The ultimate goal in life that we thrive to attain is happiness. Happiness is that state of consciousness which proceeds from the achievement of one’s values. It is the meaning and purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence. Materialism can lead to happiness but it is only temporarily. True happiness stems from struggling, enduring, and ultimately accomplishing the goals one sets out.…
Happiness isn’t something that can be completely defined. It’s interpreted in distinct ways, some believe it to be a value, while others see it as an emotional state, but everyone sees it as something they want to achieve in life. Hobbes believes that human happiness is nothing more than, “continual success in obtaining the things you want when you want them” (Hobbes 27). Hobbes argues against many philosophers, saying that our happiness is rooted in materialism. Some people may agree with this, thinking if they had more money or certain things than all or most of their problems would be solved and they could finally be happy. For some this could actually be possible, if Hobbes’ philosophy is entirely correct.…
St. Augustine defines happiness as the enjoyment of the chief good; out of the soul is where man finds himself and what is found cannot be lost but is led by following God and obeying his will (Sommers & Sommers, 2010). St Augustine believes that to live the good life is to obey God’s will and command he maintains that we cannot achieve salvation or happiness without God’s grace (Sommers & Sommers, pg 330). In support of St. Augustine I believe that man has the choice to live life to the fullest even through the trials and tribulations that he may experience and suffered. St. Augustine who distrusted reason and taught that moral goodness depends on subordinating oneself to the will of God (Rachels and Rachels, pg 158) which also helps to support his thought that through God can we attain the good life.…
Instead, we will look to a second definition of happiness by Miriam-Webster presenting a definition that more reasonably proposes that happiness is one’s position on life rather than a transient feeling. Miriam-Webster states that happiness is “a state of well-being and contentment.” By introducing this idea of well-being to an explanation of the inspiration of happiness, Miriam-Webster’s definition suggests that different elements, such as health and comfort, are required to create happiness. Many people over the course of history have attempted to define happiness, and some definitions are quite interesting, however, who is to say that any of the definitions are correct or incorrect? To answer the original question asked, “What is happiness?” there is no definite way to define happiness, especially not a definition that will be valid for every person. Happiness is something that is achieved, and once achieved, that person knows that something is different. It is something strived towards in our society because there are so many people facing adversity that many are unable to find their happiness due to their worries. In his book, Brave New World, Aldous Huxley introduces a type of society quite different from our own in which happiness…
Real happiness is what every person would love to experience throughout their lifetime. Yet, finding true happiness can be quite difficult. Aristotle presents an argument in his book, the Nicomachean Ethics, that to live a life of contentment you must live by the virtues set before you. He explains that happiness is something that can't be defined easily, that it is distinct to each person. According to Aristotle, everything we do will result in some good, or happiness.…
While it could be said this definition of happiness does not fit with the majority of individuals ideals of happiness it is actually quite interesting. Most elderly people who are terminally ill or just dying of old age will often say “I am happy; I have lived a good life.” Therefore it could be said that ‘Aristotelianism’ is an accurate definition of happiness certainly for that…
Happiness is a trivial term. Although the dictionary has a definition, happiness is an emotion which is similar to love, no matter how you define it, you cannot encompass all that the word means. Happiness is a matter of individual preference, what makes…
It is wrong to conceive a child for the purposes of saving another. There are cases in which parents only conceive a child to save the life of another. It is unfair to the child conceived because it was not made out of love. The child was conceived for instrumental reasons. In a case presentation called “A Birth to Save a Life” there are several focal points that discussed the arguments of conceiving a child for the wrong purposes. The movie My Sister’s Keeper is based on a true story of a family who conceives a child to save the life of the oldest sibling who has leukemia. People may think that it is fine to do it in order to save another child’s life. However, it can deprive the future of the newborn because the operations and transplants can cause harm his or her development. It is sad that parents are not thinking about the child they are bringing to life that are using as a tool for an older sibling. Parents should let nature take its course to create a child the normal way. No child should meet any specific genetic requirements. Children are not toys that parents can customize the way they desire. It is wrong to conceive a child for the purposes of saving another.…
