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Perceived Desire Fulfilment Theory Essay

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In this essay, I will explain and discuss four main theories of happiness, and defend why the perceived desire fulfilment theory is my preferred theory of happiness, based on its usefulness for not only the individual, but also society as a whole, and the fact that it lacks any very glaring faults. Firstly, I will lay out and extrapolate upon the four popular theories of happiness that this essay will be discussing - hedonism, life satisfaction theory, objective list theory, and finally, my preferred choice; perceived desire satisfaction theory. After this, I will explain the faults in the first three theories that prevent me from preferring them, and how perceived desire satisfaction theory circumvents these faults. I will then discuss various objections concerning the perceived desire fulfilment theory, and why I believe that these objections are – compared to the objections about the other theories presented – not that important. Finally, I will summarise the various ways in which I believe perceived desire fulfilment theory is more useful and more easily applied than …show more content…

Happiness - and efforts to objectively measure and define it – is a topic that, to this day, remains hotly debated and theorised. Trying to make objective something that is seen as inherently subjective is difficult, if not impossible, but that fact has yet to deter philosophers putting forward theories for what constitutes happiness, and how to achieve it. One popular happiness theory is that of hedonism. Originally stemming from Bentham's utilitarianism theories, hedonism's argument for happiness is very simple; a happy life is one where the person maximises feelings of pleasure and minimises feelings of pain, similar to how a utilitarian would want to

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