Sunday, January 13, 2013

Organism, Happiness, Well-Being, Morality

The traditional concept of 'Happiness'--the aggregate of the satisfactions of desires--to which Kant subscribes, is that of an entity that is a private bundle of sensory inclinations.  In contrast, the 'Well-Being' of an Organism can be defined as the 'optimum harmonious functioning of all vital processes'.  So, plainly, Well-Being is a more comprehensive Good than is Happiness.  Furthermore, included in those vital processes are not only Motility, but Intellect and Sociality, as well.  Thus, in an Organism, Well-Being and Doing-Good are synonymous, as are, thus, 'Health' and 'Morality'.  Accordingly, since Kant's Highest Good includes and preserves, as is, traditional Happiness, it is, qua a Good, inferior to Organistic Well-Being.  Likewise, since Organism, in his system, is a concept of Reflective Judgment, the latter is the ground of a greater Good than is Reason.

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