Welcome to Seminar for Unit 4‘Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness’

• Questions and Concerns• Final Project Reminder• DQs for the week• Unit 4 Project• Seminar

Final Project‘Your Virtual Time Capsule’

* An example of ‘morality’ and decision-making in current culture (Unit 3)

* Your definition of ‘happiness’ (Unit 4)

* Your definition of ‘freedom’ (Unit 4)

Discussion Question

DQ 1: This week’s reading revealed the difficulty of defining freedom and happiness. Now that you

have an understanding of the histories and philosophies of these terms, it is your turn to put

forth your own explanation.

In approximately 100 words each, provide your definitions of freedom and happiness. Also, reflect

on how these definitions fall in line with the perspectives from the reading.

Discussion Question

DQ 2: Amnesty International is a global organization that focuses on promoting and protecting human rights. Its

efforts highlight problems that may otherwise be overlooked by mainstream media outlets. In 1977, the group was

awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its dedication.

In this discussion, you’ll learn about the organization and report on one of its efforts to protect individual freedoms. In

your post, describe a specific initiative and analyze the importance of its success. You can access Amnesty

International at www.amnesty.org; once there, you may search by country or topic.

Unit 4‘Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness’

Unit 4 Project

The Declaration of Independence is a cornerstone of American thought regarding freedom and happiness. Thomas Jefferson was heavily influenced by

philosophers of the period, and the document is frequently referred to as a blueprint for an effective government. Often quoted from the Preamble is this

passage:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that

among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Over two hundred years later, how can we assess this statement?

Unit 4‘Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness’

Project Essay

Compose a 750-1000 word essay that addresses the following:

1. Identify an individual or group of individuals who have continued to pursue liberty and happiness in the twentieth century and beyond.

2. How have he/she/they impacted the world?

3. How will their contributions impact future generations?

Your essay should be double-spaced and include a title page in APA format. The title page does not count in the final page count for the project.

My Choice

1. Identify an individual or group of individuals who have continued to pursue liberty and happiness in the twentieth century and beyond. Steven Speilberg, the producer of Schindler's List.

Schindler’s List is an American film produced in 1993. It is the story of Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who save the lives of more than a thousand Polish Jewish prisoners by employing them in his factories during the Holocaust.

2. How did he impact the world? 3. How will his contributions impact future generations?

Seminar Questions

1. Definitions and examples of behaviorism, determinism,

indeterminism, and libertarianism.

Seminar Chapters on ‘Freedom’

and ‘Happiness’

freedom; liberation; the major characteristic of democratic societies.

What does it mean to be truly free?Is a person’s will truly free?

Seminar Questions

2. How these concepts apply to notions of happiness;

behaviorismdeterminism

indeterminism libertarianism

BehaviorismPhilosopher & Psychologist – B.F. Skinner

‘People are what they do.’Our behavior is determined by a series of

rewards and punishments.

Everything we do is a result of a reinforcement of behavior; both rewards

and punishment. pg. 568 & 588

How does this concept apply to happiness?

Determinism

Complete freedom of will does not exist.

. . . too many factors govern our choices. pg. 560

How does this concept apply to happiness?

Determinism

Institutional determinism – governed by law, education and religion because of the inborn depravity of a few people.

Economic determinism – the quest for money

Indeterminismthe opposite of Determinism

Everything that happens in life is random. . . pg.589

. . . therefore nothing stops us from having free will to make choices. pg. 560

How does this concept apply to happiness?

Libertarianism

Unrestricted free will.

A persons free will should beunrestricted. pg. 560

How does this concept apply to happiness?

HappinessHedonism

EpicureanismStoicism

AristotelianismThe ‘Gandhi’ Path

Buddhist Paths

HappinessHedonism

‘Happiness’ is equivalent to physical pleasure . . . the possession of things that provide us with pleasure.

Carpe diem ‘Take the cash and don’t worry about the credit.’

Money and fame . . . Fame and money.

‘Los Borrachos’ or ‘The Drunkards’ or ‘The Feast of Bacchus’Artist - Diego Velazquez

HappinessEpicureanism

‘happiness is avoiding pain’‘nothing lasts forever’

‘No one can sustain pleasure over prolonged periods of time’

‘seldom town attire;’ from ‘What Makes a Happy Life’

‘all things in moderation’

HappinessStoicism

‘true happiness is not a matter of circumstance . . . but rather . . . how we respond to what happens.’

p. 441

‘happiness as a strategy for survival’‘stoics cope’

‘stoics believe in human reason’‘pain is intrinsic to living’

HappinessAristotelianism p. 445

‘happiness is the purpose for which we live’‘. . . the highest and final good.’

‘Do we want things that make happiness too hard to attain?’

. . . if you can look at yourself in the mirror and say you are a good person AND you are a smart person who knows that everything is not attainable , your life is

proceeding happily.

HappinessThe ‘Gandhi’ Path

A person who, like Martin Luther King, believed in non-violence.

He believed in the concept that we should all lay down our weapons and

talk to each other. . . . everyone would discover the basic oneness of all humanity.

How can you hate someone who was really you?

HappinessBuddhist Paths

Nirvana has a twofold natureHinayana – abide by the teachings of the Buddha

and the Four Noble Truths – life is filled with pain

the cause of pain is frustrated desirethere is a way out of pain

the way out is the Eightfold Path(how we think, speak and behave toward others + meditation)

Mahayana - more expansive concept of bliss/nirvanafollowing in the path of Siddhartha (the first Buddha)

Renouncing bondage, pleasures of the word and

doing whatever is necessary – joining, helping, collecting, nursing, carrying, etc.