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
Get Happy, an article written by Walter Mosley is mainly based upon the idea that the government needs to become more involved in our lives in order to create true happiness within the country. Mosley uses multiple literary devices throughout his piece, such as rhetorical questions, repetition, and similes, all of which effectively contribute to the theme of the article, and help create a clear purpose.
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.
A professor of history at Florida State , Darrin M. McMahon, in his New York Times article, “In Pursuit of Unhappiness”, (11-29-2005) he persuades that happiness is a relentless desire to achieve if you find it on your own. the article written by McMahon he quotes that ”Those only are happy who have their minds fixed on some object other than their own happiness..”. He uses evidence to support his claim by using philosophers John Stuart mill and Carlyle quotes to prove that they all have similar views on how to achieve being happy and be cheerful.It's better to do something that makes you carefree rather than waiting for happiness to come “knocking at your door” as if you gain contentment as pure luck. Sometimes it is better to be bliss
In the essay “What Happiness Is,” Eduardo Porter states that happiness is a slippery concept. He believes that happiness doesn’t have a specific definition, it means different things to each person. In the essay happiness is broken down into 3 parts: satisfaction, positive feelings, and the absence of negative feelings. Porter says that most people think that money and economic stability will bring them happiness and because of that they will push themselves to do better at their jobs. He also states that people choose to do things that make them instantaneously happy, even though that choice could harm them in the long run. Another thing that Porter thinks happiness relates to is the quality of someone’s life and how when
The outstanding ways that people can be brainwashed. Hitler was a dictator that didn't so much brainwash people he would just capture them and make them slaves in World War ll. In the book Anthem, they have been taught to think a certain way and make them live the way they want. Comparing the Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow, and then putting Anthem next to it, it shows that Hitler was a dictator that did not care about anyone.
‘Sometimes Gladness’, a collection of poems by Bruce Dawe mention a variety of references to Australian culture; although often looked over by the reader. Without the use of stereotypical behaviours or even language known universally, the naming of certain places known to Australia in ‘Drifters’ and ‘Revire of a swimmer’ gets muddled with the overall message of the poems. Moreover, even when Australian slang is incorporated into the poem, a larger audience can relate to what is being said; as Dawe relies on universally issues to form the backbone of his poetry, especially in ‘Homecoming’ and ‘Life-Cycle’. Lastly, a distinct Australian poem would only be expected to explore issues relating to the countries individual culture or issues, though
Firstly, the use of real-life examples and statistics by Whippman provides context for her arguments, thus strengthening them. This is achieved through adding a sense of realism as to how happiness should be experienced. Thus, it provides tangible means for people to grasp an abstract concept such as happiness. As a result, this enables her to persuade readers to take up her advice. For example, she draws links between the need to experience happiness with others through studies and real-life evidence regarding the lack of the time spent with others e.g., only 24 hours a year spent socialising (Whippman, 2017). This shows us the real-life implication of our actions in search of isolated happiness which has caused an unintended outcome on us as we are supposed to share joyous moments together.
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.
The book “Happy, Happy, Happy” was written by Phil Robertson. Phil stars on the show Duck Dynasty, he has also written other books such as Duck Commander Family and Si-Cology. Phil Robertson started the very successful business Duck Commander. Phil had been building duck calls before he started his business. He got the nickname “Duck Commander” from his friend when he was duck hunting, and had pulled out his duck calls he built and started using them. This book is an Autobiography that is in present time. The book starts off in Michigan and Shreveport, Louisiana. The main character is Phil Robertson and also Kay Robertson. Growing up as a kid Phil didn’t have a wealthy family, they had just enough money to get by. Phil worked as a kid to help
In Andrew Guest’s, “Pursuing the Science of Happiness” he argues the complexity of happiness and the pursuit in which you follow to gain it. The ultimate objective of life for some individuals all through the world is to accomplish the condition of happiness while doing the activities they cherish the most. Each individual satisfies his or her own particular measurement of happiness in different courses, from practicing their most loved game, being with their families and companions, to making a trip to exciting puts over the planet. Guest uses rhetoric and research to carry on his argument that speaks on the idea of reference anxiety, where people change their dreams based on financial standpoint, and they define financial prosperity with their happiness, which is superficial.
A peak performer is someone who is successful in learning throughout their life span. It means that a person is willing, motivated, and able to learn through experiences and changes. Peak performers strive to maintain the right attitude and skills that are needed to reach their goals. They train themselves to turn negativity into positivity by working through their mistakes. Learning from every aspect of life including education,social experiences, hardships, and the changing world are strong attributes of a peak performer. When faced with a difficult situation, a peak performer would take away new knowledge as they find a solution. A peak performer knows the power they hold within themselves and is aware of what they can contribute to life. They focus on results and take small steps to reach long-term goals. Peak performers also know what learning skills they possess and how to obtain new skills while remaining confident (Bethel
Happiness is something that boosts up your energy. If you ask someone who has a sports car, you’d ask him to go out for racing, and he’d be as excited as you. But if you ask someone who is depressed he’ll be trying to delay this as much as he can. So happy people are more passionate, motivated and
Diener et al. (1991) indicates that the balance between negative and positive feelings is a good indicator of happiness. This suggests the measurement of objective happiness by means of individual balance of positive and negative experiences. Other studies revealed that purely measuring positive emotions, strong implications could be made about the individual happiness level; they can be seen as markers and sources of happiness (Diener, 2005). This is the reason why Seligman only used positive emotions in the PERMA model.
A collection of philosophical, religious, psychological and biological approaches had attempted to define happiness and analyze its connections. Researchers have found that about 50% of people happiness depends on our genes, based on studies of identical twins, whose happiness was 50% correlated even when growing up in different houses. About 10% to 15% is a result of various measurable life circumstances variables, such as socioeconomic status, marital status, health, income, and others. The remaining 40% is a combination of intentional factors and the results of actions that individuals deliberately engage in to become happier. Studies have also found that most of us are born with a fixed “set point” of happiness that we fall in throughout our lives. We will tend to return to our set point despite whether good or bad things happen to