Syllabus: Happiness and the Good Life (PHIL 251)

Dr. David Morrow

No one should postpone the study of philosophy when he is young, nor should he weary of it when he be-
comes mature, because the search for mental health is never out of season. To say that the time to study
philosophy has not yet arrived or that it is past is like saying that the time for happiness is not yet at hand
or is no longer present. – Epicurus
Virtues [necessary for happiness] we acquire, just as we acquire crafts, by having
first activated them. For we learn a craft by producing the same product that we
must produce when we have learned it; we become builders, for instance, by build-
ing, and we become harpists by playing the harp. – Aristotle

If you end up with a boring miserable life because you listened to your mom, your
dad, your teacher, your priest, or some guy on television telling you how to do your
s***, then you deserve it. – Frank Zappa

General information
Course title and number: Happiness and the Good Life (PHIL 251)
Instructor: Prof. David Morrow
Office location: Robinson Hall B 442C
Email: dmorrow2@gmu.edu
Twitter: @climateMorrow
Office hours: Monday and Wednesday, 11:00 am – noon, and by appointment
Meeting days and times: Monday and Wednesday 1:30–2:45 pm
Classroom: Planetary Hall 224
Prerequisites: None

About the course

Course description: “How do I live a happy life?” The question might have occurred to you in some
form or another. It is often described as the central question of the Western philosophical tradition. In
this course, we address the question head on by taking advantage of 2,500 years of philosophical thinking
as well as the much more recent science of happiness. Ultimately, you will be encouraged to develop
your own answer. Along the way, we will examine possible answers to the following related questions:
Ø Do you have to be wise in order to be happy and live a good life?
Ø Do you have to be good?
Ø What is the role of the virtues – honesty, courage, kindness, and so on – in living the good life?
Ø Who is truly free, and what is the role of freedom in the good life?
Ø Are goods like health, money, friendship, etc. necessary for the good life? Are they sufficient?
Ø How should someone seeking the good life deal with things like death, bad luck, and malice?
Ø Is happiness something that just happens to you or is it something that must be achieved?
Ø What is the connection between living a happy life and living a meaningful life?
Ø What can science tell us about the good life? Is it a substitute for philosophy or a complement?

Updated August 25 2015

Course goals and objectives: The course will help increase your capacity for critical, analytical,
and imaginative thinking and to make well-founded decisions about your own and other people’s well-
being. The course will also help you see how philosophy illuminates other areas of discourse, in particu-
lar economics and psychology.
For whom intended: As an introductory-level Philosophy elective, this course is open to all stu-
dents. Questions about happiness and the good life are of interest to anyone who’s breathing, but they
are particularly relevant to those with an interest in moral, social and political philosophy; welfare eco-
nomics; public policy; positive psychology; public health; and medicine.
Required readings: This is a list of the books we will use during the course. In order to refer to
specific passages by page number, you need these editions and you need them in hard copy. I have made an
effort to find authoritative but inexpensive editions.
Ø Plato, Euthydemus, trans. Rosamond Kent Sprague (Hackett Publishing Co., 1993). ISBN: 978-
0872202344
Ø Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, 2nd ed., trans. Terence Irwin (Hackett, 1999). ISBN: 978-
0872204645
Ø Epicurus, The Art of Happiness, trans. George K. Strodach (Penguin Books, 2012). Contains paral-
lel readings by Diogenes Laertius and Lucretius. ISBN: 978-0143107217
Ø Epictetus, Discourses and Selected Writings, trans. Robert Dobbin (Penguin Books, 2008). ISBN:
978-0140449464
Ø Seneca, Dialogues and Essays, trans. John Davie (Oxford University Press, 2008). ISBN: 978-
0199552405
Ø John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham, Utilitarianism and Other Essays (Penguin Books, 1987).
ISBN: 978-0140432725
Ø Henry Sidgwick, The Methods of Ethics, 7th ed. (Hackett, 1981). ISBN: 978-0915145287
Ø Sonja Lyubomirsky, The Myths of Happiness (Penguin Books, 2014). ISBN: 978-0143124511
All these books are available in the GMU bookstore, located in the Johnson Center, both used and new.
You should feel free to buy or rent them elsewhere (such as online), but do confirm that you get the
right edition. Additional material will be distributed electronically.
Online resources: Various electronic resources will be used regularly in this course. You’re respon-
sible for figuring out, in a timely manner, how they work. It is a good idea to log into and familiarize
yourself with these resources as soon as possible. You’re also responsible for monitoring them regularly
for information relevant to the course.
Blackboard <http://mymason.gmu.edu/> will be used to post updates, to distribute additional
readings, to provide links to multimedia resources and simulation software, and to administer assign-
ments. Blackboard can be accessed using a variety of devices, including computers in on-campus com-
puter labs. The Blackboard App, which you can download for free, is very helpful if you have a phone that
will run it. It integrates with your calendar and notifies you when new materials have been posted online
and when assignments are due.
Campus resources: Please take a moment to review the resources provided by Mason’s Center for
the Advancement of Well-Being at <http://wellbeing.gmu.edu>. The Center offers a rich range of activi-
ties aimed at helping individuals and organizations thrive in a world of complexity and uncertainty.

