What is "biohappiness"

Biohappiness is the elevation of utility in humans through biological methods, including germline engineering through screening embryos with genes associated with a high level of happiness, or the use of drugs intended to raise baseline levels of happiness. The object is to facilitate the achievement of a state of "better than well."

Proponents of biohappiness include the philosophical abolitionist David Pearce, whose goal is to end the suffering of all sentient beings; and the Canadian ethicist Mark Alan Walker. Walker has sought to defend biohappiness on the grounds that happiness ought to be of interest to a wide range of moral theorists; and that hyperthymia, a state of high baseline happiness, is associated with better outcomes in health and human achievement.

The concept of biohappiness also has its high-profile critics, including Leon Kass, who served on the President's Council on Bioethics during the presidency of George W. Bush.