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The Teaching Of Happiness In Mainland China: In Light Of Aristotle And Marx, Zhaojun Xu

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In this dissertation, the teaching of happiness through morality courses in Mainland China is explored. The exploration centers on three questions: 1) What should be taught to students in terms of happiness? 2) Should schools focus on the cultivation of voluntary virtue or habituation of virtuous actions? And 3) what is the relation between happiness and achievement and/or sacrifice of self-interest? Based on both Aristotle’s and Marx’s views on these questions, the author argues that a comprehensive rather than a “correct” understanding of happiness should be taught to the students. Also, the author suggests that the goal of habituating students …