Considers our definitions of happiness, and its subjective values

Provides an overview of contemporary and historical thinking about happiness

Looks at both the philosophical and psychological aspects of happiness

Considers not just what happiness is, and what brings it, but how happiness fits into an ethical life

Part of the bestselling Very Short Introductions series

Happiness is an everyday term in our lives, and most of us strive to be happy. But defining happiness can be difficult.

In this Very Short Introduction, Dan Haybron considers the true nature of happiness. By examining what it is, assessing its subjective values, its importance in our lives, and how we can (and should) pursue it, he considers the current thinking on happiness, from psychology to philosophy.

Illustrating the diverse routes to happiness, Haybron reflects on the growing influence of secular Western ideas in the contemporary pursuit of a good life, and considers the influence of social context on our satisfaction and well-being.

Readership: General readers, researchers, and policy makers concerned with well-being, as well as students of philosophy and ethics.

Daniel M. Haybron, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Philosophy Department at Saint Louis University, USA

Daniel M. Haybron is an Associate Professor in the Philosophy Department at Saint Louis University. His research interests centre on several issues in ethics: well-being and the good life, moral evil, and the virtues. He has worked primarily on happiness since 1995. He is the author of The Pursuit of Unhappiness (OUP, 2008). He has also published a number of articles on happiness.