I apologize for the late post, but hopefully I can quickly summarize the chapter "Is lasting happiness achievable?
To start, we find that although Russell and Freud differed in many ways, in many ways they were also the same. Both had no belief in the divine for any kind of lasting happiness. Any happiness at all was dependent on this earthly life.
Where they differ is their ideas on lasting happiness. Freud did not believe this kind of happiness is achievable, but only bursts of happiness are conceivable. Moments give us pleasure, but suffering comes at us in three ways, our body, the external world, and our relations to others.
Russell believes differently in regards to lasting happiness. The most basic form of happiness is available to all people, as long as they are healthy, have loving relationships, etc.
Something interesting that I noticed was the topic of Russell and his wife. We spoke in class on this, and it came across as they both understood and lived happily in their lives... Although he supported her ideas of extramarital affairs in the beginning, they started to become miserable in them, along with financial problems. Their children were also miserable in their schooling, and soon the Russells were divorced.
Hedonic treadmill: The idea that we live through the ups and downs but always look for a "homeostasis" or a balanced way of living. Many who upgrade their way of living don't seem to have "more" lasting happiness than anyone else who does not. We adapt to our environments to live comfortably.
Thoughts?
Also, as a group, we have almost finalized our ideas about our Ted Talks and got our groups going. I'm excited about this presentation!
Thanks for posting, Megan. :)
ReplyDeleteFQ: Who asked whether anyone doubted "that if there were taken out of men's minds vain opinions, flattering hopes, false valuations, imaginations as one would, and the like, but it would leave the minds of a number of men poor shrunken things, full of melancholy and indisposition, and unpleasing to themselves?"
Answer: Francis Bacon
DQ: From page 171: "A frequent thought-experiment in philosophers' discussions involves someone believing that his marriage is blissful, his spouse loving, and that his colleagues at work respect him; only none of it is true. In what way would it be better for him to know the miserable facts about his life?"
If what makes you happy is actually an "illusion" would you want to know? Do you think you could go on being happy in the same way knowing that it is an illusion?
Commenting on last time:
I guess more than "lasting happiness" my goal is to maintain my ability to find meaning in the events of my life/having something bigger than myself to be a part of. If I can maintain that I feel like happiness will follow.
A link:
http://www.ted.com/talks/joseph_pine_on_what_consumers_want.html
This is a TED talk by a guy named Joseph Pine, and although it may not seem related to happiness on the surface, I couldn't stop thinking about it while reading Bok's chapter on illusion. There's a point in his talk where he introduces a kind of truth table with different concepts of authenticity. I think it is interesting to think about this as it applies to happiness and why we value this idea of -real- or -true- happiness.
Your discussion question reminds me of the experience machine question from the beginning of class. I think that as people we crave the truth, even if we do try to delude ourselves into believing in an illusion. At the end of the day I think I would still prefer truth and real experiences whether they were positive or negative to something I didn't feel was authentic.
DeleteThanks for the post Megan. As group 1 mentioned, Freud was overwhelmed by the experience of the very painful cancer that surely affected his outlook on happiness. And Megan wrote about his idea of bursts of happiness attached to momentary pleasure. Although he presents his idea of momentary happiness in a negative light, living in the moment is the suggestion of many who are pursuing happiness:
ReplyDeletepsychologytoday.com/articles/200810/the-art-now-six-steps-living-in-the-moment.
And Matt Killingsworth has a TED talk: Want to be Happier? Stay in the moment.
My FQ: Psychologist Shelley Taylor writes about "positive illusions" and says that people have at least 3 mildly self-enhancing beliefs. What are they? 1. Self-aggrandizing self perceptions. 2. an illusion of control. 3. unrealistic optimism about the future. (p. 164)
And a DQ that follows this look at an illusory framework for happiness. Can we distinguish beneficial illusions from harmful ones? (p.165). (ie, positive illusions v. repression /denial)
Hey group! First of all, I'm really sorry I missed class Thursday. That morning I had been feeling very ill so I went home to take a quick nap before class and ended up sleeping 6 hours =O. But I know we are doing the Ted talks project. If it is ok with everyone I would like to do the one titled "Flow, the secret to happiness" as long as no one has taken that one yet! If someone can maybe fill me in with the exact instructions for the project today that would be great =)
ReplyDeleteAS FOR TODAY!
Factual Question: Buddha himself never truly defined nirvana or bliss. Instead, what did he maintain on that matter?
Discussion Question: The story about the Great merchant Lycas of Argos sparked my interest for numerous reasons. Though he was living in this "fantasy world" watching performances of his favorite tragedies, he was happy or rather content with life. He was even still kind to his wife and servants. If they saw that he was happy, and was not causing pain to himself or to others, why did they feel the need to intervene? Surely his sanity was in question, but if this was the extent of his perceived insanity, why destroy that happiness? Even he himself said, (after being brought back to sanity by his relatives) "You call it rescue my friends, but what you have done is murder me!"
In your opinion, do you think his relatives truly did what was best for his happiness? In a difference sense, do you think they did what was best for him in the long run (assuming that his illusions would be more severe)? Or do you think they should not have intervened seeing that he was truly happy?
Whoops forgot to post this link along with it. I found this blog, it starts out very tragic yet in a way highly ironic. It generally explains that most people now-a-days believe that happiness should be the norm but what they don't realize is that is it NORMAL and good to feel a range of emotions. Its a very short blog so I encourage you to read it if you have the time.
ReplyDeletehttp://crushingiron.com/2013/06/07/the-illusion-of-happiness/