PHIL 3160 – Philosophy of Happiness
What is it, how can we best pursue it, why should we? Supporting the study of these and related questions at Middle Tennessee State University and beyond. "Examining the concept of human happiness and its application in everyday living as discussed since antiquity by philosophers, psychologists, writers, spiritual leaders, and contributors to pop culture."
How true! This may come from our inability to encapsulate happiness. Page 9 of Haybron's Short Introduction to Happiness states a single account may not be the right approach. Chasing a butterfly indicates a single approach. It seems to me happiness may be a side effect and not the main event/result. And, yet, maybe focusing on maintaining a positive attitude may open the way for the butterfly to land on us.
ReplyDeleteOh yes!!!
DeleteIt's like the Taoist concept of wu-wei, isn't it, "effortless action" or trying not to try. Western philosophers are typically exasperated at that sort of locution, but there's something to it. We shouldn't chase happiness, but should be receptive when it lands on our shoulder.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely!!!
DeleteThis is not really the point, I know, but I've recently taken notice of the phenomenon where people constantly use metaphors to try and explain intensely complicated life experiences. I think the reasoning behind this is to try and find some uniformity in how things work in the world and think "well if this principle applies to [thing of nature], it must apply to me too." I find it hard to get behind this phenomenon as I believe human emotions are far too complicated to be easily explained by another natural process in the world.
ReplyDeleteI love this point! I listened to a podcast one time, I forget the name now, that talked about the power of language and grammar in society. She used examples of North Korea, and how they have no word for "I", they only have a word for "we". This actually aids the authoritarian leadership of North Korea because the people have no sense of individualism. They only relate themselves as parts of a whole, so they are easier to control. Definitely a little more grim than your examples, but I thought it was very interesting.
DeleteThe metaphors that encourage us to think of ourselves as "we" tend to reinforce socially-constructive behaviors, while those that affirm our individuality reinforce our initiative as self-starters. We need both kinds of behaviors and attitudes, so both kinds of metaphors can be useful.
DeleteThe Lakoff and Johnson book I referenced in class was "Metaphors We Live By"--
"Metaphor, the authors explain, is a fundamental mechanism of mind, one that allows us to use what we know about our physical and social experience to provide understanding of countless other subjects. Because such metaphors structure our most basic understandings of our experience, they are "metaphors we live by", metaphors that can shape our perceptions and actions without our ever noticing them."
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34459.Metaphors_We_Live_By
This quote really reminds me of a short book a friend sent me a long time ago called "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne.( I'll put the link for the free PDF if anyone would like to read it, I'd highly recommend.) The book goes on to discuss "the secret" of getting anything you want out of life. She goes on to describe basically what we discussed in class, do not chase what you are going after, simply act and think as if it is already yours. This is known as the Law of Attraction, and I think it's pretty similar to what this quote is touching on! One of my favorite quotes from the books is by John Assaraf and it reads, "our job as humans is to hold on to the thoughts of what we want, make it absolutely clear in our minds what we want, and from there we start to invoke one of the greatest laws in the Universe, and that's known as the Law of Attraction. You become what you think about most but you also attract what you think about most." Thought it was nice how they tied together!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.readingsanctuary.com/read-online/the-secret
"The Secret" and its "Law of Attraction" are a bit New Age-y for me... but if it works for you, go for it. My own view is that there's no easy way to "manifest" our desires via thought. We have to translate thought into action, if we want to get our goals. Happiness doesn't come to us by virtue of what and how we think, but by virtue of what and how we act. If right thinking prepares right action, though, we're good.
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