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
Suppose I started this off automatically with a clear definition over what happiness really is. It would result in a highly unlikely answer simply because everyone’s perspective on happiness would be different and could not be accounted to be true for everyone. According to Jane Kenyon’s poem, Simon Critchley’s critique, Douglas Preston’s encounter with the famous religious and political figure Dalai Lama, and Mihaly Csikzentmihalyi’s theory, each hold a different view on what happiness really means and why it is such a concern to people.
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).
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
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
Easterlin, R. A. "Explaining Happiness." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 100.19 (2003): 11176-1183. Print.
Feldman, Fred (2010), ‘What is This Thing Called Happiness? Empirical Research; Philosophical Conclusions’ in What Is This Thing Called Happiness? Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 252-270.
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
Stephen M. Schuller and Acacia C. Parks research shows that circumstantial factors do not adequately explain different level of happiness. Positive reactions will contribute to everyone’s happiness just as well as negative reactions do. I agree with Schuller and Parks when it comes down to where your happiness comes from. I believe your happiness comes from how you react to every situation in your life and how you let it affect your happiness. Therefore, I do not agree with Newman and Larsen due to him believing your happiness is out of your control. Newman and Larsen state that most of what influences your long-term happiness is not in your control. Most circumstances that happen in your
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).
An individual 's happiness is vital to their overall wellbeing and is affected by numerous factors, all to varying extents.
In addition to anyone being happy, genuine happiness is vulnerable. “If happiness is similarly available to people of any age, sex, or race, and to those of most income levels, who is happiest?” (Myers and Diener 14), the capacity of peoples’ joy is undiminished. Self-esteem, personal control, optimism, and extraversion are four inner traits that classify happy people. People who are happy admire themselves and feel personal control, empowered rather than helpless about their lifestyle. They are also optimistic and tend to be more healthy, successful, and happier than pessimistic people. Also, people that are happy are extraverted and they are happy when they are surrounded by a lot of people and even when they are alone. They are not happy because of their status of wealth.
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...
Psychology is a field that is constantly evolving to incorporate discoveries within different fields. The study of positive emotions and how they relate to overall happiness is receiving more attention lately, because it was previously overshadowed by the study of mental disorders, due to lack of funding (Seligman 1379). They are also more difficult to study because the emotions that are considered positive are hard to distinguish from one another (The Value of Positive Emotions 330). Recently, more researchers have dedicated their lives to exploring what the definition of happiness is, what makes people happy, and how to allow other peop...
Gilbert, Dan." The surprising science of happiness." Ted Talks. Ted. Ted Talks, Monterey. 1 Feb. 2004. Lecture.
Every person has been happy at some point in their life. In “Is Our Definition of Happiness Changing? ” we are able to reflect on our past lives through rather than many years before. The basic definition of happiness isn’t changing, but our own personal happiness is (Von Baldegg, Price-Waldman, Korhonen). In “An Equation That Predicts Happiness,” happiness is something you can easily reach if managed correctly. Happiness is about managing expectations with what really happens. Watch one’s expectations in order to balance how you feel about a situation. It is said “lower your expectations” but it isn’t about lowering them. You can still remain realistic and you can still keep a humble view of happiness in your own life