The philosophy of happiness is a direction by which philosophical inquiry approaches the nature of happiness and the ways by which to attain it. Both the classic Western philosophy (Ancient philosophy) and the Eastern philosophy since its inception deal with the subject of happiness.

Socrates (* 469 BC in Athens, † 399 BC) is fundamental for Western thinking. Almost all the major philosophical schools of antiquity have to rely on Socrates. Michel de Montaigne called him the "master of masters" and Karl Jaspers wrote, "Socrates to have in mind is one of the essential conditions of our philosophy".^[1]

Socrates was a mystic. There are many accounts of his extraordinary abilities. He could fall for hours in meditation, go barefoot in winter and consume excessive amounts of alcohol, without ever showing signs of intoxication. He lived in strict guidance by his inner voice, whose origin he regarded as divine. He prayed regularly. About life after death, he preferred an open perspective, "Either it is a non-being, and we have no sensation after death - or, as it is told, it is a migration of the soul from this place to another."^[2] It is interesting to note that a significant portion of Plato's Pheado is concerned with various arguments whose purpose can be seen to prove the existence of life after death. ^[3]

We can regard Socrates as the spiritual father of today's scientific thinking time. He was an advocate of reason. He was highly involved with the question of the truth. What is true and what is wrong? What is the way of a true life? Socrates had no ready answers. He left it to each of his students themselves, to find their own way of truth. Three things he gave them along the way: 1. Keep interested in the truth. 2. Make sure that your soul is as good as possible. 3. To get a good soul, maintain the four virtues of prudence, temperance, courage and justice (charity).^[4]

Perhaps the first philosopher who has developed a complete philosophy of happiness was Aristippus. He was a student of Socrates, but adopted a very different philosophical outlook, teaching that the goal of life was to seek external pleasure. Aristippus lived luxuriously. He is considered the founder of hedonism.

Antisthenes (c. 445 BCE – c. 365 BCE) was also a student of Socrates. He adopted and developed the ethical side of Socrates' teachings, advocating an ascetic life lived in accordance with virtue. Later writers regarded him as the founder of Cynic philosophy. His most important disciple was Diogenes, who lived after a legend in a barrel. The way of happiness of Antisthenes is similar to the Enlightenment philosophy of Buddhism, Indian Yoga and Chinese Taoism. Through a life of peace, simplicity, naturalness, modesty and virtue (mental work) dissolve the inner tensions. Inner happiness and enlightenment appear. We find Antisthenes praising the pleasures which spring "from out of one's soul."^[5]

Plato lived from 428/427 BC to 348/347 BC in Athens. He was a student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. According to Plato the human soul consists of three parts: The reason, the will and the desire. A man is happy when all three parts of the soul are in balance. Plato has thought about how to build a good society. He proposed to transfer the leadership of a society to the wise. One could say that science (the philosophy of happiness) should be the center of happy society.

A student of Plato was Aristotle. According to Aristotle, happy is he who develops his virtues and abilities. Perfectly happy can a man be called if he is sufficiently equipped with external goods and spends his life according to virtue.^[6]

For Epicurus, the purpose of philosophy was to attain a happy, tranquil life, characterized by peace, freedom from fear, the absence of pain, and by living a self-sufficient life surrounded by friends. A life after Epicurus (341-270 BC) is happy when you live everything in the right degree. Everyone should know his point of enough. "Whom is enough too little, nothing is enough."^[7]

Epicureans often confounded with the hedonists. Both are completely different philosophical paths. An Epicurean embodies a moderate path of asceticism and a hedonist a path of extreme external pleasure. Epicureanism is wisdom and hedonism is unwisdom. Epicureanism leads to enlightenment (inner happiness) and hedonism to unenlightenment (inner tensions, addictions).^[8]

Epicurus taught positive thinking. A life will be happy when we constantly train positive thinking. Epicurus called it "philosophize." A person should philosophize every day. One should think about the meaning of life and reflect again and again to his positive goals. One should avoid it, to worry too much.

The inner happiness comes from inner peace. When a person calms down, inner happiness appears. Epicurus recommended it to live in inner peace, "Then you live like a God (Buddha) among your unwise fellow men,"^[9] which an Epicurean also helps on the way: "The friendship dances around the globe, all of us announcing that we shall awaken to bliss."^[10]

Augustine of Hippo (354 – 430), was Bishop of Hippo Regius (present-day Annaba, Algeria). He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province. His writings were very influential in the development of Western Christianity. In the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion, he is a saint and pre-eminent Doctor of the Church, and the patron of the Augustinian religious order.

