2006
Vaishali Mamgain
- Associate Professor
- University of Southern Maine
Abstract
In neoclassical economic theory (the prevailing orthodoxy) self-interested rational agents are said to maximize utility that is defined mainly in relation to income and wealth. There is increasing evidence, within economics and other disciplines, that beyond a certain level, greater income or greater consumption may not lead to greater happiness. This course presents this research to students and invites them to contemplate philosophical questions regarding the meaning of happiness, its causes and its conditions.