What is the nature of Happiness?
April 25, 2010 – 7:29 amGreetings to all Philosophers
The Evening Philosophy Group will meet Wednesday, April 28th, 2010 at 7:00 p.m.
The topic is: What is the nature of Happiness?
When asked in many surveys about the most important thing in life, most respondents answer is Happiness (over 50% followed at a smaller rate by love, success, good health and religion). But when asked to define Happiness, most people cannot do it specifically except by the things that make them happy such as money and love. This is not an adequate answer and the definitions of Happiness are all over the map.
How do you define Happiness? Try, if you like, to complete the sentence: Happiness to me is————- and bring your answer to the meeting, so you could share it with the group.
Here are sample of definitions obtained though Wikipedia and internet blogs:
Happiness is a state of mind or feeling characterized by contentment, satisfaction, pleasure or joy.
Happiness is when what you think, what you say and what you do are in harmony.
Happiness is when you balance your emotions with your thinking ability, constantly facing life’s challenges with the thought of something better coming your way.
Happiness is being able to face challenges and overcome them with a smile on your face and a smile on your heart.
As you can see, the notion of Happiness is quite vague and can be thought of as a state of mind, a level of prosperity, the reward for good behavior and an outcome of familial harmony or something else. Some philosophers have also defined happiness as satisfaction of desires and unhappiness as denial of these desires.
When you want to examine Happiness you can go back in time to good old Aristotle (Niomachean Ethics): “The highest good, the greatest happiness for man, is the realization of his intellect. Contemplation, then, is the end all and the be all of happiness”. In The Rhetoric, Aristotle is more specific: “The elements of Happiness must be: Gentle birth, a wide circle of friends a virtuous circle of friends, wealth, creditable offspring and a comfortable old age. Also the physical virtues, reputation, status, good luck, prudence, courage, justice and moderation”. Aristotle also concludes that happiness is the motive of all our actions. Do you agree with Aristotle or not?
A common understanding of Happiness is that it does not lie in objects of enjoyment, but that both happiness and unhappiness lies in one’s imagination. Dr H.C. Bharill (the Jain World) provides an interesting example to ponder: “A man has a two story house, on the right is a five story house, and on the left is a simple cottage. When he looks right, he feels unhappy and when he looks left he feels happy”
Researchers have tried to develop scales to rate the happiness or unhappiness of a moment. Some have accepted the following definition: “ A person can be considered to have experience a happy moment if the person choose to re-live it as an end in itself if offered at no cost”. The Oxford Happiness questionnaire developed by Michael Argyle and Peter Hill is a good way to get a snapshot of your current level of happiness. You can click on:
http://www.meaningandhappiness.com/oxford-happiness-questionnaire/214/
And if you wish compute your score.
Have happy thoughts, we will see you Wednesday.
Raymond Dabbah
One Response to “What is the nature of Happiness?”
Greetings to all Philosophers
The Evening Philosophy group will meet Wednesday April 28th at 7:00 p.m. at the Aliso Viejo Library
The topic is: What is the nature of Happiness?
A quick reminder for the meeting with the results of several Happiness Surveys:
A series of World Happiness surveys from 1946 to 2006 shows some interesting results that contradict the assumption that, despite economic growth and other changes, the public of given societies have not gone any happier.
The countries that show clear trends toward rising happiness are: India, Ireland, Mexico, Puerto Rico and south Korea (Steeply rising trends); Argentina, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, The Netherland, Poland, South Africa, Spain and Sweden (rising trends).
The U.S., Switzerland and Norway show flat trends. The U.S. shows a declining trend from 1940 to 1980 and a rising trend from 1980 to 2006.
Austria, Belgium, The U.K. and West Germany show downward trends. The U.K. shows a downward trend from 1946 to 1979 and a rising trend from 1980 to 2006.
Another survey published in 2009 and obtained between 2005 and 2008 (1.3 Millions respondents with self reporting well-being in addition to other factors such as weather, home prices and other factors that are known reasons to frown or smile), answer the happiness question at the U.S. state level. The ten top happiest states are in order:
Louisiana (Before Katrina), Hawaii, Florida, Tennessee, Arizona, Mississippi, Montana, South Carolina, Alabama and Maine.
Minnesota is #26 and California #46 on this happiness survey. The last five are: New York (worst), Connecticut, New Jersey, Michigan and Indiana.
How do you interpret these surveys?
Bring your answers Wednesday.
Raymond Dabbah
By admin on Apr 27, 2010