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."

Thursday, November 25, 2021

How Liberals Can Be Happier

They can embrace social institutions like family, religion and local civic organizations. 

(Or they could just care less about injustice and inequality. Not recommended.)

For many of us, the holidays offer a time of reflection. We look back at the year that’s passed and ahead to the year to come. Some ask a simple question: Am I happy?


That appears to be a more difficult question for liberals than for conservatives. It’s a puzzling but well-established finding: Conservatives are more likely than liberals to report they are happy.


But why are conservatives more likely to say they’re happier? And how can liberals live happier lives?


Some scholars believe that the happiness gap between conservatives and liberals is driven by differences in how liberals and conservatives think about politics and inequality. For example, John Jost and Jaime Napier, two psychologists at New York University, have written that “the rationalization of inequality — a core component of conservative ideology — helps to explain why conservatives are, on average, happier than liberals.” In other words, happiness is a function of legitimating the world as it is. Conservatives are happy because they’re fine with the status quo; liberals are unhappy because they’re not...

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/25/opinion/liberals-happiness-thanksgiving.html?smid=em-share

1 comment:

  1. Those who advocate for the abolition of the present state of things (aka they don't want to reform the system but build a new one on the ashes of the old) I think are happy for reasons other than "the system is unjust" because they already knew that, its no surprise to them. Once you swallow the fact that the system is rotten to the core, you won't get any more depressed by further evidence. In fact, seeing the valiant struggles of the people against said system fills you with pride and hope. I think of myself as very happy. Dissatisfaction comes from contradiction between reality and beliefs- so being informed (about the rotten system) despite being chock full of depressing news, is a way of ridding one contradiction from one's mind, thus making oneself happier.

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Steve Gleason’s good life

What's the last great book you read? When I was diagnosed [with ALS], one of the first questions I asked in a journal entry was, "...