Up@dawn 2.0

Friday, August 30, 2019

Quiz Sep 3

Find as many answers  as you can, we'll go over them in class. Post your comments, alternate quiz questions, discussion questions, links, responses to classmates, etc., any combination of three of those since last class, added to your presence in today's class, secures your daily participation run. 

ch1
1. Who has frequently been held up by philosophers as a paradigm of happiness?

2. What nation did Gallup find to be happiest in terms of daily experience?

3. What does Haybron say will most likely NOT be on your deathbed list of things you'd like to experience again before you go?

4. What was Aristotle's word for happiness, and what did he particularly not mean by it?

5. Which of Haybron's three happiness theories is not mainly concerned with feelings?

6. Why does Haybron consider "subjective well-being" unhelpful?
ch2
7. How does the author's Dad describe existence "on the Pond"?

8. What does Big Joe the commercial fisherman feel at the end of his working day, and how does he feel generally?

9. Your posture or stride reveals something deeper than what?

10. The author says moments like the one depicted in the photo on p.18 involve no what?

11. Who developed the notion of flow?

12. Tranquility, confidence, and expansiveness are aspects of what state of mind/body?

13. Though your temperament may be more or less fixed, your ___ may be more or less prone to change with circumstances.

14. What famous western Buddhist says happiness is an optimal state of being, much more than a feeling?

Discussion Questions (please add your own)
  • Do you often, or ever, experience a state of mindless meditation? Are you happy in those moments? Or must such moments recur regularly over the course of a lifetime before such a judgment would be appropriate?
  • How often do you find yourself fully engaged and absorbed in what you're doing? Do you think you could learn to experience such a state of being more frequently and reliably?
  • How much attention do you pay to your posture and bodily presentation? When striding confidently do you feel more confident, when sitting erect do you feel more competent? Can acting happy make you happy?
  • This isn't how most philosophers would define "rationality," but what do you think of it as a description of happiness? "When enjoying plenary freedom either in the way of motion or of thought, we are in a sort of anaesthetic state in which we might say with Walt Whitman, if we cared to say anything about ourselves at such times, " I am sufficient as I am." This feeling of the sufficiency of the present moment, of its absoluteness, — this absence of all need to explain it, account for it, or justify it, — is what I call the Sentiment of Rationality. As soon, in short, as we are enabled from any cause whatever to think with perfect fluency, the thing we think of seems to us pro tanto rational." William James
  • Do you ever experience "flow," when your absorption in a task makes the experience of the passage of time drop away? Did you experience that more when younger? (Could that be what the poet Wordsworth was talking about when he referred to intimations of immortality in childhood?)
  • How do you manage your bad moods? Does it work for you to try and ignore them, and just get on with your day? Or have you learned the Stoic/Vulcan art of distancing yourself from all moods? Is it possible to achieve selective distancing, drawing closer to happy moods and away from bad ones?
  • Who's the happiest person you know? What have you learned from observing them?
  •  Do you agree that there's never been a better time to be alive? 1 (Steven Pinker in Better Angels of Our Nature, for one, says life's never been better.)
  • "Life is good" - agree? What hypothetical circumstances in your life do you imagine might reverse your opinion?
  • Do you think many poor communities are happier than the average college student? 3
  • How important is health, and healthcare, in your conception of happiness? 7
  • Do we need a theory or definition of happiness? 10
  • What do you think of Aristotle's approach? 11
  • Do you have views about eastern (eg, Buddhist) approaches to happiness?
  • Can you be a genuinely happy individual in an unhappy society? 13

Haybron's bigger book, The Pursuit of Unhappiness: The Elusive Psychology of Well-Being:


Some old thoughts on "flow"-


Podcast ch1...  An old podcast discussing the first two chapters of Haybron's Happiness: A Very Short Introduction
==
 A propos how our our culture encourages us to think of money as the measure of self-worth and success, leading William James to tell H.G. Wells that "our national disease" is worshiping at the altar of "the bitch-goddess SUCCESS":








More from M. Ricard... More TED Talks on happiness... There's more to life than being happy...

Some of this borders on cliche, but there's wisdom here too:

“the best moments usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile” 

“Ralph Waldo Emerson explains, "It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.”

“In Aristotle's words, "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” 

“Life is too short to be in a hurry." If we are always on the go, we are reacting to the exigencies of day-to-day life rather than allowing ourselves the space to create a happy life.” 

“Things do not necessarily happen for the best, but I can choose to make the best of things that happen.” 

