1. What is happiness?
I offer this definition for your slings and arrows...
Definition of Happiness: An ever-changing
condition consisting of an elevated, buoyant mood. Or, deeply rooted
pleasure based upon longer-term satisfaction.
2. Is happiness a legitimate subject for
philosophical inquiry?
As far as can tell, it has been given short
shrift by traditional academics. Certainly in my college and
post-graduate studies, we never spent time on it.... though the Ancients
did.
Aristotle believed by eudaemonia, a word commonly
understood by the Greeks of his age as a form of happiness. However,
it was not construed as pleasure per se.
3. How can we be happy?
Happiness would appear to have several basic
pre-conditions:
- basic life conditions - being free of calamities. Tom
S. disagrees - people who win lotteries can be miserable.
- natural set-points - our own internal psychological
thermostats. perhaps set genetically.
- good health - Tom S. disagrees. Yoshio: Healthy
is good, but unhealthy people can be happy. Tom S.: Art Buchwald
stopped dialysis but decided to die and was happy.
- some income or basic standard of living
Beyond those preconditions, these activities may have an
impact on happiness. Most have been studied intensively by psychologists and
philosophers:
- Loving relationship with a spouse
- Loving relationship with family
- Loving relationship with friends
- Creativity - use of your own
- Strong health
- Appreciation of art
- Connection to the community or to a political body
- Meditation and breathing
- Prayer and religion
- Modeling on the success at being happy of others
- Appreciation - of the good things in life; or
inversely, of benefits of not experiencing pain; or knowing pain's
limitations.
- Curiosity
- Acceptance
- Order -
- Physical Activity
- Honor - being principled and loyal
- Status- property ownership
- Power
- Independence
- Idealism
- Vengeance (Steven Rice's idea only!)
- Romance
- Eating
- Saving
- Tranquility
Steven Rice's Keys to Happiness: He rated his own keys.
RESOURCES: Basic introduction to the topic:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happiness
Historical approach:
Aristotle on Eudaemonia. See his Ethics
HERE.
Read: Introduction, then Ethics, pages
23-41
Scientific - psychological approach:
Site: http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/
Article by Seligman and Stern from American
Psychologist http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/images/apaarticle.pdf
(12 pages)
Popular approach:
The Happy Guy
http://www.thehappyguy.com/
See definitions - not a rigorous approach,
but interesting
The World Database of Happniess
http://www1.eur.nl/fsw/happiness/
One interesting aspect of this site is
the index of hapines sby nation. Sweden at 3.3 is very happy. Norway, which
has billions in reserve form its oil profits and a high standard of living,
does not fare much better than te USA. (2.18)
Interesting site:
http://www.twth.org/
A non-profit site, but they want your
info to download their e-book.
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