Flanagan 4-7 (-p.145). PRESENTATIONS: KADE, GARY...
- The authors say proponents of the happiness agenda "only want to know" what? 97
- What kind of property, implied by the averaging and ranking of happiness scores, do the authors insist does not exist? 100-101
- By which metrics are Finland, The Netherlands, and Vietnam (respectively) the world's happiest countries? 103-4
- With what sorts of outcomes are positive and negative emotions correlated? 107 How do Anglophone and East Asian cultures differ on them? 114
- What did J.S. Mill say about people who are inappropriately happy? Do you agree? 110-11
- Who said "much laughter deadens the heart." Agree? 112-3
- What groups do the authors offer as examples of people who are happy "for the wrong reasons"? 117
- The cultural fit of emotions contributes to subjective well-being and to what? 122
- What did Edward Slingerland say about the Chinese concept of Tian? 138
- Chinese feminism is mostly about what? 145
Who said "much laughter deadens the heart." Agree? 112-3
ReplyDeleteThe prophet Muhammad said this phrase, and no, I don’t agree. Laughing is something I love to do; it makes me feel good without hurting anyone else. It’s a way to express to others how I feel in a universal language everyone can understand. It brings people together; it forms bonds. Having a good laugh with someone can bring you closer to them. I understand that Muhammad was trying to bring people closer to god with this piece of advice, but come on, god has a sense of humor too. He wouldn’t have made platypuses if he didn’t!
Any god worth believing in would have to have a sense of humor. And justice. That's where it gets trickier.
DeleteOn page 120, the author titles the section, “what emotions are central to well-being depends on culture.” Do you agree with this statement? If yes, explain what emotions are central to your own culture. If not, explain why.
ReplyDeleteI think that this statement is true, yes. It is one of the many things that can be pointed to as an explanation for happiness. In my culture (that being white, male dominated, southern United States, Christian culture) happiness is defined as self sacrifice. Whether that be sacrificing your time to bake a pie for a sick neighbor, or sacrificing your life for your country, the giving of one’s self is central to achieving happiness, because this is what Jesus did for us on the cross. Hence, the emotions that come along with happiness aren’t always pleasant. This is why many Christians often feel the need to be persecuted, they will make up oppressors and oppression for themselves because they feel they cannot have happiness without first feeling pain. In a way, feeling pain is a signifier they are “in this world and not of it” which, for them, is the best thing they could be, thus warranting them the privilege of feeling happy.
“In this sense, Western feminism empowers Chinese women with a new conceptual framework and creates a new space for feminist movements, even as it struggles to be reconciled with preexisting discourses rooted in China’s distinct social, political, and cultural reality.” (145)
ReplyDeleteDoes this sound a little ‘white savior-y’ to anybody else? I think that Chinese women should be allowed to explore whatever types of feminism they so choose, but the idea that they were floundering before being introduced to western ideology just doesn’t sit right with me. Just because they weren’t doing things the western way doesn’t mean they were failing. If finding a way to blend Confucianism with feminism makes them feel empowered, even if it is not to the level that we in the west would consider tolerable, I think it should be celebrated just the same. Empowerment is similar to happiness in that the emotions that are central to it depend on culture. The way this last part of chapter 7 was phrased makes me question if the happiness scholars who wrote this were trying to take away from that fact (intentionally or not).
Matt Delfendahl:
ReplyDeleteFinland is actually the leading country in two different metrics. They are leading in Life Satisfaction and Balance. To me this makes a lot of sense. I feel people with balanced lives would tend to be more satisfied in their life.
The Netherlands is leading in the metric of Peace. I would love to visit a country like the Netherlands one day!
Vietnam is leading in the metric of Calmness. I would also love to visit Vietnam one day; I have heard they are incredibly nice and accommodating to tourist!