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."
Disenchantment, if I take it to mean what I think it does (in my mind it's similar to being jaded), is something that I struggle with. I want to live life with a positive air and not be so bitter. I believe I've brought this up in class a few times. I just find myself so disenfranchised about so many different things happening around me and in my life. Not to say that my life is horrible or anything, I actually think things are going pretty well. Perhaps I just have a stronger negative cognitive bias than I previously believed. It's something I truly wish to conquer, but I find it quite hard to see past sometimes. I imagine that focusing my appreciation, again, like I've talked about previously, is the key to this. It's a muscle that I have to train like all the others. It's just one of those life struggles that you have to grapple with and hopefully come out on the other side on top of.
ReplyDeleteI strongly recommend Susan Neiman's book "Why Grow Up"... so much youthful disenchantment is a product of cultural mythology surrounding what's best about both youth and maturity, and the process of getting there. Realizing that no one time is the "best" should help make living less a struggle than a series of experiences to savor... or at least to learn and grow from.
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