“A human being, like a business, makes profits and suffers losses. For a human being, however, the ultimate currency is not money, nor is it any external measure, such as fame, fortune, or power. The ultimate currency for a human being is happiness. Money and fame are subordinate to happiness and have no intrinsic value. The only reason money and fame may be desirable is that having them or the thought of having them could lead to positive emotions or meaning. In themselves, wealth and fame are worthless: there would be no reason to seek fame and fortune if they did not contribute, in some way, toward happiness.” 


Calvin and Hobbes (@Calvinn_Hobbes)
Never forget about the simple things in life. 🌅🌌 pic.twitter.com/2vxFPJqiJP

                   

32 comments:

  1. - Do you agree that there's never been a better time to be alive? 1

    By and large, taking in all people into account, yes, probably. With that said, I still think we could do better. That's not to discredit our current position and our progress up to this point though.

    - Do you think many poor communities are happier than the average college student? 3

    Some might be. Others not so much. It depends on other conditions that are present in the community. What things they have available to them even in their poor state, how they are emotionally suited to such conditions, and so on.

    - How important is health, and healthcare, in your conception of happiness? 7

    Being healthy and maintaining that is always better, but I don't think it's an absolute requirement. It depends on the severity of the unhealthy condition (e.g. a common cold compared to cancer).

    - Do we need a theory or definition of happiness? 10

    I think that it's definitely an idea that should be teased and played around with, but it should never be taken too seriously. I'm not sure you could grab onto, or indeed want, a solid theory or definition of happiness. If you keep searching for something that isn't there, that's maddening.

    - What do you think of Aristotle's approach? 11

    I think he was definitely going in a positive direction, but was mislead when completely excluding the state of mind of the people in question. I think happiness does come from external surroundings and supports, but to exclude the subject that's experiencing said happiness completely is misguided.

    - Do you have views about eastern (eg, Buddhist) approaches to happiness?

    As someone who's studied various eastern traditions and religions and has lived in Nepal for a short 2.5 month period, I have some sort of view on the matter. Eastern cultures tend to be a lot more materially poorer compared to the west. They sometimes work harder for less reward in unappealing conditions. Yet, to my eye, they still seem very happy people who are content with their way of living as it is. Something else might please them more down the road, but they tend to take the situation for what it is and are able to forge their own happiness with whatever it is they've got. It's honestly admirable.

    - Can you be a genuinely happy individual in an unhappy society? 13

    I'd wager and say that our western society is drenched in unhappiness. They way we go about our lives and the features that are around us and made available to us make this obvious. For example, if we were happy with what we had and where we are, we wouldn't need to be sold things on a regular basis through advertising or need a vacation. Our emotional insecurities wouldn't be exploited successfully in an effort to buy a solution because we would already be content with ourselves and who we are. With this being said, there are definitely happy, content people in this society. It can be done.

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  2. New DQ- Would you agree or disagree with Haybron on "subjective well-being" being unhelpful?

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  3. Extra question for chapter1:
    1) Who declared the period to be the “best decade ever”?
    2) What was the average life expectancy worldwide?
    3) Which type of people live in traditional farming communities? Amish or the Maasai?
    4) What place did United States took when it came to how pleasant or emotionally rewarding life is?
    5) What place did it take on life satisfaction?
    6) What are the three theories about happiness?
    7) What philosopher mentioned word eudaimonia?
    8) What does Hedonism mean?
    9) Define life satisfaction theory?

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  4. Quiz Questions:
    1. The word "happiness" can be used in two different senses. What are they?
    2. What is ataraxia?
    3. What is the real downside of disattunement?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ataraxia is not a word that I've really ever used, just heard in songs but I take to mean just a general calm feeling. I associate disattunement with people being uncomfortable or making people uncomfortable which isn't always a bad thing but certainly shouldn't be a goal of someone.

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  5. Discussion question: Do you often, or ever, experience a state of mindless meditation? Are you happy in those moments?

    Reading the passage at the beginning of chapter two from Haybron’s dad, I was struck by the parallel between his comments and recent experiences of mine. I’d read Irvine’s book on Stoicism, which I think is most excellent. Without going into the ways one practices to be a Stoic, one exercise I’ve started is to think about things that I have in my life, imagine how I would feel if I lost them, and then appreciate those things all the more. Seeing that I really desire what I have, and not what I don’t, starts me down the road to achieving ataraxia. This is not what I would call mindless meditation; I’d call in mindful reflection. I set aside a time, generally daily, and reflect on these things. I do this on my screened-in patio, which overlooks a large beautiful garden that my wife has created over the last twenty years and a tree-filled, isolated, back yard that slopes down to a stone wall, beyond which is a small forest. It’s like being on vacation in the North Carolina mountains. I write down my thoughts. Here’s a quote: “hummingbirds on the crabapple tree; gentle rain, cool breeze, a martini in hand – what could be better?” (I find that this kind of reflection works best with a large martini.) The somewhat surprising thing is that focusing on all the good things in my life and simply appreciating moments of life makes me happier, whatever that may mean. And it has also resulted in some positive behavioral changes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I try to be mindful of negative or positive emotions as they arise, not always successfully but that has helped me be a happier person, I wouldn't necessarily say that what I experience is mindless meditation but more just noticing thoughts or emotions arise sometimes and the more I try to do that the more I automatically do it in my daily life.

