Happiness, Unhappiness, and Chance in the Philosophy of Paul Ricoeur

An alternative philosophical understanding of happiness can serve as a corrective to the accounts of happiness offered by modern sciences, religion, and consumerism.

This book argues that the notions of happiness, unhappiness, and chance in the philosophy of Paul Ricoeur offer an overarching conceptualization of happiness that has significant implications for contemporary philosophical accounts of happiness. By analyzing Ricoeur’s philosophy, and specifically his two articles on happiness, ＂Le Bonheur Hors Lieu＂ (1994) and ＂L’optatif du bonheur＂ (2001), Anné H. Verhoef argues that a significant alternative mode of understanding happiness is found in the dialectical thinking of Ricoeur. Ricoeur’s dialectic of happiness and unhappiness entails that one cannot exist without the other; unhappiness is not something to be overcome, but something to be embraced. Furthermore, Ricoeur’s recognition of chance in relation to happiness opens a recognition for happiness as something received without any effort, while simultaneously preserving the Aristotelian idea that one should strive for goodness. There is a fragile dialectic of receiving and striving for happiness within the simultaneous dialectic of happiness and unhappiness.

Anné H. Verhoef is a professor of philosophy at North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa.