In this brief history, philosopher Nicholas White reviews 2,500 years of philosophical thought about happiness.

• Addresses key questions such as: What is happiness? Should happiness play such a dominant role in our lives? How can we deal with conflicts between the various things that make us happy?
• Considers the ways in which major thinkers from antiquity to the modern day have treated happiness: from Plato’s notion of the harmony of the soul, through to Nietzsche’s championing of conflict over harmony.
• Relates questions about happiness to ethics and to practical philosophy.