John Stuart A Crisis In My Mental History

Happiness is a state of existence that Americans have perused since the founding of this great country. It’s such an important part of American life that “The pursuit of Happiness” is even “laid out in our nation’s Declaration of Independence” (McMahon 783). Happiness is something that may come from many aspects of life: one’s children, employment, financial wellbeing, sports, hobbies, and many other things. Ruth Whippman tells us that "Americans as a whole invest more time and money and emotional energy in the explicit pursuit of happiness than any other nation on earth". Are Americans happier today than they were three centuries ago? Does modern technology, social economic status, religious freedoms, and/or the

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.

People travel through life with what seems like a single goal: to be happy. This may seem like a selfish way to live, however this lone objective is the motivation behind nearly all actions. Even seemingly selfless deeds make people feel better about themselves. That warm feeling experienced while doing charitable acts can be described as happiness. But what is authentic happiness? There is an endless possibility of answers to this question, and man seems to be always searching for the solution. Although one may reach his or her goals, there is always still something one strives for in order to be happy. In the book Stumbling on Happiness, Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert takes the reader through

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.

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.

John Stuart Mills, in chapter five of his autobiography “A Crisis in My Mental History: One Stage Onward”, (1909-14), suggest that mankind can never find happiness when it is their goal, they can only find it when their minds are fixed on something unrelated to the topic. He supports his claim by first stating, that happiness is only found when we have our minds fixed on something else than our happiness, then he says that when we are conscious of our feelings and when we feel happiness that is when we feel the most misery and sorrow, and finally he suggests that happiness will come naturally as long as we don’t dwell on the feeling. Mill’s purpose is to express that we are not supposed to be focused on happiness, it will come just as naturally as the air we breathe, but if we do we will just find ourselves in a state of misery. He establishes a very informative serious tone for anybody anywhere.

Being able to accept things as they are without the desire to change them is the next leap toward achieving happiness. In Stuart Mill’s autobiography, he argues that by inquiring on our state of happiness in a given moment, we will cease to be so (Pg.13). In other words, by focusing on how happy we are at any given moment, we end up creating a void within ourselves that wants more than what it already has. Some individuals on the other hand argue that by keeping ourselves in check, we would be able to measure our level of happiness and adjust ourselves according to the result we get back. The only downside to this method of achieving happiness is that we don’t allow ourselves to enjoy the small things that make us happy, we would be spending our times mind wandering which prevents us from doing what we need to do. “Happiness is our being’s end and aim’ is at bottom, if we will count, well, not yet two centuries old in the world (Carlyle.9).” Quoted by McMahon from Thomas Carlyle, the author attempts to provide an explanation on why we strive for happiness. This tells us that the impossibilities for an individual to truly achieve happiness was never ending, that no matter what we believe is achievable, we can only view happiness as the intangible entity that everyone longs to come face to face

Everyone wants to be “happy.” Everyone strives to fulfill their desires for their temporary pleasure. What makes this ironic, however, is the fact that most people do not know what the factual definition of happiness is. The article “In Pursuit of Unhappiness,” written by Darrin McMahon, covers this what can be called “issue” in great detail. In this account, the problems with the modern interpretation of how to achieve this mirth are identified as well as the true approach discussed. According to Huffington Post, just one in three Americans are so-called “happy.”

In the excerpt of the autobiography “A Crisis in My Mental History: One Stage Onward” (1914) by John Stuart Mill, the author proposes that in order to find happiness, you must stop aiming for your own happiness and fix your mind on other things. He supports his interpretation of happiness by first claiming that concentrating on something else, you will find happiness by the way, then says “Ask yourself whether you are happy, and you cease to be so” (Mill 1), and finally he adds that you will obtain happiness without even thinking about it. Mill’s purpose is to inform the reader that they can focus on other things in life in order to find happiness or something close to it. He forms a deep tone for anyone who is trying to reach happiness.

Argument found in John Stuart Mill’s excerpt from,” A crisis in my Mental History,” argues that to find happiness you must not pursue happiness to find happiness. But I believe that John Stuart Mill’s views are not correct and his evidence does not fully support his view on finding happiness. My views that happiness does not come to you, you must pursue it.

My definition of happiness has not changed in the sense that it is a completely different definition, yet the new one has the same basis with some extra points added. This is, my stance that a person attains true happiness when he/she becomes content with any situation stands in more or less the same way; however, from the discussions we have had in class and the articles in which I have read, I came to realize that certain details must be added in order to narrow this definition to exclude negative aspects that can come from being totally content. For example, by my previous broad answer, a person who is “content” with anything can be just as “content” with not seeing his/her friends and family for many, many years as a person who does see

Don’t focus on happiness or you will never find it. Pay attention to the positive things going on around you and happiness will come unexpectedly. When it comes to the topic of Happiness, most of us will readily agree that wealth and lots of materials will make people happy. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question are rich people considered happier than the non rich? Whereas some are convinced that yes, rich people are happier because they are not behind on bills and don’t have to worry about putting food on the table. Others maintain that no, rich people who have too much money will make you poor at heart. As the prominent philosopher John Stuart Mill puts it, “ Those only are happy (I thought) who have their minds fixed on some object other than their own happiness; on the happiness of others, on the improvement of mankind, even on some art or pursuit, followed not as a means, but as itself an ideal end.” I have come to agree that happiness should not be looked for because if you spend time looking you’ll lose everything that is happening currently.

John Stuart, the author of “ Discovering What You Think” is about what John believes is the true way of finding happiness. He believes that “ Those only are happy who have their minds fixed on some object other than their own happiness, on the happiness of others…” are people who have found the way to achieving happiness. This is significant because I feel the same way when I help any of my friends and family who are in need and are feeling relieved when I help them. Additionally, Stuart says that “ Aiming at something else, they find happiness by the way” which is what he believes is the way to happiness.

John Mill’s autobiography, “A Crisis in My Mental History: One Stage Onward” (1909-14), argues that when people are constantly focusing on being happy, that alone can bring them down and make them unhappy. He supports his claim by stating that people who question their own happiness are usually less happy than those who focus on making others happy, and can find there own happiness on the way. Mill’s purpose is to inform others that happiness can’t be made bought, but has to be found throughout life. He does this to try to help people get off the subject of happiness so that they can focus their strength on helping others, or doing what they enjoy to do, not what they think society wants them to do. He establishes an inspirational tone to help

Another philosopher who talks about happiness is John Locke. In his statement about happiness, his focus is about that humans naturally follow the things that pleasure them and try to avoid the pain. His reasoning is based on the natural law that God made for the people in order for them to follow to. By just based on this, he argues that humans seek happiness or pleasure over pain. Furthermore, he states that God can give one the permanent happiness that a normal person desires because that it is the natural law that a human being follows under. Locke’s argument about happiness is all about the pursuit of God in order to have that eternal happiness, and never be afraid of being in pain because God is on one’s side. Altogether, in order to obtain that “happiness” that one desires, the fulfillment of God in one’s life would fulfill that happiness that it is require for a person in order to follow the natural law.