Topic:
Using a collection of resources you gather online, in our college library online databases, and those from our course readings, write your own Happiness Hypothesis. Your paper can investigate questions such as:
- What makes people happy?
- How can people be happier?
- What recent changes in today’s society affect people’s happiness?
- What have philosophers and scientists taught us about the nature of happiness?
- What elements of biology, psychology, philosophy and religion need to be considered when investigating the nature of happiness?
- From an evolutionary point of view, what is the role of happiness and unhappiness? Why is it so hard for people to be happy?
- Your paper can also include some personal reflection about your own life and what you have learned about this topic before or during our course this semester.
You are expected to integrate at least five different outside sources into your paper (in addition to our assigned readings, which you are also welcome to cite and discuss). You have begun this research process in Discussion 14. Be sure that your Works Cited page accurately cites all sources references inside your paper.
About your sources
I am expecting your sources to be scholarly sources, not popular sources. For more information about the difference, please read thisLinks to an external site.. In addition, your paper should not be based on editorials or short news article, but rather, rigorous academic research. In addition, whenever possible, cite the PRIMARY source, not the secondary source. Example: say you find an article in Time magazine that summarizes a study conducted by researchers at Princeton University on the nature of happiness. Instead of citing this Time article, go further. Find the published study by the researchers at Princeton. Maybe they published their study in an academic journal, like The Journal of Psychology. Find their original article documenting their study, and cite THAT.
Finally, your paper should be at least five full pages, and up to seven pages, not including a Works Cited page. If your paper is less than five pages, you will not get a passing grade, so make sure you meet the page requirement.
I am very excited to read these papers! Good luck!