Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Critical Perspectives in Happiness Research

The Birth of Modern Happiness

  • Book
  • © 2014

Overview

Authors:
  1. Luka Zevnik

    1. University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

  • Explores the concept of modernization as the collective pursuit of happiness
  • Places the concept of happiness into a historical and cultural context
  • Analyses the relationship of modern consumer culture with happiness in contemporary western societies
  • Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this book

Log in via an institution
eBook USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access

Licence this eBook for your library

Institutional subscriptions

Table of contents (8 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xiv
    Download chapter PDF

  2. The Return to Happiness

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
      Download chapter PDF

    2. Overview of Happiness Research

      • Luka Zevnik
      Pages 3-11

    3. Happiness, Culture and Relations of Power

      • Luka Zevnik
      Pages 13-34

    4. The Return to Happiness: A New Interdisciplinary Approach to Happiness Research

      • Luka Zevnik
      Pages 35-61

  4. Back Matter

    Pages 149-158
    Download chapter PDF
Back to top

Keywords

About this book

This book presents an interdisciplinary exploration of the origins of happiness in the modern Western culture and makes the argument that happiness is not universal but is instead a culturally and historically specific experience, characteristic only to the Western world. It begins with an overview of the main research approaches to happiness and then studies the important but elusive theme in the context of culture and relations of power. The second part of the book analyses the social, religious, ethical and political processes that lead to the emergence of the experience of happiness, including consumer culture in contemporary societies. It presents an analysis of the medieval Christian experience which concludes that the modern experience of happiness only emerged in the 17th and 18th century, when the ideal of human existence increasingly started to be pursued in the present life. In its conclusion, this book explores the concept of modernization as the collective pursuit of happiness.  

Authors and Affiliations

  • University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Luka Zevnik

About the author

Dr. Luka Zevnik is assistant professor at University of Ljubljana. He is interdisciplinary oriented and has presented conference papers and published on happiness and emotions, popular culture, consumer culture, experience, cultural studies and neuroscience.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Critical Perspectives in Happiness Research

  • Book Subtitle: The Birth of Modern Happiness

  • Authors: Luka Zevnik

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-04403-3

  • Publisher: Springer Cham

  • eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and Law, Social Sciences (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-04402-6Published: 17 April 2014

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-319-35364-7Published: 03 September 2016

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-04403-3Published: 07 April 2014

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XIV, 158

  • Topics: Quality of Life Research, Positive Psychology

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Back to top

Search

Navigation