Synthetic Happiness Research Paper

Happiness is a positive mental or emotional state stemming from biology as well as outside circumstances. Often, people believe that by achieving certain levels of success and wealth, their happiness levels will rise, but that is not the case. Since many factors influencing one’s happiness lie in biology, it is largely predetermined. Happiness is just as influenced by biology as it is by external factors.

True happiness and artificial happiness are two similar, but very distinct emotions. The society in which one lives and the surroundings draw a fine line between the two. Happiness is pleasurable satisfaction which results from the possession or attainment of what one considers good, while artificial happiness can be defined as a state of happiness because it is the effect of relying on a substance to make one happy, therefore making it artificial since it does not come naturally. Happiness is not tangible, but can be achieved through many experiences. The famous American philosopher, Ronald Dworkin, criticizes meditation for artificial happiness in his book. A patient escapes her own consciousness through meditation and keeps her

“Citizens are happiest in a neon-lit, artificial environment where nature is as far as possible ignored.” In the Brave New World, happiness is found within something that could be considered fake and not ‘real.’ Everything within this society is produced and nothing is natural, to the point that humans are no longer born from a mother. This clearly means that happiness cannot come from anything other than consumer products and Huxley shows how this results in a society of citizens that are not truly happy. Fanny and Henry represent artificial happiness within Brave New World. These characters, both represent the ‘perfect' World State citizen as Huxley has formed these characters to continue to obey everything the World State believes in. They are both materialistic and each of them also treat humans like products, like when Henry was talking about Lenina to the Assistant Predestinator, "I'm surprised you haven't had her." This sounds like he is talking about some kind of food not talking about Lenina. Huxley developed such characters in this novel to illustrate to the audience of what the World State considered to be a ‘happy’ person and what the societal norms are. This allows readers to understand the true shallowness of their happiness and that it is found in artificial objects, not within anything of any value. Both characters are true products of the Brave New World production line and represent the true damage done by the conditioned society in which they live. Henry

I’ve been volunteering at the Triton College Library since my first semester at Triton. I’ve learned several things, both personally and practically.

Immediately, Lewis expand his answer “they meant to pursue happiness by all lawful means” (229). Lewis proclaim on marriage’s happiness once you get marriage you are not enabled to pursues happiness with someone else. Your happiness should derive from you partner. In the same way, Lewis describe on the book, “Mr. A.’s “right” to desert his wife is one of “sexual morality” (230). On the other hand, Lama claim that sex only brings pleasure not full happiness because is only for a moment and later is gone.

Living in a computer simulation would not make me happier. There would not be a real experience that comes along with it. Happiness wouldn’t be considered real but instead programmed. There will not be a true meaning to the word happiness because there would not be a way to appreciate it. It also wouldn’t be similar to be a part of the real world.

According to Csikszentmihalyi, the problem with happiness exists in affluent countries today because people are living in much richer conditions and living longer, but still people are not satisfied with all the improvements in material wealth because they are always wanting more. The indirect evidence comes from the national statistics of social pathology that gives evidence showing that violent crimes, family breakdown, and psychosomatic complaints have increased. The direct evidence comes from the studies of happiness that psychologists and other social scientists have started to pursue thru surveys about the relationship between material objects and subjective well-being. The evidence showed that having more money to spend does not bring

Inspirational and uplifting films with dynamic characters and emotionally charged themes have always been a mainstay at the box-office. High quality drama films are the category of indie films that actually make money. The public has embraced films such as Lost in Translation, Juno, Slum Dog Millionaire, and Little Miss Sunshine. Each of these highly acclaimed motion-pictures are at their roots, strong character driven dramas. Happiness Attainable is such a piece, and deals with many prevalent social issues while retaining threads of romance, adventure and suspense. It also features a feminine protagonist; a valuable asset in attracting a strong female and couple-oriented audience base.

“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.

Is happiness something over which people have no control, or can people choose to be happy?

Greg Anderson once said, “Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.” This statement could not be more true when it comes to experiencing true pleasure and satisfaction. Many people struggle to gain true happiness and end up going about it the wrong way. According to psychology, “Happiness is a state of well-being that encompasses living a good life” (Psychology today 1). The idea of happiness has become beyond corrupt over the years and will continue to do so unless it is set straight. It is now viewed as having great wealth or numerous material goods. People now believe that these things will give us the “deep satisfaction” everyone craves. Even though it feels great to receive an object one greatly desires, the best feeling of satisfaction comes from what a person does to obtain it.

Happiness is not always easy to achieve. Life throws curve balls and it’s hard to swing at all of them. I try to stay happy all the time or I fake it. I don’t want ruin other people’s happiness by being upset. I am blessed to say I have a happy life but there is plenty of ways I could increase my own happiness. Sleeping more than I do right now would increase my happiness. Doing more for others and spreading kindness is another way I could have a happier life. Lastly, planning events or activities beforehand would not only make me happier but also less stressed. I would love to be happier, but I need to be committed to make changes in my life.

When Aldous Huxley wrote Brave New World in 1931, he predicted that in a future society government will provide a drug that makes you forget your feelings and makes you happy. Huxley predicts that everyone will develop a universal drug addiction to this drug which will provide artificial happiness. In our modern society we can noticed that the current trend in Europe shows an increase of recreational drugs which makes people happier.

As of right now, I think I am at a good place with my feelings of happiness. Instead of feeling sorry for myself over what I don’t have, I appreciate my life and all the wonderful parts of it. I have moments where I realize how fortunate I am for all the great opportunities I have had, along with the people I have been blessed to have in my life. One thing I seem to be lacking is the self motivation to work hard so I can improve the life I have. Not just for me in the present moment but for myself in the future. I want to work on this aspect of my life, so, like a long term investment, I can enjoy my efforts later on. I want to be at a place where I am grateful for what I have, but still work hard and strive for better.

The idea of happiness and what makes one happier, is drawing a great deal of scholarly attentions. Happiness can also be determined by how satisfied one feels in his/her life. Graham, Zhou, and Zhang (2017), observed that, using data from the Chinese Livelihood survey, mental health hugely affects happiness, whereas physical health significantly impacts mental health (p.242). Demir (2010) found that the quality of mother and best friend relationships were the predictors of happiness among emerging adults without romantic partners, while the quality of romantic relationship and mother appeared to be the predictors of happiness among those involved in romantic relationship (p.310). Happiness is also associated with faith and religion, however, Edling, Rydgren, and Bohman (2014) found no positive affect of religion on happiness, instead, membership in non-religious, social organization, and clubs emerged to be the factors that drive happiness in a country like Sweden with low aggregate level of religiosity (p.621). Similarly, decent number of researchers associated happiness with wealth and income. Easterlin (2001) argues that there is positive relationship between happiness and income over the short run, however, the level of happiness remains constant among cohorts over the long run due to the equivalent increase in their material aspiration (p.465-681). In this paper, I will be reviewing Easterlin’s