Abstract

'Regimes of Happiness' is a comparative and historical analysis of how human societies have articulated and enacted distinctive notions of human fulfillment, determining divergent moral, ethical and religious traditions, and incommensurate and conflicting understanding of the meaning of the ‘good life’. A two-part book, it provides a historical view of the way in which Western societies, the descendants of the Latin Roman Empire, created languages and institutions that established specifi c and occasionally antithetical conceptions of a fulfilled human life or ‘happiness’ in the first part. In the second part, it explores how non-Western societies and non-Christian religions have conceived and established their own ideals of human perfection. 'Regimes of Happiness' is a critical reflection on modern notions of happiness which are typically focused on individual feelings of pleasure.

‘An outstanding array of scholars provide a rich body of evidence about, insights into, and analysis of happiness. The reader will be particularly happy to note that the exploration benefits greatly from a solid comparative perspective.’
—Amitai Etzioni, Author of Happiness Is the Wrong Metric

‘In this comprehensive and intrepid volume on the “regimes of happiness”, contributors examine how to improve the social-scientific understanding of the myriad ways in which happiness has been historically examined and how it continues to be a central concern of both experts and the lay public.’
—Jonathan B. Imber, Jean Glasscock Professor of Sociology, Wellesley College, USA

‘"Regimes of Happiness" is a fascinating and wide-ranging medley of new essays on how societies shape ideals of happiness. Religious, historical and cross-cultural studies are emphasized, yet there are also insightful discussions of contemporary issues in psychology, philosophy, economics and politics. A most welcome addition to the renaissance in happiness studies.’
—Mike W. Martin, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, Chapman University, USA, and Author of Happiness and the Good Life

Yuri Contreras-Vejar is professor of sociology at Universidad Diego Portales, Chile. He is also a member of the Committee for the Study of Religion at the Graduate Center, CUNY, USA.

Joanna Tice Jen is a member of the political science faculty at Las Positas College, USA. She received her PhD in political science from the Graduate Center, CUNY, USA, in 2017.

Bryan S. Turner is professor of sociology at the Australian Catholic University, emeritus professor at the Graduate Center, CUNY, USA, and honorary professor, Social Science Faculty, Potsdam University, Germany. He won the Max Planck Award in 2015.

‘Regimes of Happiness’ is a comparative and historical analysis of how human societies have articulated and enacted distinctive notions of human fulfillment, determining divergent moral, ethical and religious traditions and incommensurate and conflicting understanding of the meaning of the ‘good life’.

Presented in two parts, ‘Regimes of Happiness’ provides a historical view of the way in which Western societies, the descendants of the Latin Roman Empire, created languages and institutions that established specific and occasionally antithetical conceptions of a fulfilled human life or 'happiness' in the first part. The second part explores how non-Western societies and non-Christian religions have conceived and established their own ideals of human perfection. ‘Regimes of Happiness’ is a critical reflection on modern notions of happiness which are typically focused on individual feelings of pleasure.