Jessica Tran Mrs. Brownwell English 2A Period 2 Oct. 2, 2015 McMahon's Argument Everyone wants to be “happy.” Everyone endeavors to fulfill their desires for their own pleasure. What makes this ironic is, the fact that most don‘t know what the actual definition of happiness is. “In Pursuit of Unhappiness” presents an argument, which states that not everyone will be happy. Darrin McMahon, the article’s author, explores the ways our “relentless pursuit of personal pleasure”(McMahon P.11;S.3) can lead to empty aspirations and impractical expectations, making us sad, and not happy. Rather than working to find the happiness of others, we should all focus on finding what makes ourselves happy. It is easier to find happiness in the little things …show more content…
And simply just offending the moral sensitivities of others does not count as harm. Especially since others sometimes confuse feelings of disgust and hatred with feelings of moral grounds. People generally think happiness is based on what you achieve and acquire. Happiness is not a happening; it's a predicament of the mind. You can have everything in the world and still be miserable. Or you can have reasonably little and feel unbounded …show more content…
Using philosopher John Mills’s meaning, “Those only are happy who have their minds fixed on some object other than their own happiness; on the happiness of others,"(McMahon P.11;S.1) which means that the only way one can be happy is by putting forth their attention to the happiness of others, and not themselves. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” Compassion makes people contented. Giving to others could increase our prosperity more than spending money on ourselves. Giving is the key to
For example, according to McMahon’s article, Mill says, “Those are only happy...who have their minds fixed on some other object other than their own happiness…” (McMahon 2). In other words, he’s saying that if one focuses on something else other than their own happiness, they will obtain happiness. The significance of what Mill says is that one can obtain happiness by making others happy. Another example is the “2011 Happy Documentary” directed by Roko Belic, who shows many different countries and showing the meaning of happiness. An example from the documentary is the Residents in Jernstoberiet, Denmark Co-Housing Community who say that surrounding themselves with people produces pure happiness. This is a housing where many families live together and care for each other. When a mother’s child got hurt people in that community helped her daughter. It shows that they care for each other and can depend on each other. The significance of this example is that, because they surround themselves with many people in their resident community, they receive a lot of contentment from each other. Happiness comes naturally by focusing on other objects other than their own
In contrast to Aristotle, Roko Belic’s documentary “Happy” provides a fresh perspective that takes place far more recently. The film sets out to similar goals of Aristotle in defining the nature of happiness and exploring what makes different people happy in general. Unlike Aristotle, however, the film’s main argument refers to makes people happier. In this case, the film argues that merely “doing what you love” is what leads to happiness (Belic). The argument itself appears oddly self-serving, considering that message is what underlines the foundation of happiness, yet there is a subliminal message that a simpler lifestyle is what leads to what the film is trying to convince you of. The message itself is obviously addressed to Americans, considering
Have you ever looked for happiness? Or do you know anyone who is searching for happiness? In the story “Macbeth”, Macbeth was able to become a king for his own happiness with greed but he never became happy. In the article “Unequal, Yet Happy”, the article explains that wealthier countries are not happier than poorer countries. So wealth does not necessarily bring happiness. In the video “Chris of Apricot Lane Farms”, Chris explains that although he was born without arms and legs, he was full of happiness because he accepts himself the way he is. So people can get happiness by accepting themselves the way they are.
This passage, and to a lesser degree chapter, help expand upon Ray Bradbury’s perspective towards happiness. Through the building and consequent breakdown of the Happiness Machine, Bradbury clarifies the unsustainable nature of happiness derived from expectations and distant fantasies and expounds the reader to not only accept his or her life, but appreciate moments of everyday joy present regardless of pomp and circumstance. One can find true happiness,
Every individual’s perception on the meaning of life is different, however, humans pursuing happiness would be undoubtedly universal. The pleasurable feeling that a being experiences while watching the sun rise above the infinite ocean horizon, sitting adjacent to their significant other, that’s happiness. This addicting, illusive sensation is critical to giving life purpose. Although,“...the fantasies of television, cinema and, above all, advertising,” are making it harder to have accurately present happiness in a realistic lifestyle, as philosopher Julian Baggini states in chapter 6, page 90, of his text, What’s It All About? Still, everybody endeavors the journey, the final objective for each person is different, as seen in the texts that have been analyzed so far this semester. Dimmesdale attempted to pursue happiness with Hester and Pearl, Gatsby’s happiness was Daisy, yet, possibly the most self-evident pursuit of happiness, was Willy Loman and
In her article, Sara Ahmed investigates on how the notion of “happiness” is socially mobilized to determine a “good life.” Unlike the belief that happiness is preexisting and inherent to a specific object, Ahmed argues that it is determined within cultural contexts and manipulated to maintain certain systems/norms. To support her argument, she rebuts the conventional explanations on happiness, and rediscovers the extorted definition of it. According to her account, happiness literally means “what happens to you” contingently (Ahmed 30). Based on those happenings, she says, a person intentionally build his/her sphere of preference as going near the things of “good feeling” and going away from of “bad feeling.” Thus, happiness is not a mere affect,
Life is a series of uphill battles, eye-opening experiences, and constant change. These moments bring stress, pain, and confusion, but among these irregularities is a base need to be happy and content in life. Without happiness, problems arise, such as feelings of despair and bitterness, and thoughts of worthlessness and a longing for something more. A life void of happiness is a life of darkness, only comparable to the disturbing onset of depression, which causes some to feel as if death is the only option to reach the joy they lack alive. Whether happiness may be found in healthy human connections and experiences, through finding peace and a strong, trusted community, or simply by living in the moment and enjoying life's adventures, it truly
Being famous, having lots of money, having the biggest house is how some people envision a happy life. However, that's not always the case. Happiness is just a nine letter word but it's something we all seek in our lives. The pursuit of happiness is a fundamental part of our society as we know it. Human beings have the gift of experiencing and changing our own emotions due to what we can influence. The Declaration Of Independence lists the pursuit of happiness as an “unalienable right.” In our lives today we believe having the newest phone is the way to be happy or getting the freshest pair of shoes, but these trivial things don't come close in terms of happiness a day with friends or family can give you. We all are looking for happiness but are we looking in the right places?