Augustine wrote a whole book (the happy life) about human happiness. The ultimate goal of all human endeavor lies in the happiness. Happiness man can receive but not by satisfaction of goods of this world. Lasting happiness is possible only by living in God. God is the greatest happiness that a man can achieve, "for God has created us to him and our heart is restless until it rests in God."^[11]

Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, was a Christian theologian and philosopher of the late 5th to early 6th century, the author of the Corpus Areopagiticum. He is identified as "Dionysos" in the corpus, which later came to be attributed to Dionysius the Areopagite. In the so-called Mystical theology, it is primarily Dionysius the Areopagite, who deals with the idea of happiness. According to him, the human soul longs for God. This yearning can be satisfied only by the mystical union with God. Over the three steps purity (katharsis), enlightenment (photismos) and agreed (teleiosis) can one reach the knowledge of God.

"For by this ecstasy, (...) you will, after you have everything removed and detached, brought to the real ray of the divine shadow."^[12] "The divine darkness is the inaccessible light, in which God lives. In it are all who have become worthy to recognize God."^[13] "It is necessary to (... ) go into the darkness, to find the one that is beyond all."^[14]

Eckhart von Hochheim, known as Meister Eckhart (c. 1260; † c. 1327) was a late medieval theologian and philosopher. Meister is German for "Master", referring to the academic title Magister in theologia he obtained in Paris. He is an important link of the Western philosophy with the Eastern religions, because he had an impersonal image of God and tought it to meditate (God can be found in the silence).^{[clarification needed]}

For Meister Eckhart meditation is helpful to get a life in God, "Know indeed. Standing quite still and as long as possible, this is your very best."^[16] At the same time, it is also important to walk the way of charity, "As Mary sat at the feet of our Lord , she learned. (...) But later, when Christ had gone to heaven, and she had received the Holy Spirit, (...) she taught and became a servant of the disciples."^[17]

Michel de Montaigne (*1533, †1592) was a French politician and philosopher. He is considered the most important successor of Epicurus. At the age of 38, he moved back from working life in order to devote himself extensively to philosophy. He thought thoroughly about himself and his life. Thereby he created his famous Essais. Stoic contempt of outward appearances, criticism of the human arrogance and natural skepticism of any dogma characterize the Essais. Remarkably modern even to readers today, Montaigne's attempt to examine the world through the lens of the only thing he can depend on implicitly — his own judgment. He wrote, "The enjoyment of life requires a deliberate handling with it. I enjoy my life twice as much as the others."^[18] "Philosophy makes those who are devoted to her, happy and cheerful."^[19]

Like Epicurus, the center of the art of life for Montaigne was to find the right balance. But Montaigne turned to pleasure much more than Epicurus. Epicurus preferred to live as a single. Montaigne was married. "I think it's equally wrong to reject the natural desires, as to hang too much on them."^[20]

Arthur Schopenhauer (*1788, † 1860) was a German philosopher, author and lecturer. He established a system of empirical and metaphysical pessimism. The world for him was a "vale of tears, full of suffering. All happiness is an illusion. Life oscillates like a pendulum, back and forth between the pain and boredom".^[21] "Each life history is a story of suffering, a continuing series of large and small accidents."^[22]

Schopenhauer taught pessimism as a way to happiness. He found inspiration in Buddhism. In Buddhism, the outer world can be visualized as a field of suffering to awaken the enlightenment energy (Kundalini). Grief can dissolve inner blockages. Pessimism can sometimes be helpful, but it does not always.

Jeremy Bentham (* 1748 † 1832) was an English jurist, philosopher and social reformer. He became a leading theorist in Anglo-American philosophy of law, and a political radical whose ideas influenced the development of welfarism. He is best known for his advocacy of animal rights, the separation of church and state, freedom of expression and equal rights for women. He is considered the founder of classical utilitarianism. The greatest happiness for the greatest number (greatest-happiness-principle) is the guiding principle of Bentham's ethics. An act is therefore morally right if it is good for many people. For Bentham, the quantity of happiness was the deciding factor. His student John Stuart Mill represented, that cultural, intellectual and spiritual satisfaction also own a qualitative value.

