Gross National Happiness Analysis

There are no pure states of mankind. Whatever else happiness may be, it is neither in having nor in being, but in becoming. What the Founding Fathers declared for us as an inherent right, we should do well to remember, was not happiness but the pursuit of happiness. What they might have underlined, could they have foreseen the happiness-market, is the cardinal fact that happiness is in the pursuit itself, in the meaningful pursuit of what is life-engaging and life-revealing, which is to say, in the idea of becoming. A nation is not measured by what it possesses or wants to possess, but by what it wants to become” (Ciardi, par. 10). Even though I disagree most part of his article because it seems like only the Americans always un-happy, and don't know what happiness is. I think not only americans but other country can be un-happy in my own opinion. Despite the article, I really like the last paragraph because it “is not measured by what it possesses or wants to possess, but what it want to become” to be happy. Meanwhile, choosing Aristotle theory to help define happiness to support Dalai Lama and John Ciardi's

Senior compares what people think about people in other states and locations happiness, finding that usually these comparisons are untrue. Different studies and polls found that the Swiss and Canadians rank themselves among the happiest, while the Japanese are less happy. European countries tend to rank themselves the least happy, with Russia coming in last. Is happiness really based on location? I find that just because people don’t like the snowy weather doesn’t mean that they are unhappy during the holiday season. Families seem to come together and rejoice in each other’s company during this bad weather season. “And no matter where they live, human beings are terrible predictors of what will make them happy” (426). Senior discusses how we fill in the gaps, where we tend to remember only happy events and feelings and phase out bad ones. She discuss how our imaginations work in rationalizing situations and feelings, setting ourselves up for big disappointments, but deal with the successfully at the

Despite having nearly double the Gross Domestic Product of any other country in the world, the United States consistently ranks outside the top ten in statistics dealing with happiness and quality of life. In recent years, several social and economic problems have gained attention in the public sphere. Many of these problems have significant overlap with business conditions in the Northeast Ohio region. (World Bank, 2012; Helliwell, Layard and Sachs, 2012, p 31-55, Economist, 2005)

I started this journey filled with nervous excitement and anticipation of traveling without my family to a foreign land. On my return trip I thought of what extravagant lifestyles we Americans live. If I had never traveled to Costa Rica I think I would still be taking things for granted and I learned to appreciate what I have. The Costa Ricans had very little, but they made the absolute best of what they did have. They are very different from us, Americans because our happiness comes from material objects. They were pleased with being able to share their knowledge, culture and language with us. As the Costa Ricans say Pura Vida meaning pure

But, the amount of money that America has cannot buy happiness for everyone. There are multiple statistics that show why America is not the utmost nation in the world. For example the New Economics Foundation (NEF) shows that people in America are not as happy as anticipated. The Happy Planet Index (HPI) of the United States is only 20.7. It is ranked as the same level as some of the poorest countries in the world, such as Afghanistan and Uganda.

As a country, most Canadians say they are in general satisfied and happy with their lives, according to a survey released earlier this year, 2016, by the Angus Reid Institute. The Angus Reid Institute is a national nonprofit for public opinion research. According to the survey 80% of Canadians say they were pretty happy and satisfied with the overall quality of their life. These results are similar to the findings of the World Happiness Report (2016) which ranks Canada as the sixth happiest country out of 156 countries. The World Happiness Report is an annual report done by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network of the United Nations. The World Happiness Report is based on six key factors: GDP per captia, Freedoms to make life decisions, Healthy years of life expectancy, Social support having family and friends to count on in times of trouble, Trust and absence of corruption in government and business, and Generosity and how much

There are two main objections that Nozick refers to in the excerpt “Happiness” from The Examined Life. The first objection or argument is that we care about more than the overall quantity of happiness in our life. He interprets his argument by using the example of the two slopes. In the example, two people lead their lives with an overall equal amount of happiness. The first person lives his life with an accumulating amount of happiness over time, and this would be shown with an increasing line on a slope. The second person lives his life with a diminishing amount of happiness over time, and this would be shown with a decreasing line on a slope. Nozick argues that almost everyone would choose the life of the first person, and this is due to