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  6. - Can you be a genuinely happy individual in an unhappy society?
    I believe you can be, although it'd be difficult for some people. You must be able to not allow others negative thinking or actions to affect you happiness. Some people absorb their friends or families emotions and because of that a happy person can quickly find ways to always be anything other than happy.

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    Replies
    1. You absolutely can be a happy individual in an unhappy society. Going off of the three basic theories of happiness, someone's ability to be happy as an emotional condition is possible in any scenario, as we can see from the Calcutta slums from the life satisfaction table. Also the feeling of happiness is personal to everyone and some adapt to their environment better than others.

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    2. I think it's harder to be happy in an unhappy society vs its vice versa. But possible for both. I only say this because I've experienced many times in my life where my boyfriend or a best friend would be upset/not happy, and it would definitely alter my mood, even if I had an amazing day. I wouldn't necessarily be unhappy, but definitely wasn't happy at that particular moment. I feel that an individual's environment can have a direct effect on their mood.

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  7. I want to flip Sarah;s comment and ask: Is it possible to be an unhappy individual in a happy society?

    My answer still remains as yes. This question is phrased more to lean towards subjective well-being over being an emotional condition. Like Robert from pg 25, one can be surrounded by positive experience but if their emotional condition is bad, are they happy? This is also affected by one's mood propensity and unexpected variables.

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  8. Smiling can make you happy; it produces endorphins. Probably good posture too. My wife says that standing erect takes 10 years off my appearance; that makes me happy. https://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/7-benefits-smiling-and-laughing.html

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    Replies
    1. Gotta love the fake-it-till-ya-make-it apporach, it works even with happiness ;)

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  9. Discussion Question:
    Chapter One discusses how "poor" communities are often happier than the "average college student," but what do you think causes the homeless in California to be even more unhappy than Calcutta homeless and Calcutta sex workers?

    Personally, I think it may be the difference in their surroundings, in their expectations for life. In Calcutta, many who have homes experience almost the same level of poverty as the homeless in the region. Whereas, in California, the homeless may feel as though they have fallen farther than the homeless in Calcutta when the look at their surroundings.

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  10. "Do you agree that there's never been a better time to be alive?"

    Answer: No. When thinking about all the issues that the world and environment currently face, I would have to say that the future is looking quite grim. As an American, I would have to say that those who were born in the late 1940s and 50s probably experienced America at its peak.
    However, I do not believe this is a reason to give up or succumb to unhappiness. If this happens, we will have no chance of recovering. I just think that one must be honest about the problems before we can start finding solutions. And, good healthcare (that many cannot afford) and lots of stuff to buy does not make this the "best of all possible worlds."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you were born in the 40s and 50s and were white, if you were anything other than that it probably wasn't "America at its peak" for you.

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    2. For what it's worth, each time and age has its issues. I always thought it would be cool to live in Medieval Europe. But as I learned in history classes, unless you were in the upper crust of society, life was sqaulid and short. That revalation put a damper on my desire to live in that era. The passage of time allows us to romanticise the past until we cannot see the issue through our rose-colored glasses.

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    3. Marshall, you have a great point. And, I do agree that many human rights issues are better now than then, both for people of color and women.
      And, Levi, you are correct that each time has its own issues.

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  11. In Chapter 1, there is a table that has life satisfaction for various groups. How is it that the California homeless have less life satisfaction than the Calcutta sex workers? What question were asked? Or how was this survey conducted?

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  12. Also, here is the magazine Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/happiness

    It has different articles about happiness. I decided to look into it since Chapter 1 and 2 discuss the emotional state of happiness.

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  13. New DQ- Why/how is it that the United States scored 14th place for life satisfaction, but only 57th in daily experience (how pleasant or emotionally rewarding life is)?

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    Replies
    1. I think one of the reasons that people in the United States score fairly low in the daily experience catagory would be due to people being involved in jobs that don't truly fulfill them as far as meaning as most peolpe get absorbed in a job that they are not passionate about due to chasing money, respect, and other vanities.

