In “Paradise Glossed, ” from Stumbling on Happiness, Daniel Gilbert, professor of psychology at Harvard, discusses how happiness is not simply quantified or measured, but rather, results from how people interpret the numerous events that make up their lives. His main claim is that each event could be seen from a myriad of different angles, and thus could end in varying degrees of happiness for each person. Gilbert also explains how people often lean more toward the optimistic side of things: upon experiencing an event, people tend to find the positives in the situation. Gilbert’s argument is reasonable, clear, and is backed by evidence. But in spite of this, he fails to clearly define happiness, and his logic is somewhat flawed. He seems to Sonja Lyubomirsky, a professor of psychology and social psychology. In “How Happy Are You and Why?”, Lyubomirsky argues that happiness mainly comes from genetics and intentional activity, and is only slightly affected by circumstances (184). Lubomirsky also introduces her “Subjective Happiness Scale,” which asks a person to self-report their own happiness in four simple, closely-related questions (183). She says that genetics creates the happiness set point, while intentional activity can be changed in order to affect happiness level (Lyubomirsky 186-195). In contrast, Gilbert’s idea that happiness stems from interpretations of events matches the circumstances component of happiness that Lyubomirsky describes. Lyubomirsky also provides strong evidence for saying that happiness has a genetic component, when she presents the data from studies of twins. These studies revealed that “identical twins were extremely similar to each other in their happiness levels” (Lyubomirsky 187-190). This challenges Gilbert’s view that happiness comes solely from our interpretations of the situations we are in, because the evidence from twin studies shows that a significant part of a person’s happiness level is genetic. This means that there is a component of happiness that cannot be changed, which contrasts with Gilbert’s view that simply seeing the more positive side brings about happiness. Both views are from the psychological However, happiness also takes into account a wide range of other aspects of our lives, including our thoughts and actions, and even genetics. Therefore, happiness should be defined as the amalgamation of how we think and act, and how we interpret our experiences as positive or negative. What this means is that in order to become happier, we must simply force ourselves to become more optimistic. This is easier said than done, however. In order to have a noticeable increase in happiness, people must be willing to make lifestyle changes in addition to changing their mindset. However, the difference between optimism and delusion is a fine line, so people must be cautious to not exaggerate the positive parts of an experience or become overly optimistic. If we practice seeking out the positive views of our circumstances, with time we will find ourselves happier than
Begley introduces sources such as Ed Diener, a University of Illinois psychology professor, who has studied happiness for twenty-five years, to further the point of her claim. In the article, she accounts an interaction Diener had with Scotland's Parliament and business leaders on the value of using traditional measures to compare what policies makes the country happiest. The Scottish were all in favor of increasing policies that increased wellbeing, but not because they make people happier. "They said too much happiness might not be a good thing, they like being dour, and didn't appreciate being told they should be happier" (555). Diener later concludes that levels of happiness coincide with longer, healthier, relationships. He contrasts this conclusion with an article he cowrote with, stating “once a moderate level of happiness is achieved, further increases can sometimes be detrimental to income, career success, education, and political participation” (556). Diener believes that negative emotions make you “more analytical, more critical, and more innovative” to help direct your thinking. Diener gives much evidence and experience towards Begley’s claim of happiness not being the best for you. Another source Begley uses to back up her claim that
This is seemingly the case in the time period prior to the collapse of society. For example, when a character named “[Jeevan] reached Allan Gardens Park… he found himself blindsided by an unexpected joy. Arthur died… there’s nothing to be happy about. But there was… now he was certain, absolutely certain that he wanted to be a paramedic” (11). When Jeevan finally realized what he wanted to be, his true calling, he was overwhelmed with joy. Even though somebody had just died, all he could feel was happiness because he found something within himself. When Arthur was beginning to reflect upon his life, “He stared at his crown and ran through a secret list of everything that was good… Dancing with Clark when he was eighteen… Tanya sipping wine, her smile… Riding in his father’s snowplow when he was nine, the time [he] told a joke and his father and his little brother couldn’t stop laughing, the sheer joy he’d felt at that moment” (327). All of these different things brought Arthur happiness and eventually sadness at some point in his life, showing that nothing can keep you happy forever. The meaning of happiness is ever-changing. Since happiness was based off of how much you had, people had the ability to manipulate it by obtaining more
Happiness is a feeling that everyone tries to accomplish, yet some people sometimes only capture portions of it. In Brian Doyle essay, “Irreconcilable Dissonance,” he explains that divorce is becoming common among many couples today. Most couples are putting less effort into making a relationship/marriage work. There are many couples who get married, and most of them know that if the marriage does not work that divorce is always an option. With divorce in their back of their mind they lack the true meaning of having a happy marriage. In Eduardo Porter essay, “What Is Happiness,” Porter states that happiness is determined by people’s qualities in their life. People who experience a positive viewpoint on life and about others are overall to
In summary this means that, when we synthesize happiness it’s like a game of hide and seek, where we think happiness is something that is found. An example he uses is Moreese Bickhham. Moreese Bickham. He was 78 years old who had spent 37 years in a Louisiana State Penitentiary for a crime he didn 't commit. Based on his experience Bickhham explains it as to have been glorious, filled with some nice guys, and they had a gym (hazzah!). With this example Gilbert exemplifies a scenario that someone took what life gave them lemons and they made lemonade. But what I do question is, would any other ordinary person off the streets response the same way, enlightened by an experience that didn’t have to occur? (Gilbert
Jim Holt fails to label happiness as yet another social evil in "Against Happiness", an essay in the sunday magazine of the New York Times from June 20, 2004. In this essay Holt argues that: "Sad people are nice. Angry people are nasty. And, oddly enough, happy people tend to be nasty, too." This presents an intriguing, counterintuitive arguement to his readers, and while this is definately an intresting arguement to engage in, Holt falls short of convincing me of happiness' darkside. Sometimes he seems to just be rambling- this piece feels more like a discussion than an arguement, many times in the essay he reports evidence which may be convincing, if it wasn't immediately deflated by counter evidence or the author's own cautiousness, and worst of all, the report used to support his otherwise irresitable thesis, doesn't support it at all.