Even if we use the word “happiness” on daily basis, has anyone ever tried to define it? It’s harder than it seems. When do you feel happy? How is it when you feel happy? Is there any way to understand how much happiness to you experience? This is the main hypothesis of this paper – Can happiness or wellbeing be measured? And if it can be measured, how do we measure it? Happiness is feeling pleasure and enjoyment because of your life, situation (Meriam Webster). Pleasure and enjoyment are very subjective and means different things to different people. This is where the term subjective wellbeing comes from. There are a lot of things that can be included when measuring wellbeing. Various studies have been conducted to assess wellbeing and how does it affect other factors. For example Earlstin(1995) and later on Ferrer-i-Carbonell(2005) have examined the relationship between income and happiness. Gruber(2004) studies the relationship cigarette taxation and happier smokers. Richard, Clark, Gerogellis and Diener(2004) analyze the effect of unemployment on wellbeing.

Happiness is not a strange term to us. We usually use that word to express our feelings in every day. Additionally, more than a word, “happiness” is what we really need and always seek in life. However, finding and understanding deeply its meaning is not easy. The online dictionary, “vocabulary.com” defines, “Happiness is a sense of well-being, joy, or contentment. When people are successful, or safe, or lucky, they feel happiness.” Thus, we always wonder if we are happy or how could we be happier in our life. Happiness, therefore, becomes a goal for everybody.

If “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” are our unalienable rights why does America, a country made for the people by the people, rank so low in the national country happiness rankings? I believe as a country derived from the idea of freedom and prosperity, the American people can be happier and should be happier. According to Figure 2.3: Ranking of Happiness: 2010-12, the United States is the 17th happiest country in the world and Denmark is the leading country and as an American citizen I reckon it is unacceptable that Americans feels so unhappy. I think that our government should mimic the ideals of the Danish government by allowing for more economic freedom as well as adopting more economic policies and showing more concern for

The Geography of Bliss one group's search for the happiest places in the world by Eric Weiner, is about how you can find a happiest places. According to one study,by Adrian white from university of Leicester in Britain, study shows USA is twenty-third happiest nation in the world. But, it is only after Costa Rica, Mata, and Malaysia. This is so true by 84 percent of the study has been done. For another example shown here, as psychological David Myers said in his book. He said:"from 1960 the divorce rate never dropped, number of bad teens never dropped. So the people who did violent crime are higher too. And so does population of the prisoner. That's why the USA is 23 richest country in the world, because we are not 100% perfect. Also

I’ve always wanted to go to Costa Rica or Puerto Rico, but for this trip I decided to go to Costa Rica. After graduating high school, I made it a goal to save a lot of money just to go to Costa Rica. Also, I’ve always thought that Costa Rica was a beautiful country, and I love the Spanish cultures. I knew that my cousin Josh Mooney wanted to go on a vacation to a new country, so I brought him along. Saving enough money up and planning this trip was a lot of hard work, but eventually it all paid off.

This article sumarized the classic sociological and philosopical views of happiness to present day. Religious experience mean something close to the emotional experience of identity and happiness. Now day happiness is more associate with social interaction and economic status. This idea of happiness is more dependent of the outside environemnt, on the material world, this something that William James will agree because by nature he believed in any methods that works to develop knowledge and improve personal life to adapt to the environment.

“Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present.” wise words spoken by Jim Rohn. Happiness is the state of being happy. It is a simple as that. Being happy is feeling or showing pleasure or contentment. For some of people happiness doesn't come easily, but I believe that it could. I believe that people can be and make their own happiness.

What is happiness? When asked this question, many people would have many different answers. Some may refer to happiness as family, and others may declare money as one of their main reasons for happiness. Indeed, all people are different. However, happy people usually have one thing in common and it is where they live. So, what should a country have, or look like in order to deem itself the happiest? According to New York Times’ reporter Nicholas D. Kristof, Costa Rica is the current “winner” of the “World Database of Happiness.” This small Central American country has accomplished monumental undertakings to deserve this enormous title. For instance, Costa Rica abolished its army, preserved nature, and made