Daniel M. Haybron - 2005 - Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 71 (2):287–317.

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