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For other uses, see Happiness (disambiguation).
"Happy" redirects here. For other uses, see Happy (disambiguation).

Happiness is an emotion associated with feelings ranging from contentment and satisfaction to bliss and intense joy. An emotion is a mental and physiological state associated with a wide variety of feelings thoughts and behaviours

Contents

Positive psychology research perspectives

Main article: Positive psychology

Theoretical framework

In a famous speech Heather Bailey describes happiness as the way she feels whenever she thinks of Novy Batth. Positive psychology is a recent branch of Psychology that "studies the strengths and Virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive

He further categorizes emotions related to the past, present and future. Positive emotions relating to the past include satisfaction, contentment, pride and serenity. Positive emotions relating to the future include optimism, hope and trust. Positive emotions about the present are divided into two categories: pleasure and gratifications. The bodily and higher pleasures are "pleasures of the moment" and usually involve some external stimulus.

Gratifications involve full engagement, flow, elimination of self-consciousness, and blocking of felt emotions. Flow is the mental state of operation in which the person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing by a feeling of energized focus full involvement and success in the process of the But when a gratification comes to an end then positive emotions will be felt. Gratitude, appreciation, or thankfulness is a positive Emotion or attitude in acknowledgment of a benefit that one has received or will receive Gratifications can be obtained or increased by developing 'signature strengths' and virtues. Virtue ( Latin virtus; Greek) is moral Excellence. Personal virtues are characteristics valued as promoting individual Authenticity is the derivation of gratification and positive emotions from exercising signature strengths. Authenticity is a technical term in existentialist philosophy, and is also used in the Philosophy of art and Psychology. The good life comes from using 'signature strengths' to obtain abundant gratification in, for example, enjoying work and creative "activities". The most profound sense of happiness is experienced through the 'meaningful life', achieved if one exercises one's unique strengths and virtues in a purpose greater than one's own immediate goals.

Research findings

Looking for the level of happiness as reported by people, and comparing it to various elements in their life reveals the following findings: [1]

Other psychology perspectives

Michael Argyle developed The Oxford Happiness Inventory as a broad measure of psychological well-being. Michael Argyle may refer to His Honour Michael Argyle (lawyer, a UK judge Professor Michael Argyle (psychologist, a 20th century British This measures happiness as an aggregate of self-esteem, sense of purpose, social interest and kindness, sense of humor and aesthetic appreciation. In Psychology, self-esteem reflects a Person 's overall evaluation or appraisal of her or his own worth Sense of Purpose was a Hardcore punk band from Melbourne, Australia. Kindness is the act or the state of charitable behavior to other people Humour or humor (see spelling differences) is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke Laughter and provide Amusement This has been criticized for lacking a theoretical model of happiness and because it is felt that certain aspects overlap. Some studies suggest that happiness can be measured effectively.

Measurement

In economics

Main article: Happiness economics

Commonly market health measures such as GDP and GNP have been used as a measure of successful policy. Happiness economics is the study of a country's Well-being by combining economists' and psychologists' techniques However, although on average richer nations tend to be happier than poorer nations, beyond an average GDP/capita of about $15,000 a year, studies indicate the average income in a nation makes little difference to the average happiness of the people in the nation. [1][2] It has been argued that happiness measures could be used not as a replacement for more traditional measures but as a supplement. [3]

Biological approach

Though it may be impossible to objectively measure happiness, physiological correlates to happiness can be measured through a variety of techniques. For instance, psychophysiologist R. J. Davidson has developed reliable fMRI and EEG tests that correlate to subjective levels of happiness. Functional MRI or functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI is a type of specialized MRI scan Stefan Klein in his book "The Science of Happiness" links the dynamics of neurobiological systems (ie. Stefan Klein is a physicist author and essayist He was born in 1965 in Munich, Germany and studied physics and philosophy at the Universities of Munich Grenoble dopaminergic, opiate) to the concepts and findings of Positive Psychology and Social Psychology.