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  14. Do you have views about eastern (eg, Buddhist) approaches to happiness?

    http://www.happysociety.org/uploads/HsoDownload/9500/download_file.pdf
    This link provides an in depth view of Buddhist approach and the part that stuck out was "In Buddhism, there are different
    levels of “sukha” or happiness for human development that each individuals can
    be trained to achieve higher and neater happiness; therefore, happiness is not
    viewed as a static, but it is a dynamic process in human development."
    I've never viewed happiness in that way, but I want to look more into it.

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    Replies
    1. idk why it says unknown. This was me lol

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    2. I believe that although happiness can be trained or atleast improved through practice, that you need to have other things in place such as food, shelter, community, etc. before you can truly focus on improving your propensity for being happy.

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  15. DQ: How does life expectancy and wealth affect happiness?

    How is it that indigenous nomadic tribes are happier than people in developed nations or nations that have the highest life expectancy and wealth?

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    Replies
    1. I doubt that it has a net positive effect--if it has one at all. Looking at the indigenous people mentioed by Habron, they were able to live a life free of the stress and distractions of stuff. That allowed them to enjoy each and every moment.

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  16. I find it interesting that you raise the question about a time when you became engrossed in a task or activity. Looking back at the hourse I have whittled away hiking or combing through my Lego box when I was younger, those quite moment are the ones I would consider myself happy. We all love certain aspects of life. Whether we enjoy games, movies, music or physical actvity, we want to enjoythat aspect free from hinderence or distractions. So in order to reach that mindset of peace, we have to learn how to achieve it despite the distractins or--if we take extreme action--remove those distractions in the first place.

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  17. Do you often, or ever, experience a state of mindless meditation? Are you happy in those moments? Or must such moments recur regularly over the course of a lifetime before such a judgment would be appropriate?

    I often experience this state of "flow" and I believe that this gives a person a state of happiness that resembles the tranquil attribute of happiness that Haybron was talking about. I think that this state is one of the most basic and fundamental forms of happiness that is often overlooked in many western societies.

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  18. Hi! i'm savannah and I wasn't able to introduce myself earlier. thought I do everything in one post. really just figuring out this weird blog thing.
    "Life is good" - agree? What hypothetical circumstances in your life do you imagine might reverse your opinion?
    answer: I don't believe in a utopia. Life is too colorful for that and with more technology advances and society growing and learning so fast, it can make decisions harder etc. I do believe your life can be good. I believe you can make It however you want. shitty things happen, but all of that is external, what you make of it is internal. This is a little too happy go lucky type of view, but under my circumstances of a life experience was once I did acid and had experience the scariest worst time of my life for 8 solid hours. I took away tons of insight! even wrote about what I had found out. Really all my guilt, shame, anger it was hurting me, but I, me, myself can have my own utopia. All of this is through my perspective anyways why not make it a good one, a good life. Anyone is capable of having a good life.

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  19. The concept of attunement is both 1) associated more with eastern cultures and 2) more akin to a stoic sort of happiness than an epicurean sort. I think that in a very short introduction, when there are multiple sorts of interpretations for a concept as wide in depth as "happiness," it was inevitable/necessary to go into less detail about one of the identified aspects, if the others are more related. However, I think we should not be too hasty to say that it only makes sense to discuss the emotional elements of what we call happiness. This is to view an incomplete topic. The value of attunement is not understated by Haybron, however, which I appreciate.

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  20. Having Less and Loving Life More
    Chapter one begins by discussing the happiness of tribal villagers who have none of our modern amenities. It describes the Piraha tribe in the Amazon as never seeming worried,in fact, not even having a "word for worry in their language." (p.5) The author goes on to explain that: "There happiness is not simply a product of ignorance about the wonders of plasma TV. They know about such things, but don't care much." (p.6)
    This makes me wonder if the two are linked: not having many possessions and not having worry.
    In our modern world, most of us have more possessions than we know what to do with, even if we are not rich. We collect everything from toys to clothes, from childhood into adulthood. We are groomed to LOVE our things. So, as we grow we hold on to the old ones while accumulating new ones. In extreme cases, this collection of things can even take over our lives, such as with hoarders. And, along with these things comes a lot of worry. We worry about caring for them, cleaning them, paying for them, storing them, making or having space for them, and the list goes on. The amount of Americans with severe credit card debt, which was often used to buy needless things, is extraordinary.
    And, then there is the movement of minimalism. And, many of these people state that they feel much happier and freer now that they have eliminated the majority of their things. And,anyone who has purged a large amount of junk from a room or home can probably relate to the peaceful, satisfied feeling it brings.Have the minimalists taped into the freedom from worry that the Piraha tribe has know for generations? No more clutter and far less debt would be nice. Wouldn't it?
    I am not suggesting full-on minimalism. However,could the average person learn something from the Piraha and the minimalists that might increase their happiness by lessening their worry? I think we could! Have less and love life more.

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