Psychological well-being and happiness

Philosophy of Happiness

Psychological Well-Being and Happiness

An Analysis of What Makes Happiness Possible

Happiness, felicita, joie, lycka, gluck, koufuku -- these are all words from various languages around the globe that are utilized to connote that illusory feeling that humans so desire. Happiness is the purpose of life, of living, of being alive, and with it comes an extraordinary effort to attain it on the part of humanity, and to shake off its always too-transient nature. In the pursuit of happiness, we thus embark upon quests for power, glory, money, in the vain hope that we can find the permanence of happiness -- yet this never happens as we plan, and often times, the only realization that comes is the eventual one that happiness cannot be caught and that its illusoriness is what makes it so worth finding. This paper will examine various concepts revolving around happiness, but will aim to argue that happiness is completely subjective and often achieved by very simple means, yet will also examine what societal constructs do to impact one's psychological well-being and the inevitable search for happiness.

Happiness is Subjective

The first clarification that this paper will undertake to make, that will be proven in the subsequent paragraphs, is that happiness is completely subjective. This statement is so direct and is placed so early on in this research simply because it is true. Due to the highly subjective construct of what happiness means, and the multitude of definitions provided by various philosophers, authors, and journalists across the ages, it is very obvious that happiness remains, in a way, un-definable and is therefore named subjective.

In order to further explain these statements, one must first look at a very early rendition of what happiness or pleasure can connote. In his writings, for instance, Aristotle states the following on the subject,

"One might think that all men desire pleasure because they all aim at life […] the happy life is thought to be virtuous; now a virtuous life requires exertion, and does not consist in amusement […] and any chance person-even a slave-can enjoy the bodily pleasures no less than the best man […] for happiness does not lie in such occupations, but, as we have said before, in virtuous activities. If happiness is activity in accordance with virtue, it is reasonable that it should be in accordance with the highest virtue […] Whether it be reason or something else that is this element which is thought to be our natural ruler and guide and to take thought of things noble and divine […] the activity of this in accordance with its proper virtue will be perfect happiness…"

The first statement of the great philosopher, namely that men desire happiness because they desire life, is quite true and seems to be, as aforementioned, the goal of life, and has been so for ages, as is proven above. Yet Aristotle's next set of definitions, those that state that happiness rests on virtue are quite interesting, because they are not defined, thereby proving that happiness is subjective, and furthermore, they certainly do not mirror current thought as to what happiness is or should be.

One concept with which Aristotle agrees, and which is still seen today is that goodness is everything, for it seems to be a means to achieve happiness, and whereas 'goodness is simple,' evil has many faces.

Also, he further agrees with the widely held concept today that 'money does not bring happiness.' In this regard, he states, "…as for the money-making life, it is something quite contrary to nature; and wealth evidently is not the good of which we are in search, for it is merely useful as a means to something else…"

With this simple revelation, then, Aristotle is able to supersede wealth, power, and glory with the simplicity of happiness. Though some individuals may indeed want only wealth or power or glory, most people seek a certain way of life by holding the belief that the particular way of life chosen may bring them happiness. Because of the fact that many people believe in many different ways through which happiness can be achieved, then, this again becomes a very subjective matter.

The Most Fulfilling Life

In recent surveys done on which country in the world is the 'happiest' many wealthy countries, and many socialist-based countries ranked quite high. Yet it was the lack of inequality between people, and not necessarily wealth, that made the 'happiness' coefficient rise in these surveys. This proves something about human nature. Whereas most of us seek wealthy as a means, or believed means, towards a more fulfilling life, it is necessary to ask ourselves if this is really so, or if the thing for which we are looking is simply a less competitive, more accepting society.

In the Geography of Bliss, Eric Weiner elucidates for an incredulous audience why the Swiss are very happy people. In a drawn out interview over coffee, he proceeds to ask his friends and acquaintances is they are happy, and if so, where they are on a scale from 1 to 10. Weiner does this to prove to them that Switzerland, as surveys state, is quite a happy country, and succeeds by demonstrating that most of his counterparts score a 7 and above in this more personal survey.

