2021-2022 Yavapai College Catalog 
    
    Mar 28, 2024  
2021-2022 Yavapai College Catalog [PREVIOUS CATALOG YEAR]

PHI 220 - Happiness and the Meaning of Life


Description: Examination of answers to questions about the nature of happiness, including how philosophers have and continue to discuss these issues. Students will consider the relationship between happiness and a meaningful life. Questions explored include: What is happiness or the meaning of life? What is the relationship between happiness, pleasure, and the meaning of life? Can someone tell you how to be happy or how to live meaningfully?

Prerequisites: ENG 101  or ENG 101A  or ENG 103 . Reading Proficiency.

General Education Competency: Written Communication; Diversity; Critical Thinking

Credits: 3
Lecture: 3
Lab: 0

Course Content:
  1. Historical accounts of happiness
  2. Contemporary theories of happiness
  3. Happiness as pleasure
  4. Happiness as satisfaction
  5. Happiness and virtue
  6. Theistic answers to the meaning of life
  7. Nontheistic answers to the meaning of life
  8. The relationship between happiness and the meaning of life
  9. The relationship between death and the meaning of life

Learning Outcomes:
  1. Explain classical and contemporary theories of happiness, including their historical development and transference in Western and Eastern philosophical traditions. (1-5)
  2. Explain divergent theories of the meaning of life and their impacts on different cultural settings. (6-9)
  3. Analyze major arguments in favor and against competing theories on happiness and the meaning of life as they relate to the intellectual and cultural realms of human experience. (1-9)
  4. Assess personal beliefs regarding the nature of happiness and the meaning of life. (8) 
  5. Assess personal beliefs regarding the relationship between death and the meaning of life (9) 

Required Assessment:
  1. Demonstrate thoughtful and precise writing skills by completing at least 2,500 words of monitored writing, which includes a 1,500 word essay that undergoes iterations of the writing process (i.e., outline, rough draft, and etc.), using academically appropriate sources.