To Be Happy, Or To Be A Happy Person?
Exploring the philosophy of happiness and applying to our today
Introduction
I have been thinking about happiness a lot - on what the word means and what it would mean to me.
Although happiness is a personal sentiment that each of us values differently, what remains true is that all of us do, in fact, value it. It is a feeling that drives most of our actions, decisions and choices. In fact, when I talk about leading an intentional life, I have to consider happiness because our intentions are often closely intertwined with what brings us happiness and happiness is indeed valuable. Therefore, it is worthwhile to consider its philosophy and understand how to embed it into our individual lives so that we are able to make intentional, fulfilling decisions that fuel us and give us purpose.
Upon studying the concept of happiness, I have come across two primary thoughts - happiness as a state of mind, and happiness that comes from leading a good life for that particular individual. The former is concerned with the psychological state of being happy and can be rather individualistic. While the latter considers virtue and morality to be linked with happiness and this understands happiness to be dependent on not only the individual but also their community.
Let’s start with some history.
II. Happiness: A Brief History
According to Greek history, happiness was not something people thought about a lot. It was considered a blessing from the Gods to a few lucky mortals, not something that could be attained through human effort. This is understandable - during this period, the primary purpose of human life was survival. Thinking about happiness and how it can be attained was not meaningful, finding ways to survive was.
Furthermore, before the advent of scientific exploration and reasoning, people could not always make sense of the events they encountered (or did not encounter), especially if those events were nature-related. A man’s happiness was considered to be highly dependent on God, nature, and external factors that impacted man’s livelihood and their societal standing. For example, a wild animal running into a farmer’s field and ruining his crops would be considered a curse from the Gods on to the unlucky farmer.
Socrates was one of the earliest thinkers who pondered about happiness and what it meant to humanity. He established that happiness could actually be obtained by man, rather than it being something that is left to the heavens. He proposed that we can find happiness by trying to fulfill the soul rather than the desires of the body; happiness could be something that we can find for ourselves.
In discussing beauty and its association with happiness - Socrates makes a distinction between loving beautiful things and appreciating the concept of beauty. I found this to be the key in the difference between deriving joy from things you love, and chasing after the things you claim to love. Chasing after beauty and desire is shallow and does not lead to a permanent or sustainable state of happiness as those in search of only material happiness will never be sated and will always want more. In a way, Socrates was saying that happiness comes from within and did not have to rely on the Gods, society or anyone else.
This individualistic thought is powerful; since happiness is closely linked with meaning, this means that leading a meaningful, satisfying life could be in our hands. It meant that we, humans, have control. However, it is also quite self-centered. As humans are social beings, we require a community to function well. We thrive in civilisations, so shouldn’t something as meaningful as happiness be influenced by our community too?
Now, Aristotle thought of happiness in this way. He stated that virtue and morality was an important factor for happiness. In his eyes, even if one were to live a pleasure-filled life - attaining all that he desires - if he was not a morally good man, he wouldn’t have led a happy life.
There is truth to what Aristotle says; about happiness being bigger than the self and bigger than our individual actions. For when we live in a community, our individual choices interconnect to form the web of civilization in which we breathe and die. Hence, I agree that there should be more to happiness than just pleasure, otherwise, happiness to us is the same as what happiness is to animals. And since we, unlike animals, have the ability to reason, we should be making more reasonable choices that may not always provide short term pleasure, but will be the morally correct choice that will add up to the greater good.
(I will not get into ethics and morals in this newsletter, that is another rabbit hole of its own and we can fall into it later. Let's focus on Happiness.)
III. So… Hedonism?
Let me ask you a simple question - when you think about happiness, what do you think about? Clarify your answer in your head before you continue reading.
Done? Okay, let's go on.
How many of you thought of a thing, person or a place? I used to answer this question with “drinking coffee”.
Happiness is often used interchangeably with the idea of well-being - taking care of one’s physical and mental health. Therefore, it is not uncommon to associate happiness with actions, activities, or things from which we derive pleasure. In this sense, animals find happiness relatively easily as well - for a panda it might be chomping on some bamboo, and for a sloth it could be taking a long nap.
This pleasure-seeking definition of happiness is what hedonistic philosophy is all about - it views the pursuit of pleasure to satisfy one’s physical and social needs as the truth towards happiness. Today, that could be indulging in a reckless night out, maximizing pleasure through alcohol and dance, and satisfying social and intellectual stimulation by being around people. It could also be sleeping in and eating a good meal to make ourselves feel better. It could also mean raging war against a country and killing innocent people for your own personal reasons. Both these activities have one thing in common - they are focused on satisfying the individual and not the community.
This is the simple, straightforward solution to find happiness - indulging in joy-deriving, pleasure-seeking activities that satisfy your physical and mental self. It is something in your control as you can seek out these actions and make choices that will give you joy. In a way, it is something we all can use to be happy, and it isn’t wrong. It ties in with the first kind of happiness I mentioned at the beginning - happiness that comes with living a good life for that individual.
However, I find it strange how even though the world has become more globalized and interconnected, our definition of happiness can still remain so individualistic. If happiness is something we value together as a humanity, shouldn’t it also be something humanity can impact? Furthermore, if happiness is to be connected with living a meaningful life, this hedonistic view insists that meaning lies in maximizing pleasure, even if it is short term and not always for the greater good.
IV. A Proposal - Happiness and Us
Combining both Socrates and Aristotle’s philosophy of happiness, I propose we look at happiness in this way:
Happiness should come from within, it should be an adjective for the kind of person you are rather than an emotion you sometimes feel. Being a happy person would mean that you are self-satisfied, fulfilled and always in a state of tranquility. In being self-satisfied, you ensure that the decisions and choices you make are not purely to maximize your own pleasure, but also to give back to those around you. In being fulfilled, you are less selfish and you are content with what you have, not chasing after more. In being tranquil, you do not let external factors affect you as you have control over your mind.
This approach accepts self-satisfying activities like exercising, socializing, meditating, dancing, singing and others as such, to allow you to feel joy and maintain your happiness. At the same time, it allows you to know where to draw the line because chasing after more pleasure to maximise happiness for yourself, you could be taking away happiness from others. Lastly, and most importantly, reaching a state of self-acceptance will ensure that no external factors can affect your internal self.
Essentially, we are trying to find a balance between pleasure-seeking behavior, and morality. However, with this mindset you look at morality in another sense: being a virtuous person does not mean you are constantly giving to others and neglecting yourself, it means you know when to stop taking from others and being confident in your actions.
V. To End, A Personal Note
Happiness is an integral part of our existence, and I believe that understanding it - and understanding what it means for our individual selves - is important for us to make the best choices for ourselves. I do not believe we can live an intentional life if we do not know what brings us happiness as, ultimately, that is the goal we are all chasing - to be happy. But the more I live life, the more I feel like chasing happiness defeats the entire purpose of being happy, if that makes sense. It is like trying to reach a planet far away without acknowledging and appreciating the moons and stars in the galaxy that we see along the way. It is like cooking an eight course meal with our eyes shut. I guess what I am trying to say is, happiness cannot be the end goal - it should be an integral part of our journey, our everyday. Or as Buddha puts it (much more eloquently than I could):
“There is no path to happiness: happiness is the path.”
For a lot of time this year, I have tried to focus on happiness as being from within. Like a lot of philosophers, I tried to imbed happiness into my soul and spirit by focusing on the present moment and practicing mindfulness. I meditated, practiced digital minimalism, tried to be stoic. I did all this because I do truly believe that a lot of happiness comes from within us. It comes from our perspectives, our positive mentalities, self reflection and self care.
Did it work?