a celebrity’s happiness

The aim of the course was to explore the nature of happiness. What does it mean for one’s life to be a
happy one? The answer that we got was “it depends on what you mean by happiness”. It turns out that
there are a number of distinct notions of happiness that all track different things, things that we care deeply
about. The main distinction that we dealt with was the distinction between objective and subjective
happiness, which I used to split the course in two. The first part of the course was on the science of
happiness, which studies subjective happiness. The second part of the course was on the philosophy of
happiness, which studies objective happiness.
Thus, the aim of the final writing assignment is for you to show that you understand the distinction between
subjective and objective happiness. The best way of displaying this understanding is by using various
analyses of happiness and showing how one can be subjectively happy but not objectively happy and vice
versa. In order to do this, you will write a paper that should accomplish the following tasks (please read the
directions carefully):
1. Select some well-known public figure who is widely regarded as happy. Offer a sufficiently rich
description of their lives – enough to provide the following analysis. This should not take more than
one page. (Due to the work done in previous semesters, you cannot write about Ellen DeGeneres.)
2. Next, identify some aspect(s) of their lives that we know from our readings are strongly correlated
with high life satisfaction. If you don’t know what “life satisfaction” is referring to, you need to go
back and do your readings. This is part of the assignment! I did provide a hint in the intro above.
Looking back at your reading, identify and describe the evidence that we have that points to a
strong correlation. Provide references to our reading(s) and use proper citations (Either MLA or
Chicago is fine). [For your discussion, DO NOT talk about Seligman’s PERMA theory of flourishing.]
1. Finally, reflect on this person’s life and ask yourself whether, from the point of view of any of the
philosophers we have read, this life can be lacking from the point of view of actual well-being. (Pick
just one philosophical view!) That is, would any of the philosophers that we have read conclude
that their life isn’t an ideal one? Having selected a philosopher who would come to this conclusion,
describe this philosopher’s view of actual well-being then explain what this philosopher would say
about the person’s life. Again, you must provide references to our readings and use proper
citations.
Paper details:
4-5 pages, double-spaced, 12 point times new roman, 1 inch margins
Grading rubric:
5 Criteria
1. A paper that is clear, succinct, and well-written. The paper has clearly been proof-read and is well-
structured. Check for typos and grammatical mistakes
2. You provide a sufficiently rich and clear description of the person’s life
3. You explain what aspect of this person’s life is strongly correlated with high life satisfaction
4. You accurately and clearly explain the relevant empirical evidence from our readings
5. Your paper provides an accurate summary of a philosopher’s view and shows full understanding of this is view when examining the life that you have chosen.

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