Seminar Schedule
Philosophy
381—Happiness and Meaning
Michael Taber
Fall 2024
(revised 25 September
2024)
* = sessions available for you
to lead
Some materials appear in the Google folder for this
class.
date # of pp. readings
I. The Nature and Value of Happiness |
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Aug. 26 |
11 |
Come to the first seminar session having
read ch. 1 (“Introduction: The History of
Happiness”) of Besser’s The Philosophy of Happiness: An Interdisciplinary
Introduction |
|
Aug. 28 |
8 |
Besser, ch. 2,
“Happiness and Well-Being” |
|
Aug. 30 |
15 + 5 |
Besser, ch. 3, “Hedonism” 3 short articles from
Philosophy Now magazine: ·
Corjescu’s “The
Happy State” ·
Andreicut’s “To
Connect or Not to Connect” ·
Buscicchi’s “Robert
Nozick’s Metaverse Machine” |
|
Sep. 02 |
|
Labor Day: no classes |
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Sep. 04 |
10 |
Besser, ch. 4, “Emotional State of Happiness” |
|
Sep. 06 |
11 |
Besser, chs. 5, “Happiness as Satisfaction” |
|
Sep. 09 |
Paper #1: 3-5 pp. due emailed to me at start of class time;
no seminar, as tutorials will be scheduled. |
|
|
Sep. 11 |
13 + 4 |
Besser, ch. 6, “Happiness and Material Wealth” ·
Rauch’s NYT
opinion essay “Why
Prosperity Has Increased But Happiness Has Not” ·
from The
Economist magazine, “The
Satisfaction Paradox” |
|
Sep. 13 |
12 |
Besser, ch. 7, “Happiness and Virtue” French’s NYT opinion
piece “The
Atmosphere of the ‘Manosphere’ Is Toxic” |
|
Sep. 16 |
14 + 6 |
Besser, ch. 8, “Relationships and Happiness” ·
Wildman’s
2021 NYT opinion essay “Self-Sufficiency
Is Overrated” ·
Brooks’ NYT
opinion essay “To
Be Happy, Marriage Matters More Than Career” ·
Brooks’ NYT
opinion essay “Your
Social Life Is Not What It Should Be” ·
Kristof’s
NYT opinion essay “The
Case for Saying ‘I Do’” |
|
Sep 18* |
14 3 3 |
Besser, ch. 9, “The Mindset of Happiness” Brooks’ “Why
Conservatives Are Happier Than Liberals” Douthat’s opinion
essay “Can
the Left Be Happy?” [Kacie] |
|
Sep 20* |
11 3 |
Besser, ch. 10, “Authenticity and Deception” [Drake] Schwartz’s NYT
essay “Is
Everybody Doing…OK? Let’s Ask Social Media” |
|
Sep 23* |
14 3 3 |
Besser, ch. 11, “The Pursuit of Happiness” Wilcox, Boyd, &
Wang’s NYT guest essay “How
Liberals Can Be Happier” Grose’s NYT guest
essay “Are
We Happy Yet?” [Emma] |
|
Sep 25* |
15 |
Besser, ch. 12, “The Science of Happiness” [Robin] |
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Sep 27* |
13 |
Besser, ch. 13, “Economics and Happiness” [Alex] |
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Sep 30* |
17 |
Besser, chs. 14 & 15, “Happiness and Public Policy” & “A
Brief Conclusion” [Ruth] |
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Oct. 02 |
30 |
Dostoevsky’s Notes from Underground, Part I |
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Oct. 04 |
66 |
Dostoevsky’s Notes from Underground, Part II [Argyrios] |
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Oct. 07 |
No classes due to
Fall Reading Days, Oct. 7th & 8th |
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Oct. 09 |
Paper #2: 4-6 pp. due emailed to me at noon on the 9th; no
seminar, as tutorials will be scheduled the 9th and 10th. |
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II.
