Émilie du Châtelet on Happiness: Passions and Character

This talk will attempt to address these two essential aspects of Du Châtelet’s Discourse on Happiness. First, what is Du Châtelet’s account of happiness? The first pages of the Discourse lead one in different directions concerning her theory of the nature of happiness. I will argue that an analysis of the text provides evidence for ultimately interpreting her account as a version of hedonism rather than a desire-based or a pluralist account of happiness. While her view is hedonistic, it will be shown that her emphasis on passions as uniquely capable of sustaining long-term pleasure is unique. This emphasis makes her version of hedonism more psychologically nuanced than more typical versions of the view.

The second aspect of her account concerns what Du Châtelet calls the “great machines of happiness.” Du Châtelet provides a list of five things that are somehow related to happiness: freedom from prejudice, health, virtue, having tastes and passions, and being susceptible to illusions. Here, it will be argued that Du Châtelet’s great machines of happiness are best understood as the features of a person’s physical or psychological constitution, or orientation toward the world which enable her to achieve happiness.