Joy
I browsed in vain three philosophical internet encyclopedias ( The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Historisches Wörterbuch der Philosophie and L'Encyclopédie philosophique ) to find an entry on joy ( Freude, joie ). Joy is apparently not a major philosophical concern, but something subordinate to bigger questions. There seems to be two philosophical approaches to joy. In the first one, it is associated with general discussion on emotions. In the western tradition, emotions stand for an inchoate or lower form of understanding, or even something opposite to the reason. On the other side, joy is connected to pleasure. Pleasure for its part stands for something sensuous, which again introduces the question whether gratification of senses is tantamount to happiness - and whether happiness is the ultimate goal of human existence. Religion in general and Christianity in particular provides a deeper understanding of joy. The Christian gospel, euangelion, is "the good new...