Grading and course requirements

Grades: Final grades will be based on five experience papers, participation, and a final exam. Each ex-
perience paper will count for 10% of the final grade, for a total of 50%; participation in the classroom
and online for 20%; and the final exam for 30%.

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Experience papers: Experience papers will require you to live the philosophy you are studying. Near
the conclusion of each section of the course, I will identify one day as an “Experience Day.” During this
day, you are expected to try to conduct your affairs in a manner that the specified author(s) could en-
dorse; afterwards, you’ll write about your experiences. How you try to embody the philosophy is en-
tirely up to you. That said, use your judgment; please stay on the right side of the law and standards of
good taste, and don’t do anything that you will regret (too much) after the assignment.
Each experience paper has three parts. In the first part, you describe as accurately as you can
some aspect of the relevant philosopher’s thought. Don’t forget to back all claims up with evidence from
the readings. In the second part you spell out what you wrote in the first part means for how you
should live your life. In the third part, you describe what you did in order to live the philosophy and how
things went.
I will assign six experience papers, of which I expect you to complete five. Unless otherwise
specified, each experience paper will be due by the beginning of the following class session. Late papers
will be penalized. See the Experience Papers Assignment Sheet for details.
Participation: Attendance and active participation in classroom discussion is required. Before every
class you will be provided a set of discussion questions, which you are expected to answer on Black-
board, based on your reading of the relevant materials, before coming to class. Most of the class time will
be dedicated to a discussion of your answers to these questions. You will be graded on both your prep-
aration for, and participation in, these discussions.
Final exam: An in-class, open-book (but closed-note) cumulative final exam will assess your under-
standing of the material.

Preliminary Schedule

August 31 Introduction
September 2 Plato, Euthydemus, pp. 3–22, 62–66 (Prologue, Scenes I & II, Epilogue)
7 NO CLASS—LABOR DAY
9 Cyrenaics [reading to be distributed on Blackboard]
14 Epicurus, “Leading Doctrines,” “Vatican Sayings,” “Excerpts from Life of Epicurus”
(pp. 173–183, 81–85, 89–90)
16 Epicurus, “Letter to Menoeceus” (pp. 155–172)
17 Experience day: Epicurus
21 Evaluating Epicurus’s philosophy of the good life
23 Epictetus, Enchiridion (pp. 219–245)
28 Seneca, “On the Happy Life” (pp. 85–111)
30 Seneca, “On the Tranquility of the Mind” (pp. 112–139)
1 Experience day: Stoics
October 5 Evaluating the Stoics’ philosophy of the good life
7 Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Books I, VII: 11–14, X (pp. 1–18, 114–119, 153–171)
12 NO CLASS—COLUMBUS DAY
13 Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Books II–IV (pp. 18–67) [TUESDAY SESSION!]
14 Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Book V (pp. 67–85)
15 Experience day: Aristotle
19 Evaluating Aristotle’s philosophy of the good life
21 Bentham, Ch. III–V (pp. 83–97); Mill, Ch. I & II (pp. 272–298)

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 26 Mill, Ch. III–V (pp. 298–338)
28 Sidgwick, Book I, Ch. 4 (pp. 30–42)
November 2 Sidgwick, Book II, Ch. 2–4 (pp. 112–145)
4 Sidgwick, Book II, Ch. 5 & Book III, Ch. 14 (pp. 146–161, 367–378)
5 Experience day: utilitarians
9 Evaluating the utilitarians’ philosophy of the good life
11 Wolf, “Moral Saints” [via Blackboard]
16 Wolf, Meaning in Life and Why It Matters, Lecture 1 [via Blackboard]
18 Wolf, Meaning in Life and Why It Matters, Lecture 2 [via Blackboard]
19 Experience day: Wolf
23 Evaluating Wolf’s philosophy of the good life
25 NO CLASS—THANKSGIVING BREAK
30 Lyubomirsky, Introduction & Ch. 1–4 (pp. 1–111)
December 2 Lyubomirsky, Ch. 5–7 (pp. 115–181)
7 Lyubomirsky, Ch. 8–10 & Conclusion (pp. 185–251)
8 Experience day: the happiness scientists [paper due Dec 11]
9 Evaluating the happiness scientists’ view of the good life
DATE TBD FINAL EXAM

