Happy-People-Pills For All (eBook)

Mark Walker is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at New Mexico State University, where he occupies the Richard L. Hedden Endowed Chair in Advanced Philosophical Studies. Dr. Walker also serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Evolution and Technology and on the Board of Directors of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies.

Acknowledgments ix

1 Introductory 1

2 What is Living and What is Dead in Brave New World 19

3 What DoWe Mean by 'Happiness'? 41

4 The Elements of the Good Life: It is a Very Big List 72

5 Wellbeing and Virtue 100

6 Happiness Promotes Perfection 120

7 Happy Pharmacology 155

8 Arguments for Happy-People-Pills 187

9 Ethical Objections 206

10 Happy-People-Pills and Public Policy 233

Index 273

"The philosophical portions of the book are good enough,
and I recommend Happy-People-Pills for All if you are
interested in a fun "what-if" discussion."
(PsycCRITIQUES, 10 February 2014)

"Summing Up: Recommended. With reservations.
General readers." (Choice, 1 January 2014)

"A fascinating and provocative argument, beautifully made.
This book challenges everything you believe about who deserves to
be happy, and why."

--Daniel Gilbert, Harvard University, Author of the
bestseller Stumbling on Happiness

"A game-changing contribution to philosophical debates about
happiness. Its arguments are ambitious, novel, and philosophically
focused and its discussion wide-ranging."

--Nicholas Agar, Victoria University of
Wellington, Author of Humanity's End: Why We Should Reject
Radical Enhancement

"Happy-People-Pills is a great examination of the
increasingly contentious issue of modifying our bodies and our
moods through pharmacology. Laying out in precise detail the
arguments for and against, Walker explains the importance of
happiness for health, life, and love and gives a powerful case for
using chemical technology to make more of it."

--Patrick Hopkins, Millsaps College, Author of Sex/Machine:
Readings in Culture, Gender, and Technology