I would like to preface both my first and
second installment by clarifying that I do not have a particularly specific
topic. Instead my intentions are to accentuate ideas and thoughts that we have
studied throughout the semester that I have found personally beneficial as well
as lastingly influential on my understanding of happiness. In doing so I hope
to inspire discussion from my peers on what they have found most important for
their understanding and also ask if anyone feels closer to a more defined grasp
of the subject.
Over the course of this semester we have tried
to reach a better understanding of the essence of happiness, and we have
examined extensive areas of thought and numerous philosophers, mostly Western,
to seek guidance in our exploration of the subject. As pointed out by the comic
above, the act of philosophizing can lead to a reductive feeling in one’s
understanding of a subject, while in the midst of trying to peel back the
layers of preconceived notions and beliefs that may or may not be true. Occam’s
razor is clearly not a common practice within this field. However, it remains
in question whether academic scrutiny of happiness is the best strategy for
evoking or defining it, and I believe John Stuart Mill’s advice regarding the
importance of relaxing the analytical mind to give priority to the interior self
and one’s emotion and feeling is a concept clearly worth maintaining in order
to allay the inevitable problems presented by the former method. Furthermore, Mill’s
advice is now perhaps the best response I have to the futility of the
psychological term of “subjective well-being” and the systematic classification
and statistical analysis of the idea of happiness which is seemingly so
perfectly indefinable and variable across and within cultures that a survey and
a rating system could not possibly determine a realistic conclusion.
That being said, throughout our philosophical
quest, the large scope of writings from different thinkers we have encountered
have proven to be valuable in presenting ideas that truly help to illuminate a
dim framework from which one can utilize as foundation to understand and achieve
happiness and avoid the potential conflation or mistaken substitute of complacency.
What I have come to realize throughout this course is that happiness truly does
require work. Happiness is a product of not only the environment over which one
may not have control over and often does not, but also what we choose to think
about. This is an essential take away for me, and it is directly related to
Frankl’s philosophical message in Man’s
Search for Meaning. An often quoted assertion from his writing, and perhaps
the main takeaway states, “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we
are challenged to change ourselves.” This pronouncement seems so obvious and
almost cliché, but it is a pivotal start to what I believe must be a lifelong
focus, which I will elaborate upon in the second installment.
"happiness truly does require work" - and play, as (in his dour Victorian way) Mill discovered with poetry and music,as Gros and countless philsophers have discovered with walking, as Russell discovered with "zest" and a wide-ranging cultivation of interest in all sorts of things beyond his immediate horizon.
ReplyDeleteI love the cartoon. Those guys could teach at Drumpf University!
I also believe that happiness requires work. We must consciously and actively pursue happiness. I also believe that happiness is a lifelong commitment. As Andrew Weil puts it, "Happiness is a skill. It requires effort and time." Also, in the famous words of Aeschylus, "happiness is a choice that requires effort at times."
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that the notion of a statistical analysis of happiness with the intention of quantifying is a hopeless endeavor. Of course, if one were to set out with the intention of simply finding factors that MAY affect happiness, then the project may very well be successful. But to try to attain a rigid definition and understanding of happiness certainly seems futile. And I would argue that the same can be applied to the project of using analytical philosophy to try to achieve an exhaustive understanding of what happiness is; it certainly has the possibility to be fruitful, but if you set out with the strict intention of gaining a complete understanding, then you will be disappointed.
ReplyDelete