The challenges for happiness education in Hong Kong

Abstract

Statistics shows that more children and adolescents in Hong Kong committed suicide in recent years. In a considerable number of cases, the victims seemed to think that their lives were unhappy and meaningless. In response to this, many schools seek help from tradition wisdom and reintroduce Confucianism in their moral education programmes in order to help students build a positive view of life. In this paper, I shall argue that this strategy is ineffective as long as it ignores the fact that (1) Confucian concepts of “good life” and “happiness” are no longer fully compatible with the lifestyle of modern Hong Kong people; and (2) teenagers are strongly influenced by a simplified version of liberalism spread by the media, and do not think people can have meaningful discussions on values. I would also try to show that, by adopting a historical approach to compare and contrast different conceptions of “happiness” and “good life,” students will be aware of alternatives to their own views. It is then more likely to convince them that their lives a remeaningful not only to themselves but also to other people.