Happiness

PHIL 20, Harvard University, Spring 2018

Instructor: Prof. Susanna Rinard

Office Location: Emerson 320
Office Hours: Wednesday 2-3 PM
E-mail: susannarinard@fas.harvard.edu
Lecture Time and Location: Mon / Wed 1-2 PM, Emerson 310 (Tanner Room)
Section: TBD
Course Website: https://canvas.harvard.edu/courses/38689

TF: TBD
E-mail: TBD
Office Hours: TBD

Course Description:

Should we pursue happiness, and if so, what is the best way to do it? This course will critically
assess the answers to these questions given by thinkers from a wide variety of different places,
cultures, and times, including Stoicism, Epicureanism, Buddhism, Daoism, and contemporary
philosophy, psychology, and economics.

Assignments:

There will be 2 exams (22% each), 2 papers (22% each), and 6 one-page reflection/application
pieces (12% total).

The exams will be in-class. They must be taken on the dates scheduled, except in case of
extreme emergency (e.g. hospitalization) and accompanying documentation.

Each paper will be 3 – 4 pages in length (double-spaced). Paper topics with additional details
will be distributed one week prior to the due date (see tentative schedule for dates).

Papers are to be handed in at the beginning of class on the date they are due. Late papers—
including papers received on the due date, after the start of class—will receive an F, unless an
extension was requested at least one week prior to the due date and granted. Such papers will be
read, and written comments given as usual, along with the grade the paper would have received,
had it not be late.

The late penalty will not be applied in case of unforeseeable circumstances of a kind that could
prevent even a responsible and dedicated student from being able to complete the paper in time.
Such circumstances include illness, or a death in one’s immediate family.

You will have an opportunity to re-write each paper, including late papers that received an F. If
you choose to re-write a paper, your final grade for that paper will equal your grade on the re-
write, and will not take into account your grade on the first version (unless your grade on the first

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version was higher than the re-write, in which case your final grade will equal that of the first
version). You must turn in the graded version of your original paper with your re-write.

The reflection/application pieces will be graded SAT/UNSAT. Late pieces will not be accepted,
except in case of emergency, or if an extension was granted. You may skip any two of the six
pieces without penalty.

Access to Readings:

Some readings will be posted on the course website; others are freely available online. You will
need to have access to a copy of Dan Haybron’s book The Pursuit of Unhappiness and Sonja
Lyubomirsky’s book The How of Happiness.

Electronic Devices:

The use of laptops, cell phones, iwidgets, etc. during lecture or section is prohibited (except in
case of medical necessity, in which case follow the guidelines given below for students with
disabilities).

How to Contact Me:

The best way to contact me is in person, either during office hours, or, if you have a short
message, after class. You may also send e-mail. However, I do not check e-mail often, and so
response time may be long. Moreover, e-mail is best used for quick logistical matters;
substantive philosophical questions are much better addressed in person, e.g. during office hours.
In particular, I do not comment on paper drafts over e-mail. I welcome (and encourage) you to
bring paper drafts to office hours for feedback.

Academic Integrity:

The answers you give on the exams must be entirely your own (although you may find it helpful
to prepare beforehand with others).

You may find it helpful to discuss the paper topics, and your ideas, with others. However, you
should write the paper entirely on your own, and it should reflect your own understanding of and
approach to the material. (It may be helpful for you to get feedback from others on drafts you
have written, but any writing—either on the initial draft, or revisions in light of feedback from
others—should be done entirely on your own, and, again, should reflect your own understanding
of the material.) If the views and arguments expressed in your paper have been influenced by
discussions with others, you must mention this in a footnote. However, do not name the people
or provide any other information that could compromise blind grading. Consulting sources other
than the course readings and lecture notes is discouraged, but if your views have been influenced
by other articles you happen to be aware of, cite them.

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Accommodations for Students with Disabilities:

Students needing academic adjustments or accommodations because of a documented disability

must present their Faculty Letter from the Accessible Education Office (AEO) and speak with
the instructor by the end of the second week of the term. Failure to do so may result in the
instructor's inability to respond in a timely manner. All discussions will remain confidential,
although the instructor may contact AEO to discuss appropriate implementation.

Tentative Schedule:

Greece and Rome: Plato, Aristotle, Stoicism, Epicureanism

Mon, January 22 Introduction; Plato

Wed, January 24 Aristotle

Mon, January 29 Stoicism

Wed, January 31 Epicureanism (Piece 1 Due)

South and East Asia: Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism

Mon, February 5 Upanishads

Wed, February 7 Dhammapada (Paper 1 Topics Assigned)

Mon, February 12 Bhagavad Gita (Piece 2 Due)

Wed, February 14 Confucius and Mencius (Paper 1 Due)

Mon, February 19 NO CLASS (Presidents Day)

Wed, February 21 Tao Te Ching

Mon, February 26 Zhuangzi (Paper 1 Re-writes Due)

Wed, February 28 Zen Flesh, Zen Bones (Piece 3 Due)

Mon, March 5 EXAM 1

Contemporary Philosophy (Dan Haybron’s The Pursuit of Unhappiness)

Wed, March 7 Haybron: 1

Mon, March 12 NO CLASS (Spring Break)

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Wed, March 14 NO CLASS (Spring Break)

Mon, March 19 Haybron: 2

Wed, March 21 Haybron: 3

Mon, March 26 Haybron: 4 (Piece 4 Due)

Wed, March 28 Haybron: 5

The Science of Happiness

Mon, April 2 Measuring Happiness: 1

Wed, April 4 Measuring Happiness: 2 (Paper 2 Topics Assigned)

Mon, April 9 The Replication Crisis / Heritability (Piece 5 Due)

Wed, April 11 Lyubomirsky The How of Happiness (Paper 2 Due)

Mon, April 16 Nussbaum “Who is the Happy Warrior?”

Wed, April 18 Pursuing Happiness: 1

Mon, April 23 Pursuing Happiness: 2 (Paper 2 Re-writes Due; Piece 6 Due)

Wed, April 25 EXAM 2