[mojed]

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PairtheBoard, I agree that overcontemplation can lead to unhappiness, but the alternative of surface level, non-thinking, happiness is an incredibly trite form of happiness. I'd prefer someone who overthinks rather than someone not thinking at all.

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While I tend to agree that non-thinking happiness is trite, I cannot justify that rationally, it is my gut feeling - a slight contradiction. Who are we to define what a trite form of happiness is and what a respectable form of happiness is (or a trite vs. respectable means of obtaining happiness), and how can we define it without resorting to our instincts, or some sort of ungrounded assumption about happiness.

I struggle to justify why the happiness obtained from watching tv all day is any more trite than the happiness gained from philosophical thought. Each is just a means to an end, happiness.