ABSTRACT
Happiness is an emotion dependent upon a harmonious relationship between the individual and his situation, which we may summarise as 'enmeshment'; the characteristic form of appraisal associated with it is the belief that whatever aspect of one's situation one contemplates fits one's view of life. The Republic ensures happiness by ensuring enmeshment, but this is only achieved by means that a hostile critic summarises as 'the arts of indoctrination, inquisition, political lying and the censorship of opinions and tastes'. 1 The first question to be considered, therefore, is whether there is good reason to promote happiness in such a determined manner as Plato does.