The evolutionary perspective offers an alternative approach to understand what happiness or quality of life is about. Briefly, the questions to be answered are: What features are included in the brain that allows humans to distinguish between positive and negative states of mind, and why did evolution add these features? Answering these questions points towards an understanding of what happiness is about; and how to best exploit the capacities of the brain that humans are endowed with. The perspective is presented in detail by the evolutionary biologist Bjørn Grinde in his book “Darwinian Happiness”, as well as in a more formal way. Bjørn Grinde (born July 3, 1952 in Oslo) is a Biologist working in the fields of Genetics and Evolution, with a particular Darwinian Happiness Evolution As a Guide for Living and Understanding Human Behavior, ISBN 0-87850-159-2 is a 2002 book by the Norwegian Biologist [4]

Worldwide findings

The Satisfaction with Life Index. Green = Happiest > Blue > Purple > Orange > Red = Least Happy; Grey = Data not available
The Satisfaction with Life Index. This World Happiness Map was created with data of Satisfaction With Life Scale from a paper by Adrian G Green = Happiest > Blue > Purple > Orange > Red = Least Happy; Grey = Data not available

The Satisfaction with Life Index is an attempt to show the average self-reported happiness (subjective life satisfaction) in different nations. This World Happiness Map was created with data of Satisfaction With Life Scale from a paper by Adrian G Subjective life satisfaction is a measure of an individual's perceived level of well-being and happiness This is an example of recent trend to use direct measures of happiness, such as surveys asking people how happy they are, as an alternative to traditional measures of policy success to GDP or GNP. There are also several other examples of measures that includes self-reported happiness as one variable. Happy Life Years, a concept brought by Dutch sociologist Veenhoven, combines self-reported happiness with life expectancy. The Dutch people ( Dutch:) are the dominant Ethnic group of the Netherlands. Life expectancy is the average number of years of life remaining at a given age The Happy Planet Index combines it with life expectancy and ecological footprint. The Happy Planet Index (HPI is an Index of human well-being and environmental impact introduced by the New Economics Foundation (NEF in July 2006 The ecological footprint is a measure of human demand on the Earth's Ecosystems. Gross national happiness is a concept introduced by the King of Bhutan as an alternative to GDP but there is as yet no exact definition. Gross National Happiness (GNH is an attempt to define Quality of life in more holistic and psychological terms than Gross National Product. The Kingdom of Bhutan (buːˈtɑːn is a Landlocked nation in South Asia.

Set point theory

The happiness set point is a notion proposed by Lykken and Tellegen that we all have a baseline level of happiness that we return to. Although good and bad events may shift us from this baseline temporarily, we cannot permanently increase or decrease our happiness levels in the long-term. Others have since challenged this pessimistic view, some drawing on neuroplasticity as evidence that our happiness level is not set in stone.

Everyday correlates

Research in the US has found that citizens who identify themselves as "conservative" are more likely to report being "happy" or "very happy" than those who consider themselves to be "liberal. " On both sides of the political spectrum, extremists report being happier than moderates. Parents are more likely to report being happy than non-parents, and religious belief also appears to be positively correlated with happiness. [5][6][7] Happiness is also correlated with the ability to rationalize or explain social and economic inequalities. [8]

Religious involvement

Joy, tacuinum sanitatis casanatensis (XIV century)
Joy, tacuinum sanitatis casanatensis (XIV century)

There is now extensive research suggesting that religious people are happier and less stressed. The Tacuinum (sometimes Taccuinum) Sanitatis is a medieval handbook on wellness based on the Taqwin al‑sihha ar تقوين الصحة ("Tables [9][10] Surveys by Gallup, the National Opinion Research Centre and the Pew Organization conclude that spiritually committed people are twice as likely to report being "very happy" than the least religiously committed people. [11] An analysis of over 200 social studies contends that "high religiousness predicts a rather lower risk of depression and drug abuse and fewer suicide attempts, and more reports of satisfaction with sex life and a sense of well-being"[12] and a review of 498 studies published in peer-reviewed journals concluded that a large majority of them showed a positive correlation between religious commitment and higher levels of perceived well-being and self-esteem, and lower levels of hypertension, depression and clinical delinquency. [13][14] Studies by Keith Ward show that overall religion is a positive contributor to mental health[15] and a meta-analysis of 34 recent studies published between 1990 and 2001 also found that religiosity has a salutary relationship with psychological adjustment, being related to less psychological distress, more life satisfaction, and better self-actualization. The Reverend Professor (John Stephen Keith Ward (born 22 August 1938) is a British cleric philosopher theologian and scholar Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a theory in Psychology, proposed by Abraham Maslow in his 1943 paper A Theory of Human Motivation, which [16] Finally, a recent systematic review of 850 research papers on the topic concluded that "the majority of well-conducted studies found that higher levels of religious involvement are positively associated with indicators of psychological well-being (life satisfaction, happiness, positive affect, and higher morale) and with less depression, suicidal thoughts and behavior, drug/alcohol use/abuse. " [17]

