Undergraduate Course: Philosophy of Well-Being (PHIL10152)
Course Outline
| School | School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course will examine well-being, a central topic in philosophy. It has two (roughly equal) parts. In part 1 we examine the main theories of well-being. In part 2 we examine some general theoretical issues connected to well-being |
| Course description |
This course will examine well-being, a central issue in moral philosophy
This course will examine well-being, a central issue in moral philosophy. It has two (roughly equal) parts:
Part 1: In this part we examine the main theories of well-being. These include hedonism, desire-fulfillment theory, objective-list theory, perfectionism. We will also look at some more recently developed theories, including hybrid theories and happiness theories of well-being.
Part 2: In this part we examine some general theoretical issues connected to well-being. These include: attempts to understand how well-being differs from other kinds of evaluation (moral etc) and scepticism about the concept of well-being. We will also look at whether well-being is holistic by examining whether lifetime well-being is some simple function from momentary well-being (the 'shape of a life' debate). We will also examine how time and death connect to well-being, by looking at issues such as the timing of prudential goods, whether (and why) death is bad for us, and whether posthumous events can impact well-being (and, if so, how).
Class 1. Intro & Hedonism
Class 2. Desire Theories
Class 3. Happiness
Class 4. Perfectionism
Class 5. Objective List Theories
Class 6. Hybrid theories of well-being
Class 7. Scepticism about Well-being
Class 8. Internalism about well-being
Class 9. Well-being and time
Class 10. Well-being and death¿
Class 11. Posthumous harms and benefits
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
Students MUST have passed:
Morality and Value (PHIL08015)
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should have at least 3 Philosophy courses at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this). We will only consider University/College level courses. |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Further development of core philosophical skills in philosophy: interpreting authors, reconstructing and evaluating arguments, articulating theories, etc
- Knowledge of the main theories of well-being, and their strengths and weakness.
- Ability to write an essay on the theory of well-being which displays critical assessment along with knowledge of the literature.
- An understanding of some of the main philosophical debates and practical issues which the theory of well-being has implications for
- Confidence to give a short class presentation with the help of clear visual aids
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Reading List
I would use my (forthcoming) The Philosophy of Well-Being: An Introduction as a textbook. This book will have a chapter corresponding to each week of class, giving an overview of the topic. I would supplement this with chapters from my (edited) Handbook of the Philosophy of Well-Being along with papers and books such as the following:
Crisp, R. (2006), ¿Hedonism Reconsidered¿ Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 73: 619- 645.
Darwall, S. Welfare and Rational Care (Princeton: PUP, 2004).
Feldman, F. Pleasure and the Good Life: Concerning the Nature, Varieties and Plausibility of Hedonism (Oxford: OUP, 2004).
Fletcher. G. (2013) 'A Fresh Start for the Objective-List Theory of Well-Being', Utilitas, 25, 206- 220.
Glasgow, J. (2013) 'The shape of a life and the value of loss and gain', Philosophical Studies, 162/3, 665-82.
Haybron, D. The Pursuit of Unhappiness (OUP)Dorsey, D. (2010), 'Three Arguments for Perfectionism', Noûs, 44: 59-79.
Hawkins, J. (2014) 'Well-Being, Time and Dementia', Ethics, 507-542.
Hawley, K. 'Persistence and Time' The Cambridge Companion to Life and Death (ed.Steven Luper).
Hurka, T. '"Good" and "Good For"', Mind, 96 (1987), 71-3.
Kraut, R. 'Two Conceptions of Happiness', The Philosophical Review, 88 (1979), 167-97.
Kraut, R. What is Good and Why: The Ethics of Well-Being (Cambridge Mass.: HUP, 2007).
Lauinger, W. (2011) 'Dead Sea Apples and Desire-Fulfillment Welfare Theories', Utilitas, 23, 324- 43.
Pitcher, G. 'The Misfortunes of the Dead', American Philosophical Quarterly, 21 (1984), 183-8.
Portmore, D. 'Desire-fulfilment and posthumous harm', American Philosophical Quarterly, 44 (2007), 27-38.
Regan, D. 'Why am I My Brother's Keeper?' in R. J. Wallace et al. (eds.) Reason and Value: Themes from the Moral Philosophy of Joseph Raz (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2004), 202-30.
Rosati, C. 'Internalism and the Good for a Person', Ethics, 106 (1996), 297-326.
Rosati, C.'Personal Good' in T. Horgan and M. Timmons (eds.) Metaethics After Moore (Oxford: OUP, 2006), 107-32.
Rosati, C. 'Objectivism and Relational Good', Social Philosophy and Policy (forthcoming).
Sarch, A. (2011) 'Internalism about a Person's Good: Don't Believe It', Philosophical Studies, 154(2).
Sarch, A. (2013). Desire Satisfactionism and Time. Utilitas, 25, pp 221-245.
Sobel, D. 'Full Information Accounts of Well-Being', Ethics, 104 (1994), 784-810.
Velleman, D. (1991) 'Well-Being and Time,' Pacific Philosophical Quarterly, 72, 48-77. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Additional Class Delivery Information |
One two hour seminar every week for 11 weeks |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Guy Fletcher
Tel: (0131 6)50 9942
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Susan Richards
Tel: (0131 6)51 3733
Email: |
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