Marta Faustino

NOVA University Lisbon

On the ‘How’ and the ‘Why’. Nietzsche’s Version of Happiness and the Good Life

2 May 2023, 17h00 (Lisbon Summer Time — GMT+1)

Sala Mattos Romão (Room C201.J – Department of Philosophy)

School of Arts and Humanities – University of Lisbon

Abstract

“People don’t strive for happiness, only the English do” (TI, Arrows, 12). Based on this and other similar claims, Nietzsche is commonly interpreted as strongly despising and even rejecting any possible conception (or pursuit) of happiness and what the ancients called ‘the good life’. And yet, one of the most pervasive topics in Nietzsche’s work is the problem of human suffering, the pursuit of meaning (or purpose) in life and the possibility of a joyful or affirmative disposition towards existence. Despite his general suspicion against classic definitions of happiness, by shifting attention from the happy to the meaningful life, Nietzsche concludes, in the same aphorism, that “If you have your ‘why?’ in life, you can get along with almost any ‘how?’” (idem). Having this aphorism as a starting point, this talk will show that Nietzsche’s criticism to common conceptions of happiness should be seen as a complexification, rather than a rejection, of the very notion of human happiness, with important implications for contemporary discussions on the topic. After contrasting Nietzsche’s views with some of the main contemporary theories of happiness, I will emphasize the relevance of achieving meaning or purpose in life (rather than pleasure, satisfaction or any particular goods) and outline what I take to be Nietzsche’s most important contributions to the contemporary debate on happiness, meaning and well-being in human life.