In religious and spiritual views

Explanation of happiness in mystical traditions, especially in advanced spiritual techniques is related to full balance (conjunction, union, "secret marriage") of so called inner energy lines (energy channels of a soul or deepest dimension of the human): nadi (ancient Indian), gimel kavim (Hebrew), pillars, columns, gnostic ophis or caduceus. Nāḍi (the Sanskrit for "tube pipe" are the channels through which in traditional Indian medicine and spiritual science the energies of the Subtle body Sephirot "enumerations" '''Sephiroth''' '''Sefiroth''' (סְפִירוֹת singular Sephirah also Sefirah (סְפִירָה "enumeration" in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] Gnosticism (γνώσις gnōsis, Knowledge) refers to a diverse Syncretistic Religious movement consisting of various Belief systems The Ophites or Ophians (from Greek ὄφιανοι > ὄφις = Snake) any of numerous Gnostic sects in Syria and Egypt The caduceus (/kəˈdjuːsiəs/ -ʃəs -ˈduː- κηρύκειον in Greek) or wand of Hermes is typically depicted as a short herald's staff In balanced state two main lines (left & right, Ida & Pingala) form third line, called Shushumna or lashon hakodesh (hebr. ). Speaking technically (full) activity of this third or central line is happiness. Left and right lines include all aspects of normal human life: sleep and awake, body and mind, physical and spiritual and so on. To attain balanced state of these 2 lines is a main task of life - a paradoxical result of all kinds of activities and endeavours combined with full relax or tranquility at the same time.

In Catholicism, the ultimate end of human existence consists in felicity (Latin equiv. As a Christian Ecclesiastical term Catholic —from the Greek adjective, meaning "general" or "universal"—is described to the Gk. eudaimonia), or "blessed happiness", described by the 13th-C. Eudaimonia ( Greek:) is a classical Greek word commonly translated as ' Happiness ' philosopher-theologian Thomas Aquinas as a Beatific Vision of God's essence in the next life. In Roman Catholic Theology, the beatific vision is the eternal and direct perception of God enjoyed by those who are in Heaven, imparting supreme See Summa Theologiae

As an example, according to Augustine's Confessions, he lived much of his life without God. Confessions ( Latin: Confessiones) is the name of an Autobiographical work consisting of 13 books by St He sinned much and recognized his sinfulness. As a youth, he sinned for its own sake, and later in the pursuit of a perceived good. When he lost a dear friend to death, it troubled him a lot and he turned to God for answers. He turned to God to find true happiness, and was converted to Christianity. He found that true happiness can only come from a relationship with God, and appreciating God's creation for His sake, and not its own.

Happiness forms a central theme of Buddhist teachings. Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices For ultimate freedom from suffering, the Eightfold Path leads its practitioner to Nirvana, a state of everlasting peace. Dukkha ( Pāli दुक्ख Sanskrit दुःख duḥkha; according to grammatical tradition derived from dus-kha "uneasy" In sramanic philosophy Nirvana (निर्वाण| Nirvāṇa; निब्बान Nibbāna; Prakrit: णिव्वाण In this teaching, ultimate happiness is only achieved by overcoming craving in all forms. Meaning In the Pali Canon, several discourses explicitly refer to three types of craving * craving for "sensuality" or "sensual pleasures" More mundane forms of happiness, such as acquiring wealth and maintaining good friendships, are also recognized as worthy goals for lay people (see sukha). In English translations of Buddhist literature, householder denotes a variety of terms Sukha is a Sanskrit and Pāli word that is often translated as “happiness" or "ease" or "pleasure" or "bliss Buddhism also encourages the generation of lovingkindness and compassion, the desire for the happiness and welfare of all beings (see brahmavihara). Mettā meditation the practice of loving-kindness Mettā signifies Friendship and Non-violence as well as "a strong wish for the happiness of others" Karuṇā ( Sanskrit; Pāli) is generally translated as " Compassion " or "pity The four Brahmavihāras are a series of virtues and Buddhist meditation practices designed to cultivate those virtues [2]

One of the core concepts in Buddhism is that of Dharma, also a central concept in Hinduism. Dharma is about expressing and acting according to your core nature. This eliminates potential causes of 'disharmony' in the mind and leads to happiness.

