Review by Choice Review
White (philosophy, Univ. of California, Irvine) writes with a philosopher's eye. Eschewing the "vulgar historicism" inherent in previous attempts to understand theories simply by the context of history, White explores "the concept of happiness": one finds oneself with (often) conflicting aims and motives, and seeks a process of deciding which aims are good, and which are not. White mentions several methodologies that historically have been proffered as candidates for the concept of happiness, but ends where he began--multiple goals without unification. The discussion of Kant is particularly interesting; the struggle is not between happiness and obligation, but obligation and a specific inclination. Finally, the concept must be abandoned: "the history of the concept of happiness has been a search for something that's unobtainable."McMahon (history, Florida State Univ.) takes readers on an impressive journey through the history of the concept that has "only ever been conceived as a single journey to a single end." Only in the last few hundred years has happiness shifted from a goal thought to be available to a precious few who practiced the "virtue" of happiness, to the Enlightenment view of happiness as the ultimate end of every person. "Virtually every institution, practice and belief" is instrumental to the teleology of happiness. People are all presently responsible for their own happiness and feel postmodern guilt when it is not realized. McMahon concludes by reading the cultural tea leaves: people's predilection for pharmaceuticals indicates where they are headed; the future promises to "manipulat(e) our genes to enhance our happiness." If this were possible, people would leave their essential humanity behind--the quest for happiness (and the resultant failure) is endemic to humanity.Both authors approach the same topic, with many of the same players, and reach similar conclusions. The attempt to evaluate personal wants and aims, in a manner consistent with how one understands oneself compared to others, is what one ought to do, and already does. Neither history nor philosophy can provide a definitive answer to the mystery of happiness. Both books are excellent introductions to happiness. McMahon's readable style might appeal to a wider audience; while White sometimes chooses brevity over clarity, the text does not suffer. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. Both: lower-level undergraduates through faculty. S. J. Shaw Prairie View A&M University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
Happiness is such an elusive concept that one must be especially brave or foolhardy to write about it, and McMahon admits that writing this book brought many hours of misery. Fortunately, his initial melancholy eventuated in the reader's gain. This is a rich, fascinating intellectual history of an ineffable idea that, McMahon notes, is as old as history itself. From well before Herodotus to on beyond Thomas Jefferson, happiness has been an obsession. Significantly, the root of the word happiness, the Middle English and Old Norse happ, means chance and fortune. Happiness, then, is a chancy proposition. Yet the modern world believes that happiness lies within a person's grasp. McMahon relates how people in the West came to believe that happiness was even possible. He looks at Greek and Roman thought and Judeo-Christian traditions, after which the philosophers of the Enlightenment changed everything by maintaining that happiness was something to which every person could aspire in his lifetime. Searching for happiness nowadays, however, risks hubris, entitlement, and overly high expectations. --June Sawyers Copyright 2006 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Before the contemporary onslaught of therapeutic treatments and self-help guidance, the very idea of happiness in this life was virtually unknown. In this eminently readable work, McMahon (Enemies of Enlightenment) looks back through 2,000 years of thought, searching for evidence of how our contemporary obsession came to be. From the tragic plays of ancient Greece to the inflammatory rhetoric of Rousseau and Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence, McMahon delves deeply into the rich trove of texts that elucidate and confirm the development of Western notions of this elusive ideal. In one particularly rousing section, he highlights the breakthrough thinking of German theologian and religious revolutionary Martin Luther. Locked in self-imposed exile in the Augustine Black Monastery in Wittenberg, Luther struggled with a God who punished sinners, then realized that man is "justified-made just, not punished with justice..." and that this life was one to be lived, that man must "drink more, engage in sports and recreation, aye, even sin a little" in order to be happy. Throughout McMahon leads the reader with strong, clear thinking, laying out his ideas with grace, both challenging and entertaining us in equal measure. Agent, Tina Bennett. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Utilizing an abundance of sources-e.g., art and architecture, music and theology, literature and myth-McMahon (history, Florida State Univ.; Enemies of the Enlightenment) traces the transformation of the concept of happiness through more than 2000 years of Western thought. The book is divided into two parts: Part 1 details the evolution of happiness from Greek and Roman schools of philosophy (e.g., Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Stoicism, Epicureanism) to the Enlightenment, paying particular attention to the development of happiness as part of religious (particularly Christian) teachings; Part 2 marches into more modern thought, including skepticism, liberalism, Darwinism, German idealism, communism, and Freudian contemplations. Filled with ample and provoking commentary, this work keeps the reader engaged and makes valuable contributions to the concept of happiness with each successive chapter. Considering the range of information found in this book, it is highly recommended for both public and academic library systems.-Jason Moore, Madison Cty. Lib. Syst., MS (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Choice Review
Review by Booklist Review
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Review by Library Journal Review
