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Philosophies of happiness
Philosophien des Glücks
Last Updated: 2026-02-05 15:14:17
Abstract
Overview on philosophical reflections on happiness.
Objective
The aim of the course is to give an overview of the philosophical reflexions of the topic "happiness".
Content
That man searches for happiness or finds him- or herself unhappy is ususally a "diagnosis" of a life, that is "going wrong". Philosophies were considered therefore sometimes as a "therapy" of the wrong and therefore unhappy human life. What proposals for therapy did they make? How should the successful life, that is happy, look like? Starting from systematic considerations what we mean by "human life", the lecture will critically investigate the thoughts about happiness from antiquity to our present day.
Resources
Lecture Notes
Lecture notes will be available by end of term.
Literature
The systematic ideas, from which the course will start can be found in: Michael Hampe, Die Macht des Zufalls. Vom Umgang mit dem Risiko, Berlin 2006. A first accounter with many of the texts from the history of this topic can be made in: Josef M. Werle (Hrsg.), Klassiker der philosophischen Lebenskunst. Von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart, München 2000.
General Information
- Language
- German
- Levels
- DS
- Frequency
- Every two years
Examination
- Type
- graded semester performance
Course Components
| Type | Title | Time & Place | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| lecture | Philosophien des Glücks |
|
2 h weekly |
Offered In
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Humanities, Social and Political Sciences (In order to be awarded credits, please register under "Pflichtwahlfach GESS"!. The language courses are offered by the ETH and University of Zurich Language Center.)
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