Today's philosophy of happiness is strongly influenced by the happiness research. Happiness research is the quantitative study of happiness, positive and negative affect, well-being, quality of life and life satisfaction. The field has grown substantially since the late 20th century. The Greek thinkers are still current, but very important is also the positive thinking in its various forms (see Self-help, Positive psychology). Well known are Joseph Murphy, Dale Carnegie,Norman Vincent Peale, Wayne Dyer, Marianne Williamson, Oprah Winfrey and the Dalai Lama. They sold many books in the western book market and some are often seen on TV.

An important contemporary book on the philosophy of happiness wrote Ludwig Marcuse. In it he told humorous stories of many Western philosophers of happiness. He believed that there are only some moments of happiness in life, but the great permanent happiness does not exist.^[23] With this statement he is in opposition to many spiritual philosophers (Gautama Buddha, Laozi, Meister Eckhart, Patanjali). Professor Ludwig Marcuse (1894–1971), was a German philosopher. From 1940 to 1950 he lived in Los Angeles.

Jonathan Haidt is an American psychology professor. He wrote the book The Happiness Hypothesis in which he combines ancient philosophical and spiritual knowledge with the latest happiness research. His main teaching is the ethics of transcendence (living in God). Psychologically, it is shown that a person has in his brain an area for experiences of God. The enlightened one is happier than an unenlightened. Religion makes you happy, if not lived too dogmatic and intolerantly.

Haidt sees himself as an atheist, who does not believe in God, but advocates for reasons of inner happiness and health positive spiritual values, "If we rely on balanced wisdom - old and new, eastern and western, liberal and conservative - we can choose directions in our life that lead to satisfaction, happiness and a sense of purpose."^[24]

One contemporary thought experiment that has direct relevance to the philosophy of happiness is the experience machine thought experiment that was created by the American philosopher Robert Nozick in Anarchy, State, Utopia. The thought experiment gives you the option to enter a machine that would give you the maximum amount of unending hedonistic pleasure for the rest of your life. But since most people would prefer not to take this kind of deal if offered shows that hedonistic pleasure is not the ultimate goal of human life, and that happiness or "the good life" therefore requires more than maximisation of pleasure.

Sonja Lyubomirsky is one of America's happiness researchers. She is a professor and wrote the international bestseller The How of Happiness.^[25] She wondered what one can do if one want to get a happy life. She accepted that, after the current state of research about 50 percent of a given human's happiness level is genetically determined. About 10% of happiness is affected by external living conditions. But 40% of happiness can be influenced by the mind of a person.

After Sonja Lyubomirsky the secret of lasting happiness is that we turn our attention mainly to those 40% and constantly maintain our inner happiness. We should exercise regularly, avoid negative thoughts and encourage positive thoughts, maintain our social relationships and have a positive task in our lives. Many studies demonstrate the positive effects of meditation on our happiness, "Meditate every day. Begin with five minutes and increase to up to 20 minutes a day."^[26]

Sonja Lyubomirsky developed a twelve-point program for personal happiness. The main point for her is gratitude. We should focus on the positives in our lives and be grateful. We should live according to principles such as optimism, joy, helpfulness, forgiveness, good social relationships, good health care and a positive task if we want to achieve a happy and fulfilling life.^[27]

Richard Layard (born 15 March 1934) is a British economist. He was founder-director in 1990 of the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics. He argues that people in the West could live happier lives, if instead of focusing on the growth of the outer wealth, they concentrated on the growth of inner happiness. At the moment the unbridled selfishness destroys the growth of general happiness. People in the West need a new philosophy on the basis of the happiness research. The goal should be the greatest happiness of all.^[28]

Richard Layard stated, "Although the people in the West have for decades got richer, they have not become happier. (...) Studies show that people are not happier today than 50 years ago. And this is despite the fact that the real median income in this period has more than doubled."^[29] On the contrary, people are getting richer externally, and internally unhappier. The likelihood of suffering from a clinical depression is now ten times as large as a century ago.^[30]

Bhutan is a small landlocked country in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China. Gross national happiness (GNH) is a concept introduced by the King of Bhutan in 1972 as an alternative to the Gross domestic product. Although the GNH framework reflects its Buddhist origins, it is based upon the empirical research of happiness, positive psychology and wellbeing. The philosophy of happiness of Bhutan rests on four pillars: a healthy environment, a good economy, a democratic government and the anchoring in a positive religion / culture.