Lifelong happiness

I've been asked to prepare a four-session (six-hour) Maymester course on happiness for the new Lifelong Learning program at our school for older (non-)students. Here's a first-go at an outline.

1. Getting acquainted, introducing ourselves, considering some prevalent notions of happiness as depicted in pop culture. "Who are you, why are you here, what's your personal definition of happiness, are you happy?"

2. Happiness in the philosophical literature and tradition, and in contemporary psychology: Aristotle, Epicurus, Montaigne, Jefferson, Schopenhauer, Mill, Russell, James, Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi, Martin Seligmann, Jennifer Michael Hecht...

3. Against happiness: some dissenting voices from philosophy and literature.

4. Final thoughts, and encouragement for continued post-course reflection and learning. "This I Believe": sharing our personal testimonials on the appropriate place of happiness and its pursuit in our lives, with an emphasis on the "mature" perspective. 

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UPDATE, May 28, 2015.
I've agreed to offer a Lifelong Learner's course on the Philosophy of Happiness next May, mainly for older non-traditional students... students-for-life, who've learned to value education for its own sake and not merely as a vocational credential.

I'm reminded of the way I always like to say good-bye to students at the end of every semester:

Good luck with your goals!

But I'll bet my May-mester students will already have figured out something crucial about the goal-centered and purpose-driven life:

"Whether or not we achieve our goals, in fact, is not the essential matter. We aren't going to wait until we've reached all our objectives beforew we start being happy. The path matters more than the goal: happiness. comes as we make our journey." Happiness: A Philosopher's Guide

And, as Emerson said, we must seek to "find the journey's end in every step."

Well, there will be four steps in our course: four 1.5 hour class meetings, on the first four Mondays of May 2016. Stay tuned for details.