I find a lot of people want to be happy themselves before they do anything for other people, but they are missing an important point - doing for others brings more happiness to you.
I think it is fair to say that everyone wants to achieve some degree of happiness. Unfortunately, happiness doesn’t happen with the snap of a finger. Many people have a hard time being happy, and many people don’t struggle with it at all. Luckily there are small things that one can do to attain a sense of happiness. There are many things that influence our emotions every day. Imagine the small things we can do to ensure that we are constantly in a state of happiness.
Sometimes they feel happy, sometimes not, sometimes neither happy nor unhappy. But at least some people, at some moments of their lives, are happy, i.e., satisfied with their lives as a whole, and some are unhappy, i.e., unsatisfied with their lives.” What this means is that happiness is a transient thing that is not easily quantified. There isn’t one single event that one can point to as a measure of happiness. It is a collection of events and emotions over a passage of time that can be used as a gauge for happiness. It also shows that happiness is directly related to how we feel about our situation, both current and past, rather than the situation
Since the beginning of time, humans have spent the majority of their lives, trying to attain the ultimate state of joy, called happiness. This feeling of overall happiness, has a unique and distinct definition depending on a person’s personality, beliefs, and moral values. Since people perceive happiness in their own individual way, the meaning of happiness amongst people has changed tremendously, throughout different generations. Over the last fifty years, it is evident in our society that the newer generations and the older generations certainly have different views on the purpose of life, and on how to achieve happiness. Even though the meaning of happiness, is constantly changing throughout different generations, I believe that the pursuit
Contrary to belief, genuine happiness is very rarely found at the bottom of a shopping basket or on the leather seats of a brand new car. Often we hear the cliché saying “Money can’t buy happiness” but this is in fact true. Whilst the elation and delight brought from finally owning a wanted item is extraordinary, you must remind yourself that your happiness should not become dependant upon your ownership of this item. Being happy is not something you can purchase from a shop or car dealership, it is the way you take on life. Unfortunately, happiness does not have its own aisle at shops and never will.
Happiness is something inside each and every one of us that is brought out while doing everyday activities and noticing the positive things that we have in life. In some way, we all become happy at a certain point. Some of us, the little things make all the difference and we’re easily pleased. Others, it takes much bigger things in order to bring out the joy in life. Some researchers seem to think that we can do certain activities on a daily basis to bring more happiness and a general sense of well being. Shawn Achor seems to think that the outside world has a huge effect on our daily happiness (“The Happy Secret to Better Work”). He believes that we can do daily exercises to remind ourselves as well as our brains to focus on the good in life and not so much the negative (Achor “The Happy Secret to Better Work”) . He talks about how over the years we have often made the mistake of thinking that in order to be happy and feel good about ourselves then we must be successful in life (Achor “The Happy Secret to Better Work”). He believes that we are completely going backwards with this process (Achor “The Happy Secret to Better Work”). We’re never going to be happy from trying to succeed because the bar will always be set higher (Achor “The Happy Secret to Better Work”). Achor thinks that we should focus on the good things in life and the things we have succeeded in in order to bring happiness (“The Happy Secret to Better Work”). As you can tell, becoming happy is not a simply process when you think about. Most people seem to think that they can bring happiness to themselves if they accomplish what they have in front of them. It seems that we are wrong and doing things completely wrong in order to bring happiness. Let us go further int...
Happiness stems from things like satisfaction, contentment, and pleasure. And, you feel those things when you are kind to others. You feel better about yourself.