Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book provides a survey of some of the developments in business, psychology, finance, marketing, and smart technology. It also notes the legacy of the work of Emile Chartier, whose contributions to the literature and philosophy of happiness in the commodification of happiness. The chapter traces a theoretical counter-narrative to the happiness industry and its products. It surveys some of Zizek’s arguments as well as those of Freud and Lacan. The chapter also provides an overview of some of the major philosophical positions on happiness that these psychoanalytic theorists use as critical fuel for their arguments. Moreover, what makes happiness such a powerful new tool for literary theory is its interdisciplinary approach to literature. It is an approach where philosophical, psychological, scientific, political, and business concerns are often called upon to gain insight on literary ones.