In pursuit of the subject of happiness : a genealogy : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Psychology at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand /

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorBeckett, Christine
dc.date.accessioned2018-01-11T01:20:51Z
dc.date.available2018-01-11T01:20:51Z
dc.date.issued2005
dc.description.abstractThis study is a Foucauldian genealogy of the truth and knowledge produced by the Science of Happiness, which is part of the Positive Psychology movement; this is a an historical analytic of the scientific truths and knowledges of the present. Psychological well-being, or happiness, has become a legitimate, and burgeoning, object of scientific inquiry since the formation of the Positive Psychology movement in 2000. The first section reviews the literature for findings from the new Science of Psychology and also reviews the literature on the use of the methodology of genealogy as a research practice. The second section contains the genealogy which, following Foucault's advice, starts with Descartes and the ruptures of the Enlightenment, following the transition of happiness from a matter of luck or chance or the gift of the gods, to a matter that man has control over and the Science of Psychology has an interest in. This section takes fragments of text from Descartes, Spinoza, Bacon, Locke, Blackstone, Jefferson, Bentham, Mill, Carlyle, Dickens, and Skinner to build the genealogy and to show the contingencies of the past that brought us to the scientific 'truths' of the present. The final section briefly reviews the genealogy and explores the trajectories for future work on the subjectivity produced by the scientific subject of happiness.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10179/12519
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherMassey Universityen_US
dc.rightsThe Authoren_US
dc.subjectHappiness -- Historyen_US
dc.subjectWell-beingen_US
dc.titleIn pursuit of the subject of happiness : a genealogy : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Psychology at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand /en_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
massey.contributor.authorBeckett, Christine
thesis.degree.disciplinePsychologyen_US
thesis.degree.grantorMassey Universityen_US
thesis.degree.levelMastersen_US
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Arts (M. A.)en_US
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Thumbnail Image
Name:
01_front.pdf
Size:
122.5 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Download
Thumbnail Image
Name:
02_whole.pdf
Size:
6.34 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
license.txt
Size:
3.32 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download
Collections
Theses and Dissertations