Reflection About Happiness

When having good experiences, most people, if asked, would claim that they feel happy. However, if one decided to ask Martha Nussbaum, author of “Who is the Happy Warrior? Philosophy Poses Questions to Psychology,” she would most likely respond that she was feeling pleasured. In her article, she draws a restrictive line between pleasure and happiness. She introduces the viewpoints of many intellectuals who have spoken on the definition of happiness, and then offers her own opinions in regards to theirs. Her thoughts generally align with those of Aristotle, Plato, and the ancient Greek thinkers – the very ones she spent much of her higher education studying. Her main ideas, that happiness is too complex to be concretely defined and that pleasure is a feeling that we may experience while doing certain things, are well-explained and supported. She offers the idea that happiness is not an emotion – rather, it is a state of being that we should all hope to attain as a result of self-reflection. Nussbaum continually counters the beliefs proposed by psychologists, like the notion that happiness is a one-note feeling, or the concept that happiness is only influenced by positive emotions. In my essay, I will explain how Martha Nussbaum’s explanation of the complexities of happiness is superior, as well as how the ideas of two psychologists, Sonja Lyubomirsky and Daniel Gilbert, are faulty and disreputable. However, it is important to note that just because Nussbaum is the least wrong

The Glass Castle is a book written by Jeannette Walls and is about her childhood growing up in the 1960s and 70s. Throughout the book, Jeannette shows that money does not determine happiness. At various points in her difficult life, she is happy with only the essentials. Jeanette feels she is rich in her family for many reasons. They also teach her to be strong and resilient and give her something to look forward to. Jeannette sees wealth as being subjective, and as an adult, feels guilty for having money when her parents do not. In the end, Jeannette realizes it's her family and their perseverance that determine happiness.

Success is extremely coveted in the society, however on the path to success, obstacles will stand in the way. Failure is inevitable and the response of an individual towards these obstacles and the failures in their lives determines whether or not they will have success. Failure gives allowance to learn from mistakes and motivates to do better the next time. The Pursuit of Happyness uses lighting, music and camera angles to give viewers an insight into Chris’ journey through the film demonstrating his resiliency, optimism and loving personality. Filmmaker, Gabriele Muccino, uses the protagonist, Chris’ final triumph to illustrate the significance of failure in achieving success.

What then is happiness? Perhaps happiness is a basic and familiar concept, yet it may occur to be perplexing when one has to convey it through the medium of words. Lyubomirsky defines the term as “the experience of joy, contentment, or positive well-being, combined with a sense that one’s life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile” (Lyubomirsky 32). It is often subjective, personal, and can stem from a myriad of activities: some may experience similar feelings by engaging in sports, spending time with family and friends, others while reading or simply being in solitude. Due to the personal nature and subjectivity of happiness, a handful of myths pertaining to this concept has emerged. Three happiness myths were presented within the chapter: 1. Happiness must be found. 2. Happiness lies in changing our circumstances. 3. You either have it or you don’t. The first myth greatly piqued my interest, since I, too, have once externalized happiness and assumed that it would be found outside.

The story of the movie The Pursuit of Happyness directed by Gabriele Muccino portrays a family who struggles with finding enough money to pay taxes and afford living expenses. The movie takes a place in San Francisco during the 80s. The two main characters are the father Chris Gardner and his son Christopher, Will Smith and Jaden Smith respectively. Gardner tries to support his family. But every time he attempts to make things better, they always end up worse. Gardner in the story wonders on "how to be happy?" He earns his money by selling the bone density

There are many external conditions that can contribute to your level of happiness. Noise is the first condition that Haidt talks about. The noise of level around you when you are studying can affect how well you are able to concentrate and retain information. You will be annoyed at whatever or whoever is making so much noise that you can’t even hear yourself. If this a constant problem, then your level of happiness will decrease. The next is commuting. Haidt says that those who have to drive a long time to reach their job site never adjust to the commute, especially if they drive in heavy traffic and if they have previously had to drive a shorted amount of time. Although I do not drive to work because I do not have a job, I know long commutes

