A Balanced Psychology And A Full Life Analysis

The fact that happiness is a state of well-being pursued by humans since the beginning of humanity is not new. Since the ancient Greek philosophers, happiness has always been a goal for people. However, the definition of happiness is still subjective and controversial as Mark Kingwell, an award-winning social critic, essayist, and professor of philosophy at the University of Toronto, presents in his article “In pursuit of Happiness." The author begins to build his credibility by calling everyday facts and emotions, also by citing philosophers, researchers, and other authors. Using the sources effectively in a persuasive piece, Kingwell demonstrates, through examples and science researches, the difficulty in defining happiness, which can result in unhappiness.

Arguably, the happier an individual is, the better the quality of their life, and the better off they are. But despite this, there are people who will even argue that lower levels of happiness are the best because you maintain the ability to progress in life and your motivation is still present. Although many people will only see two sides to this argument, there is a totally different view that provides the optimal quality of life and the most beneficial outcome in the big picture; and that is moderate happiness.

Are you truly living without happiness? One could live a plentiful life alone, and who are we to say that the happiness that comes along with belonging to a community is essential to life? Consequently, if a problem were to arise, one would have to be prepared to face it alone. According to the film Stranger Than Fiction directed by Marc Forster you can live a life of contentment by yourself, but to overcome the obstacles that life presents, you need a community to support you. Harold Crick is perfectly satisfied with his life of numbers and being alone. But once a life or death situation emerges, Harold needs help from others, he needs to create a community for himself. He finds a friend in his coworker Dave, a romantic partner in his auditee Ana Pascal, and an expert on his current problem in Professor Jules Hilbert. Though Harold was able to coast through most of his life by himself, without these people he wouldn 't have survived.

In the search for happiness, both Ginny Graves and Ruth Whippman present their own ideas and beliefs. I believe that Whippman is more persuasive compared to Ginny Graves through her use of arguments and evidence. This can be attributed to Whippman’s arguments being reinforced with evidence and her expertise on the matter.

People need authentic human interaction to be truly happy. This claim is supported by the novel, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, the film, Pleasantville directed by Gary Ross, and the article, Why Loneliness Is Bad for Your Health by Nancy Shute.

In Mark Kingwell’s excerpt, “In Pursuit of Happiness,” he discusses the challenge of defining happiness. This work serves to inform the audience on a topic they may never have considered while using evidence and support from philosophers, authors, and even scientists to contribute to various viewpoints on the subject. At the end of the excerpt, Kingwell discusses happiness, even unhappiness, and concludes with his own opinions on the subject.

There once lived an altruistic person that loved to helped others. But that altruistic person was also a very egoistic person. Egoism is about the selfishness and the self-interest of human beings, while altruism is more about the selflessness, and the well-being of others. At first sight, egoism and altruism may seem to be two completely different behaviors. But in reality egoism and altruism are just two sides of the same coin. Altruism and egoism are both essential to pave a path to a good life, but egoism seems to be a bigger part of human nature; Ayn Rand had expressed the values of human ego; the pursuit of happiness and the human’s self-interest are considered an egoistic behavior.

Humans are one of the most sociable creatures on this planet. We need social interaction to live our daily lives, because without it are we really human? In the book Frankenstein by Mary Shelley we see several examples of people isolating themselves from one another. Through this isolation we see what happens to their character both physically and mentally. Humans are not meant to be alone, we were meant to be with each other and to enjoy one's presence, but if we take away this social interaction what are the true consequences that lie down that path?

As social beings, most of us feel the need to interact and enjoy the company of others. A popular definition of loneliness, is that its that feeling we get when this interaction is missing. However, loneliness is not the same as being alone or isolated. One can choose to be alone and enjoy a very blissful life. Or one can be very active in community groups, friends, and even family and still feel lonely. Loneliness is not an outward appearance, its an internal battle that causes weakness, and spiritual isolation within a person.

In his article "In Pursuit of Happiness: Better Living from Plato to Prozac," Mark Kingwell describes how there has been many debates on the meaning of happiness for many years yet still a singular, justifiable definition eludes society. The pursuit to define and understand happiness has invited several debates, questions, arguments, and suggestions alike. In 1996, a hand full of genetic and behavioral studies suggest evidence that one’s achievable degree of happiness is genetically decided, with evidences showing that no achievement will change your happiness, you are either happy or you’re not. Some studies demonstrated a correlation between dopamine levels in the brain and expressions of personal satisfaction, while others indicated that

Not many achieve happiness in their lifetime. Either they do not live long enough to witness it or they are not prepared for what their happiness is. Happiness is very subjective. Each person’s version of happiness is different. This version of happiness is universal. It applies everywhere and is a concept that most have. Happiness is achieving your own dreams and fulfilling your own need of satiation.

What made you happy as a child? Children do not think of money as bringing happiness to their lives. The only things that matter are how they perceive pleasure, how much they feel loved, and what brings them joy. As people grow older, they may assume that the more money they have, the happier they will be. While there are many articles and research studies done on Happiness, I have chosen to write about Daniel Haybron’s article “Happiness and It’s Discontent,” and Diener and Biswas-Diener’s article “Can Money Buy Happiness.” Haybron suggests that satisfaction does not equate happiness, on the other hand Diener and Biswas-Diener uses satisfaction studies to measure happiness. Also, while Haybron’s article is mostly about the emotional state,

I look at this from a utilitarian perspective were the moral thing is to do the most good for the most amount of people. The individual, while important in any sense, is only relevant in terms of the community as a whole. It is very similar to the question of individual versus collective happiness. The happiness of the most amount of people is better than letting the individual decide for oneself.

Happiness has a broad meaning. One may consider it to be having money, love, or even just enjoying the little things in life. There is no real definition for happiness because it all depends on a person 's perspective of life. Happiness is more about the way you think and act rather than a material possession. It is not something that has a physical form, or that is worth something valuable, yet everybody seeks it. Happiness is all around you; it is not hard to seek because it is everywhere, but you can easily miss it if you don’t stop and enjoy it.

How does someone know if they are truly happy? Much of society have come to associate happiness with the pursuits of personal pleasures or that which makes us “feels good”. When we feel good we display positive expression of emotions such as joy, laughter, kindness and fewer negative emotions such as anger, hate, and sadness. To some people our happiness is already determined through our genes. Some people seek happiness through money and material possessions. However, many would argue that true happiness comes from within and gratifies a state of well-being. In my opinion, the understanding of true happiness is a personal experience and will vary among us. It's what makes us as individuals satisfied and content.