Stephen J Costello

Ethics of Happiness Stephen J Costello

Why is it so hard to be happy? What can we do to be happy? And what exactly is happiness? Is it a passing condition or a permanent state? What is the difference between pleasure, happiness and joy? Are we humans supposed to be happy here? Is happiness really possible to attain and subsequently retain? Should we deliberately pursue it or just let it happen? Isn't there a saying: 'Those who search for happiness never find it'? What have the philosophers to say on the subject of happiness? (When one psychoanalyst heard that I was writing a book on happiness, he said to me 'happiness is a symptom that has to be cured'!). These are some of the questions that this book seeks to answer and address.