Published: 2025-05-19

Zwischen jenseitiger Erfüllung und diesseitigem Happiness Engeneering

Wolfgang E.J. Weber
Saeculum Christianum. Historical Writings
Section: Rozprawy i Artykuły
https://doi.org/10.21697/sc.2025.32.1.20

Abstract

The pursuit of the highest level of positive emotionality, i.e., happiness, is one of the most important anthropological motives of human behavior, which varies according to historical and social circumstances and in practice. Accordingly, it is an important object of cultural-historical research. Currently, however, other disciplines are primarily concerned with the analysis of the preconditions, manifestations and, not least, optimization possibilities of happiness: Cultural Sociology, Philosophy, Psychology, Medicine and last but not least Economics. However, their results often lack historical depth. This essay attempts to remedy this shortcoming. It traces the development of typical happiness aspirations and happiness practices from one epoch to the next and makes it clear that the loss of otherworldly and other higher perspectives of happiness in favour of this-worldly happiness economization has led to a situation from which only a total human reprogramming seems to lead to happiness.

Keywords:

happiness, Middle Ages, modern times, modernity, postmodernity, human engineering

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Citation rules

Weber , W. E. (2025). Zwischen jenseitiger Erfüllung und diesseitigem Happiness Engeneering. Saeculum Christianum. Historical Writings, 32(1), 284–300. https://doi.org/10.21697/sc.2025.32.1.20

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