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, what an intellectual matter to discuss even the most knowledgeable person can fully understands it. Where shall I begin such a phenomenon makes you question and wonder about what is happiness? Where can I find happiness? How do I achieve happiness? Is there such thing as happiness? This is just similar to the word love, we do not know what love is, but we can give examples to interpret it. It is like a book in a different form in which we do not know, so we get a knowledgeable being to interpret. Happiness cannot be measured by material gains it is a pure spiritual statues. Happiness is such we do not know if it’s exist or it is a delusional stage in our mind. Whenever it comes to happiness, all I can do in this stage of my life

Happiness has two definitions. One definition of happiness is the actual definition and the other definition is what happiness means to us as individuals. Are we in control of our happiness? A simple question with a complex answer. Some think the answer is as simple as black and white but in actuality it falls in a gray area. I personally believe that it solely falls upon the individual to control their happiness. For example when we as people tend to give others the chance to manipulate our moods. Now how does that happen? Simple, we give words meaning. Words can have weight , and when we decide to give those words meaning and weight it can affect our happiness. But that’s when you as the individual needs to be able to not let those words

To further this point, John Stuart Mill states “Ask yourself whether you are happy, and you cease to be so.”(McMahon par.10). Stuart expresses to us to us his feeling towards looking back at your happiness; he reassures us thinking twice about your happiness can make it fade, instead you can simply just being happy. For example, if someone with a family opens a business and starts to let it take over their lives, they start to forget about their family, they become more and more involved in their work and suddenly their main happiness, which would be their family becomes to

In addition, Csikszentmihalyi provides example of a mother who is enjoying daughter’s activity. A mother is enjoying eating cookies and reading books with the daughter. A mother is experiencing the flow while doing an activity with the daughter, which enables her to overlook all the other activities. Though the activity is casual, the person gets an autotelic experience which ultimately leads to happiness. Furthermore, Csikszentmihalyi emphasized that the relationship between flow and happiness depends upon the performance of an activity, even though the activity is simple and

“Happiness is important, but is not everything, well-being and virtue are also important, and unhappiness also has its place,” (4). According to Haybron, happiness is a combination of both pleasure and life satisfaction and is most of what matters, but well-being is more important in what makes a life worth living. If happiness was equal to pleasure, then happiness could be comparable to giddiness or moments of great elation. If it were equal to life satisfaction, then happiness could be comparable to the sensation felt when you land a new job, or are surrounded by family. Life satisfaction is determined by your personal attitude towards life at a given time, but should not be a reliable metric in tracking happiness. Haybron writes, “we are interested not mainly in what experiences have been passing through her head lately, but in

When you hear the word happiness, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Do you think of material possessions like designer clothes and accessories, the newest iPhone with the highest possible storage capacity, or a shiny red supercar? Do you think the amount of money you have or your current financial status has an effect on how happy you are? Plenty of college students, myself included, would associate happiness with possessing items like these or just having a lot of money in general. In today’s society, one common belief about social class is that the richer and more money or things that one has, the happier this will make them. This belief is reinforced by countless advertisements we see and hear everywhere, whether that be on

It’s been said that “If the immediate and direct purpose of our life is not suffering then our existence is the most ill-adapted to its purpose in the world” . Obviously, that person was not Aristotle (unless the entirety of Nichomachean Ethics utilizes a tone of obfuscated sarcasm typically reserved for internet forums or pretentious asides) as he posits happiness as the ultimate human end, and contemplation the best way of achieving it. However, both the vision of happiness he puts forth, as well as the means for achieving it, differ widely from the typical semantics held throughout antiquity and modernity by the listless majority. Although rather than simply explain his thought, I intend to demonstrate how one comes to such conclusions, and so we must return to the initial Germanic dissension.

My view of what is involved in being happy has changed since I started this course. I used to interpret happiness as what can now be defined as just externals. Externals are things that we value in life, but don’t control. Externals such as pleasure, wealth, honor, fame and societal status can aid in creating a good life however happiness itself cannot be achieved solely through this. I used to also believe that personal happiness meant that others would supply my happiness. According to Richard Taylor in his book“Virtue Ethics”, I was wrong in that belief I learned my happiness is up to me.