Philosophies of Happiness

Philosophies of Happiness provides a rich spectrum of arguments for a theory of happiness as flourishing, offering a global, cross-cultural, and interdisciplinary perspective on how to create a vital, fulfilling, and significant life. Diana Lobel brings together perspectives from a broad range of philosophical traditions—Eastern and Western, ancient and contemporary—to show that, while thick descriptions of happiness differ widely, certain themes resonate across texts from different places and times, suggesting core features of a happy life. Happiness is the healthy and flourishing condition of the whole human being, and we experience the most complete happiness when we realize our potential through creative engagement.

Philosophies of Happiness provides a global, cross-cultural, and interdisciplinary perspective on how to create a fulfilling life. Diana Lobel brings together a broad range of philosophical traditions—Eastern and Western, ancient and contemporary—to show that certain themes resonate across texts, suggesting core features of a happy life.

Diana Lobel is associate professor of religion at Boston University. She is the author of Between Mysticism and Philosophy: Sufi Language of Religious Experience in Judah Ha-Levi's Kuzari (2000), A Sufi-Jewish Dialogue: Philosophy and Mysticism in Bahya Ibn Paqūda’s Duties of the Heart (2006), and The Quest for God and the Good: World Philosophy as a Living Experience (Columbia, 2011).

John D. Dunne, University of Wisconsin–Madison, author of Foundations of Dharmakīrti’s Philosophy:
Informative, innovative, and timely, Diana Lobel’s Philosophies of Happiness engagingly examines a broad range of perspectives—encompassing the ancient Greeks, key Asian traditions, and central figures in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam—to conclude with more contemporary approaches such as mindfulness. On Lobel’s model, “the first building block of a life of happiness is attentive awareness.” This keen insight underlies not only her approach to flourishing but also the very spirit of this outstanding book.

Ithamar Theodor, author of Exploring the Bhagavad Gītā: Philosophy, Structure, and Meaning:
Diana Lobel's Philosophies of Happiness: A Comparative Introduction to the Flourishing Life is a long-awaited contribution to comparative philosophy and religion. In considering how happiness has been conceived in different cultures, she investigates traditions from Aristotle, Augustine, and Maimonides to Confucianism, Daoism, the Bhagavad Gītā, and Japanese Zen Buddhism. This book is a major contribution to the emerging fields of world philosophy and global ethics.

Erin M. Cline, Georgetown University:
I know of no other work that engages so many traditions comparatively; this work stands to make a significant contribution to our understanding of happiness across different religious and philosophical traditions.

Philip J. Ivanhoe, City University of Hong Kong:
An impressive comparative study of conceptions of happiness found in East Asian, South Asian, and Western traditions of thought that will be read with interest by a wide range of scholars in religious studies, philosophy, and psychology.