can technology make us happy - springer

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Look Inside Get Access Find out how to access previewonly content WellBeing in Contemporary Society Happiness Studies Book Series 2015, pp 93113 Date: 04 Nov 2014 Can Technology Make Us Happy? Abstract The chapter introduces a distinction between a personrelated and a circumstance directed type of happiness in order to investigate in which way modern technology can contribute to human happiness. This distinction is elaborated as the difference between ‘achiever’s happiness’ and ‘spectator’s happiness’. Looking at the ethical tradition, it is argued that moral philosophers have certain expectations about what should count as true happiness for human beings, who can act in accordance with moral values. The essay presents three arguments for the superiority of achiever’s happiness from a moral point of view. Looking at modern technology it is argued that we find both in an optimistic and a pessimistic evaluation of modern technology valuable insights into the role that technology can (and can not) play for the human striving for happiness. Finally persuasive technologies are presented as one type of recent technologies that promises to contribute to achiever’s happiness if developed while taking ethical requirements into account. Page %P Page 1

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Technology and Happiness

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  • LookInsideGetAccessFindouthowtoaccesspreviewonlycontentWellBeinginContemporarySocietyHappinessStudiesBookSeries2015,pp93113Date:04Nov2014

    CanTechnologyMakeUsHappy?AbstractThechapterintroducesadistinctionbetweenapersonrelatedandacircumstancedirectedtypeofhappinessinordertoinvestigateinwhichwaymoderntechnologycancontributetohumanhappiness.Thisdistinctioniselaboratedasthedifferencebetweenachievershappinessandspectatorshappiness.Lookingattheethicaltradition,itisarguedthatmoralphilosophershavecertainexpectationsaboutwhatshouldcountastruehappinessforhumanbeings,whocanactinaccordancewithmoralvalues.Theessaypresentsthreeargumentsforthesuperiorityofachievershappinessfromamoralpointofview.Lookingatmoderntechnologyitisarguedthatwefindbothinanoptimisticandapessimisticevaluationofmoderntechnologyvaluableinsightsintotherolethattechnologycan(andcannot)playforthehumanstrivingforhappiness.Finallypersuasivetechnologiesarepresentedasonetypeofrecenttechnologiesthatpromisestocontributetoachievershappinessifdevelopedwhiletakingethicalrequirementsintoaccount.

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    AboutthisChapter

    TitleCanTechnologyMakeUsHappy?

    BookTitleWellBeinginContemporarySociety

    Pagespp93113

    Copyright2015

    DOI10.1007/9783319064598_6

    PrintISBN9783319064581

    OnlineISBN9783319064598

    SeriesTitleHappinessStudiesBookSeries

    SeriesISSN22137513

    PublisherSpringerInternationalPublishing

    CopyrightHolderSpringerInternationalPublishingSwitzerland

    AdditionalLinks

    AboutthisBook

    Topics

    QualityofLifeResearch

    PositivePsychology

    Ethics

    EconomicPolicy

    Keywords

    Moderntechnologyandhappiness

    Humanhappiness

    Happinessandcontemporarysociety

    Spectatorshappinessandachievershappiness

    Ethicalidealofhappiness

    eBookPackages

    eBookPackageenglishHumanities,SocialSciences&Law

    eBookPackageenglishfullCollection

  • Editors

    JohnnyH.Sraker (2)

    JanWillemVanderRijt (3)

    JelledeBoer (4)

    PakHangWong (5)

    PhilipBrey (6)

    EditorAffiliations

    2.DepartmentofPhilosophy,UniversityofTwente

    3.DepartmentofPhilosophyandEconomics,UniversityofBayreuth

    4.DepartmentofPhilosophy,DelftUniversityofTechnology

    5.InstituteforScience,UniversityofOxford

    6.DepartmentofPhilosophy,UniversityofTwente

    Authors

    AndreasSpahn(7)

    AuthorAffiliations

    7.PhilosophyandEthicsofTechnology,IE&IS,EindhovenUniversityofTechnology,Postbus513,5600MB,Eindhoven,TheNetherlands

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