Accounts of Meaning |
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Oct 11* |
10 |
Tolstoy’s “My
Confession”, ch.1 in Klemke & Cahn’s The
Meaning of Life, 4th ed. [Blaire] |
|
Oct. 14 |
19 |
Handouts in the
course’s Google folder: · Ecclesiastes (from the Hebrew Bible), just
chapters 1-3 · Hamlet’s third
soliloquy · Poe’s “The
Conqueror Worm” (with Shelley
& Coleridge) · Shelley’s “Ozymandias” (on the Poe & Coleridge
page) · Coleridge’s “Human Life: On the Denial of
Immortality” (on the Poe & Shelley page) · Voltaire’s “The
Good Brahmin” · Kafka’s 2
(very!) short stories, “Before the Law” & “An Imperial Message” · Raymo’s “The
Soul of the Night” On the web, Hershovitz’s NYT article “Praying
to a God You Don’t Believe In” |
|
Oct. 16 |
37 |
Camus’ The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays: ·
“Absurdity
and Suicide” ·
“Absurd
Walls” (to p. 22) ·
“Philosophical
Suicide” (through p. 31) ·
“Absurd
Freedom” |
|
Oct. 18 |
13 |
Camus’ The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays: ·
“The Absurd
Man” (to p. 69) ·
“Ephemeral
Creation” ·
“The Myth of
Sisyphus” |
|
Oct 21* |
6 7 |
In Klemke &
Cahn’s The Meaning of Life, 4th
ed.: ·
ch. 6
Schopenhauer’s “On the Sufferings of the World” ·
ch. 7 Russell’s
“A Free Man’s Worship” 3 graphics: Abstruse
Goose’s “The
Sliver of Perception” & 2
charts from The Economist
magazine
[Daniel] |
|
Oct 23* |
9 |
ch. 12 Taylor’s “The Meaning of Life” [Chrysanthe] |
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Oct 25* |
10 |
ch. 13 Nagel’s “The Absurd” [Allison] |
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Oct 28* |
30 1 |
ch. 14 Feinberg’s “Absurd Self-Fulfillment” from The New
Yorker magazine, Roz Chast’s one-page comic “A
Cheery Story”
[Henok] |
|
Oct. 30 |
No classes due to
Wellness Day |
|
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Oct. 31 Nov. 01 |
Paper #3 due on Thursday the 31st at noon, or at
your tutorial (whichever is earlier); no class on Friday Nov. 01, due to
tutorials being held these two days. |
|
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Nov 04* |
8 3 3 |
·
ch. 17 Nozick’s
“Philosophy and the Meaning of Life” ·
ch. 18 Wolf’s
“Meaning in Life” ·
ch. 19 Vitrano’s
“Meaningful Lives” [Patrick] |
|
Nov 06* |
8 |
ch.
20 Nagel’s “Death”
[Madolyn] |
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Nov 08* |
8 2 5 |
·
chs. 23-25
Scheffler’s “The Afterlife” with Frankfurt’s and Wolf’s responses ·
“Can
the Fear of Death Instantly Make You a Better Athlete?” ·
Cara
Buckley’s interview with Les Knight about his Voluntary
Human Extinction movement
[Lainey] |
|
Nov. 11 |
57 |
Camus’ The Stranger, part I |
|
Nov. 13 |
60 |
Camus’ The Stranger, part II Look through, if you
like, this
short piece about the role of Meursault’s mother. |
|
Nov. 15 |
5 7 |
·
ch. 5 Rosemont’s
“The Confucian Way” |
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Nov. 18 |
62 |
Riggle, chs. 1 & 2 |
|
Nov 20* |
29 |
Riggle, ch. 3 [Caleb] |
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Nov 22* |
35 + 7 |
Riggle, ch. 4 3 short articles from
Philosophy Now magazine: ·
Kavaloski’s “Should
We Pursue Happiness?” ·
Vaughn’s “Why
You’re (Probably) Wrong about the Meaning of Life” ·
King’s “Looking
for the Purpose of Life” [Grace-Anne] |
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Nov. 25 |
|
Teach
Your Family, first installment |
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Thanksgiving Break |
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Dec 02* |
54 |
Riggle, chs. 5 & 6 [Jack] |
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Dec 04* |
34 |
Riggle, ch. 7 |
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Dec. 06 |
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Teach
Your Family, second installment |
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Wed, Dec. 11 |
Paper #4 due at end of our final exam slot, 9:15 p.m. |
Send me mail:
mstaber at smcm dot edu
Go to the home
page for this course.
Go to Michael Taber's home page.
Go to the SMCM
home page.