Weiner also proceeds to examine in more detail what exactly makes the Swiss happy and is told that "the Swiss are happy because they go to great lengths not to provoke envy in others," or "the Swiss know instinctively that envy is the great enemy of happiness," and "the Swiss would rather talk about their genital warts than reveal how much they earn."

In other words, happiness, for these people, revolves around a certain kind of equality and acceptance, that is and is not, paradoxically, related to wealth. Though the Swiss are quite a wealthy people with low unemployment and a beautiful and very orderly country, they are happy because they are satisfied and do not seek, want or wish to talk about 'more,' whether it means wealth or anything else. Weiner calls this being satisfied with 'boredom' but some may just call it peaceful, relaxed and, well, happy.

The Psychology of Happiness

If the most fulfilling life is one in which happiness is simply unrelated to money (as the Swiss seemingly state), what can the psychology of this concept be, when happiness is so subjective for all people? The answer to this question relates to how a person defines happiness. Personally, I believe the reason why the Swiss are so content is because they do not have to worry about money, as many others do. When finances are not an issue, one is able to pursue higher goals on the Maslow pyramid, for instance, and achieve a more balanced state of well being.

In the modern world, happiness does revolve around money, yet the Swiss do make a point about how the psychology of happiness can be constructed and explained in order to demonstrate that happiness is purely subjective but also quite similar for many people. In the Art of Happiness, author Howard Cutler and the Dalai Lama discuss happiness from the point-of-view of two different people in order to demonstrate the simplicity is the best way to achieve this state. The first person in this example is a well to-do investor who is able to retire at thirty-two given her success in the healthcare sector. The second person is a man who has found out he is HIV positive.

A number of years pass, and the author once again visits with these two separate friends. Cutler, in this case, then asks them if they are happy. The woman states, "…it's strange, after I got over all the excitement of making all that money, things kinda returned to normal. I mean, things are different -- I bought a new house and stuff -- but overall I don't think I'm much happier than I was before."

When he speaks to the man, Cutler describes the feelings expressed by this second person,

"Of course, I was devastated at first […] and it took me almost a year just to come to terms with the fact that I had the virus. But over the past year things have changed. I seem to get more out of each day than I ever did before, and on a moment-to-moment basis, I feel happier than I ever have. I just seem to appreciate everyday things more, and I'm grateful that so far I haven't developed any severed AIDS symptoms and I can really enjoy the things I have. And even though I'd rather not be HIV positive, I have to admit that in some ways it has transformed my life…in positive ways…"

The descriptions and statements above prove the one thing that Aristotle had described in the previous three sources quoted in the former sections: money is not the most important thing, but rather a means to an end. In fact, both Weiner and Cutler have described the same thing, in a sense, yet through very different lenses. For some, money becomes less and less important if there is enough, but for others who truly know happiness, this is something that truly has no bearing on how one leads his or her life.

How Society and Media Impact One's Happiness

This last section will describe how media impact happiness. For even if a person is truly happy, there are always outside forces that can disturb this sense of well-being. The media in this country in particular makes happiness seem as though it is solely constructed through money and power. In fact, it is duet to this wrong concept of what happiness means that most people believe that happiness is objective, for all agree on this very definition.

However, as can be seen from the paragraphs above, money is only a means towards achieving happiness, and happiness is the end result of a long, sometimes life-long quest, that does not necessarily revolve around money. The best example of how media portrays happiness is its constant obsession with celebrities, yet the best example that refutes this wrong belief is that mentioned above, which discussed the HIV positive man and how he achieved happiness.

Though the media strives to prove itself over and over again, it has created a very negative, sometimes vengeful and hurtful opinion in society that can lead to some pretty horrible, difficult, and even morally and ethically wrong things to happen in order to achieve fame, power or glory, which are believed to be the accepted societal equivalents to what happiness should truly be. Whereas the media should focus more on how people can achieve happiness and how this can lead to peace, it is clear by its utilization of celebrities that the media can never truly guide society in this matter.