Course policies
Warning: As any serious discussion about the human condition must, this course deals with adult con-
tent, including sex, violence, and death. Also, you’ll note that the language and contents of these texts
sometimes reflect social attitudes that strike the modern reader as archaic and objectionable.
Reading: Be prepared to spend a lot of time reading, and to read actively. Most of these texts are old;
all require serious effort. There will be words that are new to you. Get a good dictionary, or use a good
online one; the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), available at http://oed.com.mutex.gmu.edu, is best. There
will also be references you don’t understand. Here, use your judgment: you don’t have to look them all
up, but sometimes you do. A quick web search is typically a good starting point, but you need to be
careful where you end up; the online Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, at http://plato.stanford.edu, is
very good, as is the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, at http://iep.utm.edu.
Respect: Please treat other students (and the instructor) with respect. In particular, be mindful of oth-
er people’s possible desire not to have their comments shared outside of class.

University requirements
Academic Integrity: The integrity of the University community is affected by the individual choices
made by each of us. GMU has an Honor Code, available at http://academicintegrity.gmu.edu/honorcode/,
with clear guidelines regarding academic integrity. Three fundamental and rather simple principles to
follow at all times are that: (1) all work submitted be your own; (2) when using the work or ideas of
others, including fellow students, give full credit through accurate citations; and (3) if you are uncertain
about the ground rules on a particular assignment, ask for clarification. No grade is important enough to
justify academic misconduct. Plagiarism means using the exact words, opinions, or factual information
from another person without giving the person credit. Writers give credit through accepted documenta-
tion styles, such as parenthetical citation, footnotes, or endnotes. Paraphrased material must also be
cited, using proper format. A simple listing of books or articles is not sufficient. Plagiarism is both fraud

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and the equivalent of intellectual robbery. It cannot be tolerated in the academic setting. If you have any
doubts about what constitutes plagiarism, please see the instructor. You will never be penalized for ask-
ing in advance whether something constitutes plagiarism.
Disability accommodations: If you have a disability, you are not at a disadvantage. If you have a
learning or physical difference that may affect your academic work, you will need to furnish appropriate
documentation to the Office of Disability Services (ODS). If you qualify for accommodation, the ODS
staff will give you a form detailing appropriate accommodations for your instructor. In addition to
providing your professors with the appropriate form, please take the initiative to discuss accommoda-
tion with them at the beginning of the semester and as needed during the term. Because of the range of
learning differences, faculty members need to learn from you the most effective ways to assist you. If
you have contacted the ODS and are waiting to hear from a counselor, please inform the instructor.
Diversity statement: George Mason University promotes a living and learning environment for out-
standing growth and productivity among its students, faculty and staff. Through its curriculum, programs,
policies, procedures, services and resources, Mason strives to maintain a quality environment for work,
study and personal growth. An emphasis upon diversity and inclusion throughout the campus community
is essential to achieve these goals. Diversity is broadly defined to include such characteristics as, but not
limited to, race, ethnicity, gender, religion, age, disability, and sexual orientation. Diversity also entails
different viewpoints, philosophies, and perspectives. Attention to these aspects of diversity will help
promote a culture of inclusion and belonging, and an environment where diverse opinions, backgrounds
and practices have the opportunity to be voiced, heard and respected. The reflection of Mason’s com-
mitment to diversity and inclusion goes beyond policies and procedures to focus on behavior at the in-
dividual, group and organizational level. The implementation of this commitment to diversity and inclu-
sion is found in all settings, including individual work units and groups, student organizations and groups,
and classroom settings; it is also found with the delivery of services and activities, including, but not lim-
ited to, curriculum, teaching, events, advising, research, service, and community outreach. Acknowledg-
ing that the attainment of diversity and inclusion are dynamic and continuous processes, and that the
larger societal setting has an evolving socio-cultural understanding of diversity and inclusion, Mason
seeks to continuously improve its environment. To this end, the University promotes continuous moni-
toring and self-assessment regarding diversity. The aim is to incorporate diversity and inclusion within
the philosophies and actions of the individual, group and organization, and to make improvements as
needed.
Religious holidays: The instructor will make every effort to help minimize difficulties for students of
different faiths in terms of scheduling course assignments. It is the student's responsibility to speak to
the instructor in advance should their religious observances impact their participation in class activities
and assignments.
Privacy: Students must use their MasonLive email account to receive important University infor-
mation, including messages related to this class. See http://masonlive.gmu.edu for more information.

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