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
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
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]
Sep 27*	13	Besser, ch. 13, “Economics and Happiness” [Alex]
Sep 30*	17	Besser, chs. 14 & 15, “Happiness and Public Policy” & “A Brief Conclusion” [Ruth]
Oct. 02	30	Dostoevsky’s Notes from Underground, Part I
Oct. 04	66	Dostoevsky’s Notes from Underground, Part II [Argyrios]
Oct. 07	No classes due to Fall Reading Days, Oct. 7^th & 8^th
Oct. 09	Paper #2: 4-6 pp. due emailed to me at noon on the 9th; no seminar, as tutorials will be scheduled the 9^th and 10th.
II. Accounts of Meaning
Oct 11*	10	Tolstoy’s “My Confession”, ch.1 in Klemke & Cahn’s The Meaning of Life, 4^th 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, 4^th 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]
Oct 25*	10	ch. 13 Nagel’s “The Absurd” [Allison]
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
Oct. 31 Nov. 01	Paper #3 due on Thursday the 31^st at noon, or at your tutorial (whichever is earlier); no class on Friday Nov. 01, due to tutorials being held these two days.
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]
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” · Hare’s “Nothing Matters”
Nov. 18	62	Riggle, chs. 1 & 2
Nov 20*	29	Riggle, ch. 3 [Caleb]
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]
Nov. 25		Teach Your Family, first installment
Thanksgiving Break
Dec 02*	54	Riggle, chs. 5 & 6
Dec 04*	34	Riggle, ch. 7
Dec. 06		Teach Your Family, second installment
Wed, Dec. 11		Paper #4 due at end of our final exam slot, 9:15 p.m.

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