The history of happiness is no ordinary history, and the subject is
by no means ordinary either. The idea of happiness points us to an
all-inclusive assessment of a person’s condition. It makes a claim, at
least, to take into account all considerations about what’s desirable
and worthwhile. The history of happiness might thus claim to be
relevant to everything concerning human, or even other, beings. On
both sides, the concept and the history, there seem to be no boundaries
within which to work. On various grounds, some contours and
limits are called for.
The contours should come from the problem that the concept
raises. It attempts and purports to include, as I’ve just said, everything
that’s desirable and worthwhile for humans. As the history of
happiness shows, however, this totality isn’t easy to grasp.