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Happiness, an elusive eight letter word with a mighty punch! Many have sought to define happiness, but found it a difficult task to do. While reading an article published in the New Yorker by Will Sorr on July 07, 2017 titled “A Better Kind of Happiness”, I was informed that happiness is more than just a word, happiness is essential to the well-being of human health. Dating back nearly two and half million years ago an ancient Greek Philosopher and scientist, Aristotle, proposed the idea of eudaemonic happiness. He stated that “happiness was not merely a feeling, or a golden promise, but a

When we look to define happiness, many different ideas come to mind. Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary uses three definitions for happiness: good fortune, a state of well being and contentment, and a pleasurable satisfaction. In Brave New World, Aldus Huxley argues that a society can redefine happiness through the government’s manipulation of the environment and the human mind itself. The government accomplishes this by mind conditioning throughout the process of maturing, keeping a caste-based society, and obliterating problems. The government thus defines happiness as the absence of all conflict. This differs from happiness as the American society sees it: the ability to pursue and enjoy individual desires.

What is happiness? People have agonized over this question for centuries. Let me start this essay by answering a somewhat easier question: what isn’t happiness? Happiness is NOT feeling good all the time. Happiness is a combination of human emotions and states of mind. Exploring this state of being has consumed the philosophical minds of the ages and will continue to do so for ages to come.

In the U.S. Declaration of Independence the pursuit of happiness is a fundamental right, but what exactly is happiness? According to Webster 's happiness is defined as a mental or emotional state of well being by positive emotions ranging from contentment to joy. But if we considered happiness as a trait rather than a transient state of being, than happiness wouldn’t be considered “joyful” or even feeling content with life. Instead happiness would perhaps include a sense of hopefulness and serenity and would be looked at as more of a contributor to one’s happiness. Ed Diener is a psychologist and a professor at University of Illinois and was the first person to identify the contributing factors to happiness and speaks about it in his book Happiness. Diener explains that happiness does matter in many different ways and uses three decades of research to explain happiness, suggesting that,“There is preliminary evidence that people who score higher on the well-being scales have better social and work relationships; make more money, live longer, healthier lives, and are more contributory societal citizens”(Conkle). Happiness comes in many different forms depending on the person. Family, friends, health, peace and values can all mean something to someone 's happiness but that doesn 't necessarily mean it’s a contributing factor(Tamayo). The extent of happiness is determined on not only actions but contributions, therefore if these

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.

The pursuit of happiness is critical in our lives. Oftentimes, we become confused as to what defines happiness. Happiness is an emotion, but it may also be the steps we take to feel said emotion. Happiness is using virtues and achieving your goal, while appreciating the little things in life.

Aristotle introduced his theory of life and definition of happiness in “Nicomachean Ethics”. He states “Now such a thing happiness, above all else, is held to be for this we choose always all else, is held to be; for this we choose always for itself and never for the sake of something else, but honour, pleasure, reason, and every virtue we choose indeed for themselves, but we choose

He recommended gaining a rational control over one’s desires, these desires being those that can be harmful to life such as: lust, greed, pride, and power. He argued that the key to human happiness is to turn away from the body and towards the soul. He said that harmonizing the different parts of the soul would produce a divine-like state of inner tranquility that the external world could not alter. A moral life is to be preferred to an immoral life. This view of happiness is linked to other concepts such as justice, virtue, and the ultimate meaning of human existence. Living a moral and just life would lead to a happier life.

From the beginning of their evolution, human beings have been searching for the meaning of happiness. While many may see this to be an inconsequential question, others have devoted entire lives to the search for happiness. One such person who devoted a great deal of thought to the question of man's happiness was the famous ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle. In his book The Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle discussed the meaning of happiness and what it meant to live a good life. He asserted that the devise which has been invented to create what is good for man is called "politics;" and it "uses the rest of the sciences"¦so that this end must be the good for man." (Aristotle, I, ii) Aristotle also identified four general means by which people live their lives in order to gain happiness, but stated that only one was a means by which a person could actually attain it. According to Aristotle, it was not political power, wealth, or worldly pleasures by which a person could achieve real happiness, it was living a contemplative life.

The Happiness What does the happy means? happiness is an emotional defined by positive pleasant emotions or ranging from contentment to intense joy. According to CNN.com article "Why happiness is healthy" published in April 3,2015 by author Elizabeth Landau. The article enumerates a couple of thoughts about the impotence of happiness in human life, the article shows that a pleasure to maintain human health and lengthened old and relieve the symptoms of old age. Another, study by Alabama University shows the results showed that the daily functions of the body for disability related to a marked decrease in the happy feeling the impact of happiness to reduce morbidity. There are many reasons that makes the people happy. For

It can be difficult to give a proper definition of happiness, because it can mean different things to different people. I believe happiness is a state of emotion where you feel pure joy from anything ranging from being with family to seeing breathtaking scenery. For me, the simple things bring me happiness; reading a good book, attending church, helping others in my community, they make me feel joyous.

Aristotle is one of the greatest thinkers in the history of western philosophy, and is most notably known for expressing his view of happiness in Nicomachean Ethics. Aristotle develops a theory of how to live the good life and reach eudaimonia (happiness). Eudaimonia has been translated into, living a happy and virtuous life. Aristotle’s definition of the good life as the happy life, consist of balancing virtues (arête), the mean, external goods, political science, and voluntary action.

Aristotle examined many people around him and analyzed the way they lived their lives. He found out that some were able to live good lives, but some did not achieve that goal. He also noticed that they all did different things with the purpose to achieve happiness. Some ended up dissatisfied with their lives through their journey; however they all wanted a good and happy life. Thus the highest good for a human is happiness. Furthermore, as Aristotle explained in his book the Nicomachean Ethics happiness is an activity of the soul accord with virtue.

To start, Aristotle wrote the Nicomachean Ethics, a collection of ten books. He starts by asking what is it that humans are aiming at that would provide a good happy life? Aristotle’s argument about ‘the good’ is also referred to as eudaimonia. The meaning of eudaimonia is generally translated to ‘happiness’. It is the telos, final cause and goal for all living things. Aristotle refers to happiness as the highest aim of human good and the ultimate end and purpose of human existence. In this paper, eudaimonia and happiness will be used interchangeably. One can achieve eudaimonia and happiness by living well and fairing well. To achieve happiness, it is to live as best a human being can live. It is not something that can be gained or lost in a few hours like pleasurable

The great questions about happiness are concerned with its definition and its attainability. In what does happiness consist? Is it the same for all men, or do different men seek different things in the name of happiness? Can happiness be achieved on earth, or only hereafter? And if the pursuit of happiness is not a futile quest, by what means or steps should it be undertaken?