A powerful influence over happiness is how people perceive situations and how they choose to engage with others. Life may change within an instant and have a spiraling spin of high and low points, but the positive state of mind and the value of social relationships determine the
In the video “Happiness and its surprises,” Nancy Etcoff talks about happiness in today's society. She talks about the fact that we are not as happy nowadays and are in fact only getting more unhappy as time goes on. She proves her statement by telling how suicide has become more extreme than homicides. She mentions that people try to increase their happiness by using drugs, but that it doesn't have much of a positive effect on one's happiness and that in fact depression and anxiety are getting more serious and are going to be the second largest disorder in the world by 2020 if things keep going the way they are currently. She brings up that certain things such as nature, increase in income, activity and being in the social realm are overall happier and those who feel alone are unhappy. Nancy also states that we cannot blame our happiness on our genes, but on ourselves and that we control the majority of our happiness and can't make the excuse that we were just born that way. Although everyone wants to be happy, she says that we
In Martin Seligman and other’s article “A Balanced Psychology and a Full Life,” he states that the definition of happiness, “Is a condition over and above the absence of unhappiness” (Seligman et al 1379).
In the book, The How of Happiness, author and researcher Sonja Lyubomirsky sets her book apart from other self-awareness books by being the first to utilize empirical studies. She uses data gained through scientific method to provide support for her hypothesis. This hypothesis consists mainly of the idea that we have the ability to overcome genetic predisposition and circumstantial barriers to happiness by how we think and what we do. She emphasizes that being happier benefits ourselves, our family and our community. “The How of Happiness is science, and the happiness-increasing strategies that [she] and other social psychologists have developed are its key supporting players” (3).
Happiness is a reprise from the many trials and turmoil of life, and so it is natural that we should actively seek it. Ironically though, in our naïve belief that we can somehow augment the amount of happiness in our world, we are actually making our world more depressing to live in. Both John F. Schumaker, in The Happiness Conspiracy, and Ray Bradbury, in Fahrenheit 451, argue that our myopic pursuit of happiness is actually counterproductive. The two authors attempt to persuade the reader that happiness is, and should be, an almost-serendipitous byproduct of a truly fulfilling life, and therefore should not be an explicit objective.
The philosopher Aristotle once wrote, “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” This famous quote compels people to question the significance of their joy, and whether it truly represents purposeful lives they want to live. Ray Bradbury, a contemporary author, also tackles this question in his book, Fahrenheit 451, which deals heavily with society's view of happiness in the future. Through several main characters, Bradbury portrays the two branches of happiness: one as a lifeless path, heading nowhere, seeking no worry, while the other embraces pure human experience intertwined together to reveal truth and knowledge.
As I was about to sit down, Howard Cutler gestures “Well happiness is a hot topic. We are always questioning what HAPPINESS is and its derivation. The Dalai Lama and I had many discussions about the sources of happiness, and he always has a positive answer for everything. Yes, it can be a heated topic but we all have our own opinions about the meaning of HAPPINESS.” According to Cutler, he thinks “Sooner or later our overall level of happiness tends to migrate back to a certain baseline. Psychologist call this process adaptation” (22).
For a reason quite unknown, people have an inclination to obtain some sort of happiness. This happiness is something people think about just about everyday. The decisions we make, the thoughts we think; they all pertain to this desire of being happy sometime in the near or far future. But focusing on future happiness is more detrimental to our present lives than beneficial.
Throughout history, philosophers and scientists of various kinds have been trying to define happiness, identify its causes and the obstacles to reaching it. According to Jon Gertner, psychologist Gilbert and economist Loewenstein have succeeded in pointing out several reasons why people are unhappy (pp: 444-6). It is important to note that according to Gilbert, it is not that people cannot g...
In the article “Finding Happiness” the author says, “all of our problems arise from our own mind” (Finding Happiness”). He later goes on to say, “When we can respond to life’s difficulties with a positive and peaceful mind, they suddenly seem to melt away into nothing right before our eyes” (“Finding Happiness”). This statement goes to show that if you have negative thoughts, then you will be negative overall. Whereas if you try to maintain positive thoughts then you will overall be a more positive person. Being positive is going to help you in being happier (“Finding