Explain Why We Should Not Search For Happiness

John Staurt Mills, in chapter five of his autobiography , “ a Crisis in My Mental History: One Stage Onward, (1909-14) argues that people should be able to find their happiness. He supports his claim by first saying that happiness is something to survive by, then he states you need to ask yourself if your are happy or not and try to find your inner happiness. Mill's purpose is to reach out to people that happiness is an important in order to make people live a happy life. He creates a serious tone for people who are trying to find happiness.

The purpose of this text is to demonstrate that if one tries to find happiness, they will be unable to do so. Also, to demonstrate that happiness can only be found with one’s mind set on an object other than happiness. I reached this conclusion by looking at the examples given in the final paragraph as shown.

There is an instinctual human need to be curious and seek out answers to unseen questions. It is very natural for us to ask that a one word question “why??” John Stuart Mill’s reflection on happiness in his essay On Utilitarianism offers a normative economic approach to understanding of the search for happiness and the constraints in the search for one’s own need to be an induvial and seeking knowledge.

An individual’s Pursuit of Happiness can be achieved in many ways. Throughout the year we have read a good amount of literature that contains either characters pursuing happiness or the authors themselves showing their own ways of pursuing their dreams. There are always ups and downs, but the end result is people will follow what they believe will make them happy. Whether it is Gatsby following Daisy, becoming rich for her and following her to New York, or it is George trying to find a better life for him and Lennie, the end goal is the same. Even in The Crucible, John Proctor is searching for happiness when he tries to save his family from being accused to witchcraft, even if it ultimately fails. All of these pieces of literature are similar because they all portray a person’s Pursuit of Happiness as the center of the plot.

What makes people truly happy? Is it money? Or is it something more modest like knowledge? There’s no right answer to this question, even if it may feel like there’s one definitive choice. Both Bradbury, in his novel Fahrenheit 451, and Krakauer, in Into the Wild, depict different states of happiness in both major and minor characters. Most importantly, Montag, in 451, and McCandless, in Wild, both search for their own positions on happiness since the definition they were handed does not resonate within them. Some may argue that they should accept the lives they were handed, instead of searching for themselves. Either way, it can be decided that some forms of happiness that are pumped through subtle subliminal messaging can be taken with

People tend to feel the most happiness in their daily lives rather than happiness over all. For instance, if someone opens the door for you, does something outrageous, tells a funny story or simply reacts kindly to you, you can experience happiness. Laughing at someones joke can cause you to feel happy even for just a moment. Another definition of happiness in our daily lives is self appreciation such as, getting that new raise, getting an A on a test or even getting into the college you want. These examples all cause happiness in different but still rather large ways. We seem to think that happiness is so difficult to come by, we focus so hard on what happiness is that we don't even realize the simple things in life that are truly making a difference. We can become significantly happy without even noticing. Although happiness seems like it’s hard to find it’s not all that difficult. What’s hard to come by is the feeling of genuine happiness ; genuine happiness is what people truly look for.

An individual’s Pursuit of Happiness can be achieved in many ways. Throughout the year we have read a good amount of literature that contains either characters pursuing happiness or the authors themselves showing their own ways of pursuing their dreams. There are always ups and downs, but the end result is people will follow what they believe will make them happy. Whether it is Gatsby following Daisy, becoming rich for her and following her to New York, or it is George trying to find a better life for him and Lennie, the end goal is the same. Even in The Crucible, John Proctor is searching for happiness when he tries to save his family from being accused of witchcraft, even if it ultimately fails. All of these pieces of literature are similar

Happiness is a reprise from the many trials and turmoil of life, and so it is natural that we should actively seek it. Ironically though, in our naïve belief that we can somehow augment the amount of happiness in our world, we are actually making our world more depressing to live in. Both John F. Schumaker, in The Happiness Conspiracy, and Ray Bradbury, in Fahrenheit 451, argue that our myopic pursuit of happiness is actually counterproductive. The two authors attempt to persuade the reader that happiness is, and should be, an almost-serendipitous byproduct of a truly fulfilling life, and therefore should not be an explicit objective.

