What’s so “Great” About a Good Society, or, Does Happiness
Matter?
Most times people forget how intertwined their “pursuit” of happiness is with that of others. Our choices define our reality. In choosing where to live, what kind of family to make, what to eat, how to dress, what kind of music to hear, what kind of friends to make, whether or not to practice a religion, and what kind of education to pursue, we follow beliefs about what is good for us and those we care about. But to move our question from the unconscious level to a level of deliberate and self-aware choosing—in other words, to make our choices free—is much harder. One struggles to answer the question, “What do we mean by a good society?” because each of us inhabits so many different kinds of societies. From the close-knit, personal societies of family and friends, to the distant but somehow still passionately loved societies of nations, to the more distant, but increasingly incomprehensible society of the biosphere, our different societies call out different allegiances, different responsibilities, different actions.
The goal then, of this class, is to set up a conversation—in text and film--that allows us to examine what makes an aspect of a society “good,” what makes people happy, and openly investigate the strengths and weaknesses of those ideas.
Most times people forget how intertwined their “pursuit” of happiness is with that of others. Our choices define our reality. In choosing where to live, what kind of family to make, what to eat, how to dress, what kind of music to hear, what kind of friends to make, whether or not to practice a religion, and what kind of education to pursue, we follow beliefs about what is good for us and those we care about. But to move our question from the unconscious level to a level of deliberate and self-aware choosing—in other words, to make our choices free—is much harder. One struggles to answer the question, “What do we mean by a good society?” because each of us inhabits so many different kinds of societies. From the close-knit, personal societies of family and friends, to the distant but somehow still passionately loved societies of nations, to the more distant, but increasingly incomprehensible society of the biosphere, our different societies call out different allegiances, different responsibilities, different actions.
The goal then, of this class, is to set up a conversation—in text and film--that allows us to examine what makes an aspect of a society “good,” what makes people happy, and openly investigate the strengths and weaknesses of those ideas.
- Teacher: Patti McCarthy