[SydPhil] University of Sydney Philosophy Seminar Series: Caroline West

[Ryan Cox]

Hi everyone,

This week’s speaker in the University of Sydney Philosophy Seminar Series is Caroline West (University of Sydney).

The title of Caroline’s talk is “Happiness as a psychological good”. Here’s the abstract for the talk:

Theories of happiness generally divide into those that analyse ‘happiness’ as a purely descriptive psychological term, and those that take ‘happiness’ to be an evaluative term roughly synonymous with ‘leading a good life.’ I argue that happiness is most accurately and usefully analysed as a fusion of these. Specifically, happiness is the psychological state, whatever it is, that we ought to seek for its own sake. Substantive first-order debates about the nature of happiness are then best understood as implicit disputes about exactly which of a range of semantically eligible states individuals have most prudential reason to pursue. I argue that this may vary (somewhat) from individual to individual and hence that happiness is differentially realizable: the nature of happiness may differ (somewhat) from person to person. This contrasts with orthodox ‘circumscriptionist’ analyses, according to which there is just one way to be happy.

The talk will take place on Wednesday the 13th of September at 3:30 p.m. in the Philosophy Seminar Room (N494) in the Quadrangle and will be simulcast via Zoom: https://uni-sydney.zoom.us/j/88699564848.

The talk will be followed by drinks and informal discussion at a nearby venue. All welcome!

Enquiries about the seminar series can be directed to ryan.cox at sydney.edu.au<mailto:ryan.cox at sydney.edu.au>

Ryan Cox
Associate Lecturer in Philosophy
Discipline of Philosophy
School of Humanities
University of Sydney
ryan.cox at sydney.edu.au<mailto:ryan.cox at sydney.edu.au>



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