Definition Essay On Happiness

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The idea of happiness is a craving humans cannot resist. Humans see happiness as the end all be all of life, as the only thing that can fulfill their lives. It seems as if happiness is some magical state of mind that makes everything and due to that, humans come to an understanding; happiness is the one and only goal in life. The flaw with this understanding of happiness is humans do not know what happiness truly is, leaving it up for debate among the entirety of society. The concept of true happiness is simple, ignorance is bliss; for one to be truly happy, they must not comprehend anything, leaving nothing to be interpreted as positive or negative. The idea that being truly happy is the goal in life, then one would live ignorant to the world, leaving nothing to negatively affect oneself. The problem arises when living ignorant becomes a hassle intellectually and socially. Ignorance stunts growth, preventing advancement of the species. This …show more content…

This complex and seemingly unreachable goal of happiness has been researched by multiple philosophers throughout multiple eras. Haidt brings up all of these philosophical views stating, “I read dozens of works of ancient wisdom, mostly from… India… China… and the cultures of the Mediterranean” (x), and using these to create a final definition of happiness that he deems as correct. The problem with this is no matter how he describes happiness as, or what area of philosophy he uses, he insists on happiness being something humans much reach to live a good life. This flaw in logic creates the misconception that happiness, while allowing one to feel good about life, is also a good goal in life. Humans fail to understand that though happiness creates a sense of fulfillment, it ultimately stunts the growth of the person and their society, limiting progress, the true goal of

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