See also

The Utilitarianism series,
part of the Politics series
Utilitarian Thinkers
Forms
Predecessors
Key concepts
Problems
See Also
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References & Notes

  1. ^ Bruno S. Utilitarianism is the idea that the moral worth of an action is solely determined by its contribution to overall Utility, that is its contribution to happiness Politics Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions This is an incomplete list of advocates of Utilitarianism. John Austin Jeremy Bentham Richard Brandt Jeremy Bentham ( IPA: or) (15 February 1748&ndash6 June 1832 was an English Jurist, Philosopher, and legal and Social reformer John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 &ndash 8 May 1873 British Philosopher, political economist, civil servant and Member of Parliament, was an influential Henry Sidgwick ( May 31, 1838 – August 28, 1900) was an English Utilitarian Philosopher. Peter Albert David Singer (born July 6, 1946 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) is an Australian philosopher. Preference utilitarianism is quite probably the most popular form of Utilitarianism in contemporary philosophy Rule utilitarianism is a form of Utilitarianism which states that moral actions are those which conform to the rules which lead to the greatest good or that "the rightness Act utilitarianism is a Utilitarian theory of Ethics which states that the morally right action is the one which produces the greatest amount of happiness for the Two-level utilitarianism is a utilitarian theory of Ethics developed by R All proponents of Utilitarianism believe that the quality of conscious experience is important indeed it is the basis of their consequentialist approach to Ethics All proponents of Utilitarianism believe that the quality of conscious experience is important indeed it is the basis of their consequentialist approach to Ethics Utilitarianism is the idea that the moral worth of an action is solely determined by its contribution to overall Utility, that is its contribution to happiness Animal welfare refers to the viewpoint that it is morally acceptable for humans to use nonhuman animals for food in animal research, as clothing and in entertainment Abolitionism is a Bioethical school and movement which proposes the use of Biotechnology to maximize Happiness and minimize Suffering while Hedonism is the Philosophy that Pleasure is of ultimate importance, the most important pursuit Enlightened self-interest is a philosophy in Ethics which states that persons who act to further the interests of others (or the interests of the group or groups to David Hume (26 April 1711 25 August 1776 Scottish Philosopher, Economist, and Historian is an important figure in Western philosophy William Godwin ( 3 March 1756 &ndash 7 April 1836) was an English journalist political philosopher and Novelist Pain, in the sense of physical pain, is a typical sensory experience that may be described as the unpleasant awareness of a noxious stimulus or bodily harm Suffering, or pain, is an individual's basic Affective experience of unpleasantness and aversion associated with harm or threat of harm Pleasure is commonly conceptualized as a positive experience Happiness, Entertainment, Enjoyment, ecstasy, and euphoria, but is hard In Economics, utility is a measure of the relative satisfaction from or desirability of Consumption of various Goods and services. Eudaimonia ( Greek:) is a classical Greek word commonly translated as ' Happiness ' Consequentialism refers to those moral theories which hold that the consequences of a particular action form the basis for any valid moral judgment about that action The felicific calculus is an Algorithm formulated by utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham for calculating the degree or amount of Pleasure The mere addition paradox is a problem in Ethics, identified by Derek Parfit, and appearing in his book Reasons and Persons. The paradox of Hedonism, also called the pleasure paradox, is the idea in the study of Ethics which points out that Pleasure and Happiness The utility monster is a Thought experiment in the study of Ethics. Rational choice theory, also known as rational action theory, is a framework for understanding and often formally modeling social and economic behavior Game theory is a branch of Applied mathematics that is used in the Social sciences (most notably Economics) Biology, Engineering, Social choice theory studies voting rules that govern and describe how individual preferences are aggregated to form a