Happiness is frequently denoted as pleasure, satisfaction, or joys. It is deemed in some societies that happiness can be accomplished by the possession of affluence, glamour and prestige. This point of view has evoked numerous people to live a hedonism life which claimed that life should be devoted toward the pursuit of pleasure. However, several people has been cognizant to the absence of happiness even when they are prosperous. These people have started to realize the dissimilarity between pleasure and happiness. They often claim that happiness is the end of life and conclude that they have to search for happiness in order to find the meaning of life. Yet, there are also people who do not agree with this statement and regard that they have …show more content…
This essay will explain how happiness is not the end of our life due to the contingency to have it in our present life and the relation on how the pursuit of happiness will have consequence in the less plausibility to achieve happiness based on actual …show more content…
According to him, happiness is a final end or goal that encompasses the totality of one’s life. It is not something that can be gained or lost in a few hours, like pleasurable sensations. It is more like the ultimate value of our life as lived up to this moment, measuring how well we have lived up to our full potential as human being. We may agree with his view that happiness is not similar with pleasure, that happiness is also has to be gained with virtue. However, it does not mean that we will never be able to achieve happiness before the end of our life, because the time we perceive a positive emotion from benevolent deeds or virtues that we have done, it will not be untrue to affirm that we have gained happiness. For instance, the time when we have a favorable feeling to help people who is suffering, to watch other people smiles, or to be grateful with our own life, all of this conditions must have been able to be differentiated from pleasure and be asserted as
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.
Hedonism and the desire-satisfaction theory of welfare are typically seen as archrivals in the contest over identifying what makes one’s life better. It is surprising, then, that the most plausible form of hedonism is desire satisfactionism. The hedonism theory focuses on pleasure/happiness while the desire-satisfaction theory elucidates the relevance of fulfilling our desires. Pleasure, in some points of view is the subjective satisfaction of desire. I will explain the similarities and the differences between the desire-satisfaction theory of value and hedonism.
According to Aristotle, an individual can achieve happiness only by realizing all the works and activities in accordance with reason throughout his lifetime. He claimed that happiness consists in cultivating and exercising virtue and it is the ultimate purpose of human existence, as stated in his work Nicomachean Ethics “He is happy who lives in accordance with complete virtue and is sufficiently equipped with external goods, not for some chance period but throughout a complete life”. However, such Aristotelian concept of happiness inevitably contradicts the understanding of history as development which maintains that fulfilling the work of human exceeds the limits of an individual and thus can only be achieved in the course of history. Three
What Happiness Is 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.
People miss the fact that happiness comes from within. In an attempt to find joy – we must also be cautious about over excessive desire to acquire material objects and wealth. There is a delicate balance that must be reached between the pursuit of happiness, satisfaction, and contentment. While there are many conditions that fulfill ones emotional wellbeing, happiness and how we acquired it, depends upon the
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.
Thus, when human function is done well, it is in accordance with virtue and best human life is achieved. In addition, it can be inferred that since Aristotle’s definition of happiness is to be virtuous, performing rational activity well can lead to happiness. In addition, Aristotle states, “if there are more than one virtue, in accordance with the best and most complete” (1098a18). This means that eventually there will be one virtue that is inclusive of all virtue and that displays an end, and this virtue will be in line with the self-sufficient and inclusive concept of happiness as the chief good. If this inclusive virtue and good is achieved, ultimate happiness will be achieved as well.
Therefore, happiness must be achieved through divine powers that allow us to become eternally fulfilled in life after death. However, pleasure can be of this world because it brings us moments of fulfillments instantly and then dies away quickly because pleasure is flawed because it is of this world and requires no divine power or god to obtain this short-lived image of fulfillment. Leonard Katz, states that pleasure is always directed to satisfy the needs of one 's self and as long as one 's own needs are met pleasure is achieved2. However, happiness, mentioned by Dan Haybron, requires one to seek the needs of others rather than their own needs in order to be
Choosing to Live Happily Does it ever appear to you as if people live their lives trying to attain happiness? The decisions people make every day seem to revolve around what will make them the happiest. No one knows the true meaning of happiness but we all want to have it. Many people try to attain happiness through actions or things. Some people buy everything that they want to try and make themselves happy.
In Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, the concept of happiness is introduced as the ultimate good one can achieve in life as well as the ultimate goal of human existence. As Aristotle goes on to further define happiness, one can see that his concept is much different from the 21st-century view. Aristotelian happiness can be achieved through choosing to live the contemplative life, which would naturally encompass moralistic virtue. This differs significantly from the modern view of happiness, which is heavily reliant on material goods. To a person in the 21st-century, happiness is simply an emotional byproduct one experiences as a result of acquiring material goods.
Martin Seligman’s Positive Psychology Fun versus Philanthropy reflective essay Introduction: In this reflective essay, a number of aspects of happiness and well-being, as well as questions relating to Martin Seligman’s task. Firstly, an explanations of the doctrine will be examined. Then, the relation between fun and the philanthropy will be discussed. To sum up, the question whether happiness is everything.
Happiness Happiness is not feeling good all the time, having more money and affording everything you want, not a final destination. Then what actually is happiness? People have agonized over this question for ages, but now today science has begun to weigh in on the debate. Many people think that getting what you want is happiness, being more rich is happiness which helps you buy every branded cloth, phone, make-up, shoe, being mentally satisfied is happiness, but no there are things beyond these desires which actually sum up happiness.
At the end of everyone’s lives, the goal appears to be about attaining happiness. Describing how to obtain happiness has been an issue that was debated in the past but is still talked about now . In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle expands on his view of happiness and he focuses particularly on how reason helps recognize and pursue what will lead to happiness and the good life. I feel that Aristotle’s philosophies on happiness are important works within the field of philosophy and he considered one of the………of it . In this paper, I will explore Aristotle’s beliefs regarding happiness then compare and contrast them to those of Martin Seligman.
The definition of happiness incorporates different aspects of religion, science, and philosophy. To me, being happy means that someone has discovered who they truly are and what they believe in. A study on the Jewish
For Aristotle, happiness is the end and purpose of human existence. To pursue happiness is to go for telos. Happiness is neither pleasure nor virtue, but an exercise of virtue. Happiness cannot be achieved until the end of one’s life. Hence, it is a goal not a temporary state.