What is happiness? Their could be a hundred definitions to any one person. The dictionary defines it as feeling or showing pleasure or contentment. It also says it is being lucky or fortunate. Each person has their own way to define happiness. For me happiness is a celebration such as, a graduation, a wedding, or the birth of a new child.…
Since the beginning of time individuals have sought out on the daunting task of achieving the desirable goal of being happy. Happiness is deceptively simple. It’s about being satisfied with life and experiencing more positive emotions than negative ones (pbs.org). What is true happiness though, and can it be quantifiable? While some would say that true happiness can never truly be obtained for the reasons that there are various explanations, personal beliefs about happiness and the subjective manner happiness can be described. Many have tried to define happiness, but can someone else give an absolute definition to another’s happiness? Even the Merriam-Webster dictionary does not provide a single definition, offering three meanings of the word happiness. Happiness is good fortune or happiness is a state of well-being and contentment. Happiness is also defined as a pleasurable or satisfying experience (Merriam-Webster, 2013). Do people need all of these definitions to be truly happy? Philosophy explains there are roughly two philosophical literatures on “happiness,” each corresponding to a different sense of the term. One uses ‘happiness’ as a value term, roughly synonymous with well-being or flourishing. The other body of work uses the word as a purely descriptive psychological term, akin to ‘depression’ or ‘tranquility’. What are the important meanings of the different terms and how do they connect (Haybron, 2011)? Whether people are searching for fulfillment in their lives or just the easy act of smiling more rather than frowning and laughing more than crying; everyone is chasing the allure of happiness. In the past, societies have relied on profound philosophers to teach them the meaning of happiness. In this day in age, society turns to the great and all-knowing World Wide Web to give the answers to the age old questions, what is happiness and how do we achieve it or is happiness ever truly…
Before we go any further, let us first question what truly is happiness? Socrates who is known as the spiritual father of philosophy where by all school of thought rely on him said that happiness is being kept interested in the truth, making sure that the soul is as good as possible, For getting a good soul then one must maintain all four virtues including prudence, temperance, courage and justice.Aristippus who was a student of Socrates believed that we must seek external pleasures in order to be happy and not sad. He is the founder of hedonism which is a school of taught that argues that pleasure is the most important intrinsic good. Plato another famous student of Socrates said that the human soul consists of three parts: the reason, the will…
“You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of” – Albert Camus. What is happiness? How is it affecting other’s lives? Many do not really understand the meaning of happiness. Happiness is a fuzzy concept can mean many different things to many people. When a person has something, or someone he or she wants, does that mean she or he is happy? Maybe being satisfied can lead to happiness, but that is not the only needed element. How about having the control of their life and not being in controlled of others’ such as parents? Happiness is a mental and emotional state of satisfaction, companionship, and control.…
Happiness is to feel good about yourself after you have achieved your goal. Although many believe happiness is bought from money Professor Daniel Kahneman of the University of Princeton said, “ Standard of living has increased dramatically and happiness has increased not at all ” meaning even though we all have more money we are still as happy as we were without it.…
From what has been summarized by Aristotle, happiness may be described as the very thing that everyone in this world is pursuing for the whole life. Satisfaction of one’s necessities or desires, both mentally and physically healthy condition, superior social status and other kinds of good properties may consist of the meaning of this fantastic word. Meanwhile, happiness does also exert a subtle influence on one’s decision and choice. In other words, men generally do things out of their own interests to produce more happiness.…
Happiness is defined as an emotional state that indiciates our satisfaction with life; a measure of how favorable we perceive the overall quality of our lives to be. Nowadays all we ever worry about is getting dressed to go to school OR work and driving through traffic in the car that we’re STILL paying for to EVENTUALLY get to the job that we need TO PAY for the clothes, AND the car, AND the house that lays vacant all day, so that we can eventually afford to live in it.…