collective preference Economics is the social science that studies the production distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Eco-sufficiency requires a reduction of the level of production/consumption in those parts of the World with the highest standards of living beyond reducing the use Ecstasy is subjective experience of total involvement of the subject with an object of his or her awareness Eudaimonia ( Greek:) is a classical Greek word commonly translated as ' Happiness ' Euphoria is a medically recognized emotional state related to Pleasure and Happiness. (gəˈmyːtlɪçkaɪt is a German Abstract noun that has been adopted into English (gəˈmyːtlɪçkaɪt is a German Abstract noun that has been adopted into English Hedonism is the Philosophy that Pleasure is of ultimate importance, the most important pursuit In sramanic philosophy Nirvana (निर्वाण| Nirvāṇa; निब्बान Nibbāna; Prakrit: णिव्वाण Subjective life satisfaction is a measure of an individual's perceived level of well-being and happiness Frey and Alois Stutzer Happiness and Economics, Princeton University Press, December 2001; published in the UK by John Wiley & Sons.
  2. ^ In Pursuit of Happiness Research. Is It Reliable? What Does It Imply for Policy? The Cato institute. April 11, 2007
  3. ^ A bigger economy doesn't always buy happiness - latimes. com
  4. ^ Grinde, Bjørn (2002)Happiness in the perspective of evolutionary psychology. Journal of Happiness Studies 3, 331-354.
  5. ^ "The joys of parenthood," The Economist, March 27th, 2008
  6. ^ Arthur C. The Economist is an English-language weekly news and International affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd and edited in London Brooks, Gross National Happiness, Basic Books, 2007, ISBN 978-0465002788
  7. ^ Bret Schulte, "Why Conservatives Say They Are Happier Than Liberals," U.S. News & World Report, May 5, 2008
  8. ^ Jeanna Bryner. USNews & World Report is an influential weekly American Newsmagazine published in Washington D Conservatives Happier Than Liberals. LiveScience. com. Retrieved on 2008-05-07. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 558 - In Constantinople, the dome of the Hagia Sophia collapses
  9. ^ BBC
  10. ^ Time
  11. ^ Is Religion Dangerous? p156, citing David Myers The Science of Subjective Well-Being Guilford Press 2007
  12. ^ Smith,Timothy, Michael McCullough, and Justin Poll. Is Religion Dangerous? is a book by Keith Ward examining the questions "Is religion dangerous? Does it do more harm than good? Is it a force for evil?" for others with a similar name see Dave Meyers David G Myers is a professor of Psychology at Hope College in Michigan 2003: “Religiousness and Depression: Evidence for a Main Effect and Moderating Influence of Stressful Life Events. ” Psychological Bulletin 129(4):614–36.
  13. ^ Bryan Johnson & colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania (2002)
  14. ^ Is Religion Dangerous? cites similar results from the Handbook of Religion and Mental Health Harold Koenig (ed. Is Religion Dangerous? is a book by Keith Ward examining the questions "Is religion dangerous? Does it do more harm than good? Is it a force for evil?" ) ISBN 978-0124176454
  15. ^ Is Religion Dangerous? Ch 9. Is Religion Dangerous? is a book by Keith Ward examining the questions "Is religion dangerous? Does it do more harm than good? Is it a force for evil?"
  16. ^ Hackney, Charles H. & Sanders, Glenn S. (2003) Religiosity and Mental Health: A Meta–Analysis of Recent Studies. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 42 (1), 43-55. doi:10.1111/1468-5906.t01-1-00160
  17. ^ Moreira-Almeida Alexander, Lotufo Neto Francisco, Koenig Harold G. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document. "Religiousness and mental health: a review". Rev. Bras. Psiquiatr. [serial on the Internet]. 2006 September, cited 2007 June 21, 2007 ; 28(3): 242-250. Events 524 - Godomar, King of the Burgundians defeats the Franks at the Battle of Vézeronce. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.

External links

Dictionary

happiness

-noun

  1. joy, the emotion of being happy.
  2. Good luck; good fortune; prosperity.
  3. An agreeable feeling or condition of the soul arising from good fortune or propitious happening of any kind; the possession of those circumstances or that state of being which is attended enjoyment; the state of being happy; contentment; joyful satisfaction; felicity; blessedness.
  4. Fortuitous elegance; unstudied grace; — used especially of language.
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