Biohappiness

Biohappiness, or bio-happiness, is the elevation of well-being in humans and other animals 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 transhumanist philosopher David Pearce, whose goal is to end the suffering of all sentient beings and the Canadian ethicist Mark Alan Walker. Walker coined the term "bio-happiness" to describe the idea of directly manipulating the biological roots of happiness in order to increase it. He sought to defend it 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.