Kant’s Pessimism about Happiness

Abstract

This essay investigates Kant’s various reasons for pessimism about happiness. I argue that some of Kant’s concerns about whether (or to what extent) happiness is possible for us are more pressing than others, and some can be more easily mitigated. Moreover, although he tends to emphasize the difficulties in securing personal happiness, Kant’s texts offer several helpful strategies for ways of acting and living that can help us avoid some key sources of discontent, thereby increasing our chances for being happy in life.