The question of happiness is one of the oldest questions, as old as philosophy itself. One might even say that it is the question from which philosophy begins. Yet it is a question which retains its urgency for us today. What makes people happy? What kind of life is conducive to happiness? From talk shows to self-help books and therapy rooms, from philosophy to economics and psychology, the answer to this question remains as important and elusive as ever. In the face of proliferating scientific studies of happiness, what can a return to a humanistic approach, and a return to the Greek tradition, teach us about happiness?

This is the question which will guide the 4th Annual Platsis Symposium 2005 at the University of Michigan that will be held by the Modern Greek Program Friday September 16, starting at 3pm in the Vandenberg Room of the Michigan League (911 N. University St.) Talks will be given from 3-6pm, a reception will be held from 6-8pm, and a round table discussion with the speakers will be held from 8-10pm. We will discover that the Greek tradition had a much richer notion of happiness than our own. Instead of a happiness which is simply a subjective and emotional well-being, we can learn how to understand happiness as ethical, as political, as being at stake in the whole narrative of our lives. The speakers will include Stephen White (Univ of Texas, Austin), Darrin McMahon (Florida State Univ) and Daniel Robinson (Oxford Univ).