True happiness comes only from one’s self and not from the help of others. True happiness comes from one accomplishing their personal life goals. In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay, “Self-Reliance”, he shows why not to conform to society and instead be individualized. He goes on to write “A political victory, a rise in rents, the recovery of your sick, or return of your absent friend, or some other quite external event, raises your spirits, and you think good days are preparing for you. Do not believe it. Nothing can bring you peace but

In C.S Lewis essay, “ We Have No Right To Happiness, he argues that we the people within the world don’t have the right to happiness. In my right being who can accuse such a thing. Everyone has the right to be happy in my opinion. Perhaps look for instance even our Declaration of Independence says “ We have the right to pursue happiness.” I find it somewhat fascinated and yet nothing has changed in our culture since such as author C.S Lewis has wrote this short essay. I truly believe that people know how to be happy and express it, but perhaps they just assume on having a good reason to not be satisfied with their daily lives. I nessaccly feel

One might say, however, that some things are desired as a means to happiness. These, he says, are ‘ingredients’ to happiness. Happiness consists of these ‘ingredients’; they are a part of the happiness. Therefore, Mill claims that whatever is desired for its own sake is part of what happiness is, and each individual person desires different things to make them happy. They are means to the end of happiness. It is not possible, according to Mill, to desire something that will not provide some form of pleasure. Pleasure is happiness, and people only desire happiness, and happiness is therefore the only good.

He also stated that happiness is not a theoretical idea, but a concrete whole (Shafer-Landau, 2010, pg. 24). Happiness is everything for us; we seek our happiness every day. It can be as simple as what we want to wear, what we want to eat, or where we want to go. We base all our decisions on what makes us happy. By happiness is envisioned pleasures and the privation of pain; by unhappiness, pain and the absence of pleasures (Shafer-Landau, 2010, pg.17). We can only fulfill our happiness with executing the pleasures that we desire. Mill argues that people want happiness and that the overall happiness is a good to the sum of all persons (Driver, 2009). I approve the statements, Mill has given and believes we should execute the pleasures a person needs, in this case, the legalization of marijuana.

Essentially, seeking happiness is necessary in life. We often hope to find happiness from other people, other things around us and forget that we can create it by ourselves. The novel “The happiness project” by Gretchen Rubin is sufficient evidence. The author states, “I am happy – but I’m not as happy as I should be.”(13) Then she started a project within a year to change her life and seek for a happier life. By making a list of things she has to do in the next twelve months, the author have done many things which affects her “Vitality” (1), her “Marriage” (38), her “Leisure” (112), her “Friendship” (141),etc. positively so that she can achieve her goal, which is a life full filed of happiness as she dreamed before. We can also do that. We know that if everyone of us set a goal and live purposely, we are all happy. However, we can be happier if we know how to change ourselves on the right way. We can make ourselves happy by doing simple things in our everyday life.

Mill defines happiness as the production of happiness and the absence of pain. Unlike Kant's focus on the individual, Mill believed in considering the happiness of everyone that might be affected by the action. People should seek the greatest amount of happiness possible for all involved.

Happiness is the fundamental objective of life. This bold statement is unanimously agreed upon among generations of people on every corner of our planet. However, the real question that has been contested for centuries is the true meaning of happiness? The true meaning of happiness is one of the most highly debated philosophy topics in history. Most famous are the writings of Aristotle and John Stuart Mill who both paint very opposing pictures of happiness. Mill believes happiness is obtained through pleasure and the absence of pain. On the other hand, Aristotle insist happiness is obtained through living a fulfilling, virtuous life. This passage will examine Aristotle 's and Mill 's views on happiness as well as give an opinion one which philosophical theory is most convincing.