Maximum length: 1,500 words
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The topics provided are meant to stimulate thinking; formulate an argument of your own (don’t answer each question of the topics separately).
Please write a clear, coherent essay on ONE of the following topics. Be careful to state you thesis at the beginning of your paper (avoid generalizations of the sort, “throughout history…” or “happiness has been a subject of interest since…”). In the conclusion, summarize how you have demonstrated it. Be sure to quote AT LEAST SIX short passages (not more than a few words) from the assigned materials in your essay. You are encouraged to take a broad view of the question of happiness, in different times and places, and from various perspectives.
As before, the topics are meant to stimulate thinking; you are encouraged to formulate an argument of your own.
Papers are to be prepared in Word, and uploaded to the Brightspace platform. Each section will have a folder of its own, so be sure to upload your paper to the correct folder. Late papers may result in your getting an incomplete grade for the course!
Topic 1: How much control do we have over our own happiness? Are there steps we can take to increase our level of happiness or is it largely subject to factors outside of our control? Is there any point of contact between those thinkers who emphasize material factors and those who promote spiritual practices?
Topic 2: It is widely assumed that all people aspire to be happy. But is happiness always the predominant goal in life? Are there situations in which happiness is not only impossible, but perhaps not even desirable? Is a person who feels this way about happiness misguided, or are there good reasons for such an attitude?
Topic 3: We often assume that when people are laughing they must be feeling happy (we may leaving aside tickling in this connection – or should we?). But is happiness simply a matter of finding things funny? People who laugh too much are often thought to be silly, or even disturbed (remember Democritus?). Does humor provide only an illusory relief from actual misery? What does laughter have to do with happiness?
Topic 4: Is happiness a competitive goal? Do we experience happiness chiefly when we compare out condition to that of those around us and believe that we are better off? Or are we by nature happy when we are able to satisfy our basic needs, and comparisons with our neighbors are a sign of envy or insecurity?
Topic 5: Is happiness like a drug? Certain drugs, and certain hormones, seem to induce a state of euphoria. Can we reduce happiness to such biological effects, independent of the real conditions in which we and others live? Would you wish to find happiness in such a way?
Topic 6: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way” (Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities). Are we (or at least some of us) living in the happiest of times today, or are these times the least happy? Or are they best in some ways, worst in others, and if so, which? Ground your answers in the materials we have surveyed in the course, but your opinion also counts.
Topic 7: Can we not be happy in a world where others are miserable? Conversely, can happiness ever stem from the misery of others? How widely do our sympathies extend? Are conditions today such that, even if we ourselves are privileged, we cannot distance ourselves from the unhappiness of others? If so, what kinds of policies should we endorse on the public level, to increase our own happiness?
Topic 8: There is some question about the relationship between education and happiness. You are all students at an advanced level, and you have experienced better and worse moments in life. Has education helped you to be happy, or might it even have gotten in the way? Was Woody Allen right to suggest that the most thoughtless and superficial couple was the happiest? Again, as in all the topics, refer to at least five texts (or other media) covered in the course when formulating your essay.
A final word (once again): these papers are an opportunity for you to think hard about issues that are close to all of us. Throw yourselves into it – and see whether it makes you happy!
