PHILOSOPHY

• Happiness


  • Can be a state of mind
  • Evaluation of one's experiences in life
• Eudaimonia


  Ancient Greeks used the term to refer to a person's state of well-being or happiness
• Plato


  • Equates happiness with living a moral life, practicing virtues, fulfilling one's duties and controlling one's desires
• Aristotle


  • Defines happiness as the primary reason of human action, and one becomes happy through the practice of virtues and the accumulation of achievements
• Epicureans


  • Happiness means a life of peace free from fear and discomfort
• St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas

  • Define happiness as a union with God
• Utilitarianism


  Proposed the greatest happiness principle
• Whole Life Satisfaction


  Contemporary philosophers approached happiness in terms of
• Wladyslaw Tatarkiewicz


  Satisfaction with one's life as a whole
• Richard Brandt


  Happiness as a total life pattern
• Wayne Sumner


  Happiness in cognitive and emotional/affective sides
• Elements of happiness as a well-being

  • Contentment
  • Dignity
  • Welfare
• The significance of happiness as a measure of life satisfaction is also recognized by the social sciences
• Psychologists define happiness as

  A balance between a person's emotions, moods, and feelings
• Economists use socioeconomic data to define

  Happiness and well-being in numerical terms giving rise to various statistics such as the Gross National Happiness Index and Gross National Well-being Index
• Aristotle


  • To achieve happiness, a person must plan his/her activities and form a set of life goals to achieve a worthwhile life
• Epicureans


  • Happiness is possible if one enjoys the simple pleasures of life and commits to a life of virtue. The desire for wealth and status are merely artificial goals
• St. Augustine


  • Happiness can be found in the afterlife when the spirit reunites with God. It is important for a Christian to live a life of virtue because it sets us on a road toward achieving happiness
• Jeremy Bentham


  • Happiness is achieved through wise decision-making. One must exercise careful thought in engaging in activities, and should only pursue those that are most worthwhile to society
• Immanuel Kant


  • Achieving happiness is impossible because of the ever-changing nature of man's desires. Human actions should not be defined by happiness but rather goodwill, meaning one is fulfilling his/her duties toward others
• Psychologists


  Emphasize examining and understanding one's own thoughts, feelings, and experiences to avoid negative thoughts and reevaluate negative experiences
• Dealing with unhappiness


  • Support system matters
  • Maintaining balance between activities
  • Having a sense of purpose and engaging in meaningful activities
• Suffering


  Refers to an experience of unpleasantness, discomfort and pain. It is often associated with threats to human existence or the lack of pleasure/happiness in life
• Types of suffering


  • Physical suffering (physical sensations such as discomfort, hunger, distress and pain)
  • Mental suffering (associated with emotional and mental states such as depression, anxiety, fear, loneliness, and grief)
• Suffering


  Can also be caused by the conflict between one's notion of a "perfect world" and the actual state of the world he/she lives in, leading to anxiety, uncertainty and dread
• Weltschmerz


  Man's realization that the world can never live up to the ideal perfect world resulting to feelings of sadness or apathy
• Angst


  Fear and anxiety relating to existential dread (crisis brought about when a person begins to question his purpose and reason for being)
• Ennui


  Feeling of weariness and discontent brought about by a lack of interest/intense boredom with the world
• Views on the role of suffering in human life

  • Suffering as an undesirable human condition; humans naturally seek pleasure and avoid pain
  • Suffering is necessary to human existence
• Arthur Schopenhauer


  • Proposed a view of a world controlled by chaotic forces that bring about human suffering – Pessimistic view. This view believes that human existence is characterized by suffering caused by man's inability to meet his unlimited wants and desires
• Buddhism


  • The Four Noble Truths propose that human suffering is caused by desire and it will end through eliminating these desires. Believes that suffering is closely tied to spiritual progress and that all suffering ends when a person attains enlightenment
• Hinduism


  • Considers suffering as a defining feature of human existence
• Friedrich Nietzsche


  • Believes that suffering is inevitable, and that man is meant to suffer. Without suffering, man is unable to grow. Man should accept and embrace suffering as an important component in life
• George Sefler


  • Considers suffering as one of the many interrelated elements that define the meaning of experiences throughout life. Suffering and happiness go hand-in-hand in defining a person's views on his life experiences, and a balance between positive and negative experiences will result in a well-adjusted, functional person
• Theodicy


  A branch which tries to reconcile the existence of a benevolent, all-good God with the reality of suffering in the world
• Christian theology


  • Considers suffering as a means to achieve a higher meaning in life. Christ's suffering is considered highly significant to God's plan for humankind's salvation
• Coping


  Refers to the means that a person employs in dealing with difficult life situations, and involves a conscious effort to solve personal and interpersonal problems
• Epicureans


  • Believe that suffering can be avoided by seeking only the pleasurable things in life and avoiding those that cause harm or pain
• Stoics


  • Believe that one must face difficulties in life with fortitude and patience
• Nietzsche


  • Emphasized that a person should not blame other people or look at external factors to explain his suffering