Happiness: The Science Behind Your Smile rough draft

Happiness: The Science Behind Your Smile

Daniel Nettle? Who is he? You might not know because well… he’s a little different from the people we’ve talked about in class so far. He’s a British behavioral and social scientist mostly known for his research that integrates psychology with evolutionary and comparative biology. He is currently a professor at the School of Psychology at Newcastle University in England and has been teaching there since 2004. 

A small breakdown of what the books contents are before I get into the actual post

Chapter 1: the concept of happiness

Chapter 2: are people are ‘basically’ happy or ‘basically’ unhappy, why?

Chapter 3 & 4: why are some people happier than others

Chapter 5: brain systems, underlying moods and emotions

Chapter 6: how to be happier

Chapter 7: paradoxical psychology of happiness

The book starts off somewhat slow with Nettle describing happiness as a semantic terrain. Nettle divides this "semantic terrain" into three levels of happiness, 1. momentary feelings of pleasure and joy, 2. Well-being and life satisfaction, and 3. Aristotle’s concept of human flourishing. Nettle seems to look a lot at the evolutionarily driven physiological systems. He talks of emotions like fear and disgust, and how we are born with them in order to survive, and questions if happiness is like these emotions. He focuses a lot on the biological reasons on why our happiness system works. He sums these biological reasons up with the example that if someone is completely and forever satisfied, then there won’t be any reason or motivation for them to survive. He goes on to talk about when we try to consider how happy we are, we usually make a subjective guess. This guess is usually biased based on the peak-end rule, our current mood, or the comparison we are making amongst other people. 

Nettle believes our brains have evolved to enjoy happiness only momentarily, then basically plateau, then seek out new happiness again. Nettle argues that these are not faults in the happiness program; they are simply the way it’s designed. An ongoing trend that people want what others have. There are many surveys and questionnaires of people rating their own satisfactions in the following chapters. These surveys provided examples of why some people are happier than others. One example showed that there was a strong correlation between happiness and physical health. Also, women appear to be slightly happier than men because they experience ‘happy’ feelings more often. Higher social class coincides with an extra boost of happiness. This is true for income as well, but to a smaller degree. When it came down to it, the majority of people, when asked, would prefer to earn $50,000 in a world where others earned $25,000, than $100,000 in a world where others earned $250,000(38).

Nettle then gives a small lecture about the brain systems, underlying moods and emotions. Liking something and wanting something require two very different brain processes, and happiness is distinct from both of them. For example, you could crave a piece of chocolate but receive little to no pleasure once you ate it. Nettle says human confuse the fact that we want something with the assumption that we will therefore be happy when we get it (126).  He goes on to talk about how happiness is determined by your genetic blueprint and chemical reactions. He asks, “What hope is there, short of drugging myself or attempted genetic engineering, of ever becoming happier?”

So, can happiness be changed? Can you actually be happier without it being just a temporary boost. Nettle believes happiness is in direct control of brain functioning. Nettle doesn’t really think you can change happiness by yourself. In fact, he thinks self-help books are all placebos. According to Nettle, you can change your happiness based on psychotherapy. Still, he believes that these solutions aren’t miraculous, and that the best therapy is the realization that total happiness is neither attainable nor the only important aspiration. Constantly aspiring to be happy makes it harder to be happy, just as materialism breeds dissatisfaction with material conditions. Sometimes you just need to let it come to you. “Happiness is a butterfly, which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may align with you.” -Nathaniel Hawthorne

To conclude, this isn’t a self-help book like I thought it would be. To sum it all up, Nettle says some pretty bitter things. We aren’t meant to be happy; we are just meant to strive to be so. We’re not happy with what we have, and we try to attain what others have even when it won’t make us any happier. To experience happiness, it requires us to be fully present in the here and there, not distraction by desires and wants. Also, some of us are just susceptible to being neurotic, and there is nothing wrong with that. It’s just a little harder to strive to be happy.

Discussion

1.    Are we more unhappy because we think we are supposed to be happy when we aren’t?

2.    Do you think we are born with “happiness” or do you agree with Nettle in the sense that happiness is only something we strive for?

3.    Nettle seems to think there’s no “natural” way to become happier, do you agree or disagree? Why? If taking a pill or genetic engineering was the only way to be happier, would you do it?

QQ

1.    According to Nettle, what seems to be the only way to become happier?

2.     The majority of people would prefer to earn ________________, than $100,000 in a world where others earned $250,000.

3.    Self-help books are a __________, according to Nettle.

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