Why is happiness important to humanists? Age 7-14 Summary of lesson: Students will investigate how humanists think we can find happiness in our lives and why happiness in this life is so important to humanists. They will explore what happiness means and, through evaluating and categorising different possible ingredients of happiness, they will investigate the different ways people can find happiness, ask whether happiness means the same thing to everybody, and debate whether some sources of happiness are superior to others. They will learn how humanists believe that it is important for everyone to find their own way to be happy, debate whether the humanist focus on happiness is selfish, and learn that humanists believe one of the best ways to be happy is to make other people so. Finally, they will use what they have learned to write their own recipe for happiness. NB. The lesson contains some similar activities to this lesson but may be more Does life have any meaning? suitable for older or more able students. The lesson may be more suitable for younger How can I be happy? students. Lesson: Starter activities: Show students a closed box. Tell them that inside the box is happiness. Ask them what they think is inside and collect their ideas. Ask the students what the Tell them they are not allowed to use word ‘happiness’ means. the in their answer. If students use synonyms for happiness in their answers (e.g. words ‘happy’ or ‘happiness’ joy, pleasure, delight), then ask them what those words mean. Is it possible to come up with a non-circular definition of happiness? Activity:
Why is happiness important to humanists? Age 7-14 Summary of lesson: Students will investigate how humanists think we can find happiness in our lives and why happiness in this life is so important to humanists. They will explore what happiness means and, through evaluating and categorising different possible ingredients of happiness, they will investigate the different ways people can find happiness, ask whether happiness means the same thing to everybody, and debate whether some sources of happiness are superior to others. They will learn how humanists believe that it is important for everyone to find their own way to be happy, debate whether the humanist focus on happiness is selfish, and learn that humanists believe one of the best ways to be happy is to make other people so. Finally, they will use what they have learned to write their own recipe for happiness. NB. The lesson Does life have any meaning? contains some similar activities to this lesson but may be more suitable for older or more able students. The lesson How can I be happy? may be more suitable for younger students. Lesson: Starter activities: Show students a closed box. Tell them that inside the box is happiness. Ask them what they think is inside and collect their ideas. Ask the students what the word ‘happiness’ means. Tell them they are not allowed to use the words ‘happy’ or ‘happiness’ in their answer. If students use synonyms for happiness in their answers (e.g. joy, pleasure, delight), then ask them what those words mean. Is it possible to come up with a non-circular definition of happiness? Activity:
Happiness-Lesson-Why-is-happiness-important-to-humanists.docx