Thus Mammon Spake

Abstract

Even those who endorse the religious worldview underlying the optimism discussed in the first chapter frequently willfully resist the efforts required to cooperate with God and to respond to the demands that love places upon us with respect to God and neighbor. Like the demons in Paradise Lost, many of us are beguiled by the prospect of pursuing our own happiness and well-being (or flourishing) on our own power, of making a Heaven of the Hell that the philosophy of pessimism has taught us is our current abode. Thus many of us adopt the frame of mind in which we are willing to trust in our own powers, skill, artistry, intelligence, and all the magnificent resources of our own selves. No need of God. No loss in rebellion. This chapter defends certain maligned aspects of a popular philosophical methodology and then conducts a critical study of the current leading literature on well-being and happiness. Assuming we can come to have knowledge of these matters, the chapter critically examines and argues against hedonistic, desire-fulfillment, and perfectionistic theories of well-being, advocating instead for an objective-list theory, and critically examines and argues against hedonistic and life-satisfaction theories of happiness, advocating instead for the Psychic Affirmation view. Thus, the attempt to seek out happiness and well-being on our own power without the benefit of reconciliation with the divine need not be thwarted by skepticism about happiness and well-being.