Against Happiness

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.

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.

PrefaceIntroductionPart I: Happiness Philosophy and Happiness Science1. Introduction: The Happiness Agenda2. Varieties of Theories and Measures of Well-Being and Happiness3. How Should We Think About the Emotion of Happiness Scientifically? Lessons from the Science of Fear4. Why Averaging Happiness Scores and Comparing Them Is a Terrible IdeaPart II: Culture and Happiness5. Positive and Negative Emotions: Culture, Content, and Context6. Happiness and Well-Being as Cultural Projects: Immigration, Biculturalism, Cultural Belonging7. Happiness and Well-Being in Contemporary ChinaPart III: Race, Racism, Resignation8. Happiness, Race, and Hermeneutical Justice: The Case of African American Mental Health9. Interpreting Self-Reports of Well-BeingPart IV: Conclusions10. Recommendations for Policy Use of Happiness Metrics11. Universal Rights, Sustainable Development, and Happiness: Two out of Three Ain't BadPart V: Responses by Four Critics12. On Ersatz Happiness, by Jennifer A. Frey13. Why the Analysis and Assessment of Happiness Matters, by Hazel Rose Markus14. Three out of Three Is Better, by Jeffrey D. Sachs15. What the Gallup World Poll Could Do to Deepen Our Understanding of Happiness in Different Cultures, by Jeanne L. TsaiNotesReferencesIndex