Of all the different sections that are discussed in the article, two sections were particularly interesting and pivotal to the understanding of happiness and its importance. These two define some of the concepts through which one can understand happiness and how happiness relates to other people. These sections critically define some of the most important topics discussed by the authors of the topic. Theories of Happiness Four theories were presented in the section on theories of happiness. Each of these theories has proponents and opponents as they depicted different views of what it means to be happy. An important measure was to determine which theory was worth discussing in the long run. In this section, the author talks about hedonism …show more content…
The second objection is that there are no substantive theories that completely define what it means to be satisfied, therefore, no logical examination of the importance of satisfaction to one’s happiness (Haybron,2011). The third objection speaks to the complex nature of the life of satisfaction. This theory is completely based on how important satisfaction is to the life of any one individual. It, therefore, was not an objective approach either. The emotional state is another theory that was especially relatable. There are several important perceptive that is given when looking into the emotional state. One was that it has some similarities to the hedonism theory. The emotional state view takes into account the moods that an individual might have regarding their day. It, therefore, focuses narrowly on what happiness means to an individual an often forgets the psychological and sociological aspects of happiness. The Value Of …show more content…
Being kind and in a state of tranquility is an important consideration through which people can be considered to be well. A person’s well- being physical, psychological, and spiritual wellness is directly connected with individual’s happiness (Haybron, 2011). Many philosophical schools continue to deny the importance of happiness therefore according to the authors is arbitrary. Happiness is a very complicated issue for which many individuals seek to understand and experience. The theories that seek to explain what exactly happiness is, examine the different perspective of an individual’s being and look into how these perceptions relate to one another. The emotional state view, for instance, has some similarities with the hedonist theory in that it takes on arbitrary expansion. On the other hand, the importance of being happy is utterly subjective to an individual but not tied to how their life is going. It is, therefore, safe to assume that while happiness is an important concept, the importance if being happy can be looked at from different
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. Firstly, the use of real-life examples and statistics by Whippman provides context for her arguments, thus strengthening them.
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.
Happiness is a state of mind, and one doesn’t need physical material to be happy, which a majority of people view to be the primary source of happiness. Simply put, a person has the power to control whether they are happy or not. The author utilizes pathos, ethos, and logos to highlight the main ideas, demonstrating his mastery of the material. His usury of pathos, ethos, and logos illustrate to the readers that happiness is primarily a state of mind which isn’t automatically influenced by material things. Ethos is the ethical appeal an author makes to emphasize his authority as a knowledgeable and experienced veteran who corroborates any particular subject matter.
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.
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. Cliff Oxford’s essay “High Performance Happy” evaluates the effect that an individual’s happiness has on their beneficiality to society and how you should always strive to be the happiest you can be. Oxford’s main point is that
Happiness is a rite of passage to everyone no matter what cost. It can be extremely difficult to take someone’s happiness away, but it can be done. For example, in the book “Anthem” by Ayn Rand, Prometheus’ happiness is stripped from him in a futuristic society focused around similarity and compliance. Similarly, this unfortunately can happen as we are currently witnessing in Communist countries. Rand describes taking away individuality by forcing everyone to use “we” instead of “I”.
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.
Many classical philosophers have given their voice to the nature of human life and what entails its climax. The very nature of human beings has been investigated, broadly, to establish a comprehensive understanding often pegged on morality. Yet, such thoughts have prompted diverse viewpoints with accompanying grounds or reasons. Happiness is an unending topic of discussion in philosophy. This paper explores the similarities and differences in Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics and John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarianism to coin a position in whether or not happiness is the ultimate end that human society aspires to acquire.
Happiness increase resilience to negative emotions and increase physical, emotional and intellectual wellbeing (Huppert, Baylis & Keverne, 2005, p. 227). Seligman 's (2002) authentic happiness theory explored notions of happiness in terms of positive emotions, engagement and meaning. According to Seligman these three aspects combine into "full life". Seligman 's three routes to happiness include both hedonic and eudemonic approach that increase wellbeing (Schueller & Seligman, 2010) and provide for greater life satisfaction (Huppert, Baylis & Keverne, 2005, p. 279). Considering that, it is possible to see a connection between Seligman 's authentic happiness theory and Carl Roger 's “self” theory of personality as both explain active attempts to satisfying one 's needs that are consistent with self-concept.
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.
The doctrines of happiness: There are different perspectives on happiness, two of which are the hedonic and the eudaimonic views. Both views have roots in philosophy, such as Aristotle and Aristippus. Despite their ancient origins, these views on human well-being are relevant even today. The hedonic view encompasses the idea those people are happiest when their life is filled with positive experiences and emotions, without negative ones.
(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. Having a valued and worth filling positive life also strongly depends on positive emotions, (Fredrickson, 2001) due to the high correlation of life satisfaction and SWB (Michalos, et al., 2009).
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.
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.