Happiness

[madnak]

An article from New York Magazine.

Is happiness what we think it is? Is it desirable? Does it conflict with other goals? How does it relate to contentment, fulfillment, and satisfaction? And is it true that a person remains motivated and inspired only so long as he's unsatisfied?

I think happiness is a single element in a very complex balance. I think there may be such a thing as "too much" of it. And I think there are strong ties between happiness and ignorance, happiness and callousness, happiness and insularity. Biologically speaking, what triggers happiness at a neurochemical level? Does the answer really reflect the kind of idealistic labels we like to place on ourselves and our feelings?

[Psycho Boy Jack]

Why are we smiling ?

[madnak]

Because it hurts.

[hmkpoker]

"Happiness" is just like "intelligence"; a nebulous, arbitrary idea about the constitution of the human psyche.

[cambraceres]

There is significant evidentiary support for the notion that genius is accompanied by a dedidedly morose nature. I'm not so sure about the motivation question. At least with those capable of artistic expression of high quality, sadness is seemingly a rule.

I cannot at this point in the early morning remember which suicidal russian thinker said this, but here is the jist of something someone said, long ago, that is probably more true than political correctness will allow us to grant today.

He said, an intelligent person is more apt to feel sadness, bscause unlike the barely conscious persons around them in every direction, they realize the severity of their plight. Only the intelligent man can see the ground hurtling up at him, in frefall, while everyone else thinks they are flying, solely because of the wind on their face.

I know that I have fekt sad in the past when I came to some sort of abberational understanding of this or that. As Casanova said, "blessed is the man who can see his ignorance for the virtue it really is."

I try to always be happy now, and succeed, with conditions. But then I haven't seen the poverty line in years and can hardly see over the mountain of debt I'm in. It seems many times tha awful circumstances can still breed happiness.

Odd

Cam

[madnak]

Yeah yeah. You're just avoiding the question.

[hmkpoker]

[ QUOTE ]
Yeah yeah. You're just avoiding the question.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't even see what the question is. What is "happiness"? No one really knows, and the dictionary just gives us some equally vague synonyms.

When you asked:

[ QUOTE ]
Biologically speaking, what triggers happiness at a neurochemical level?

[/ QUOTE ]

...what brand of "happiness" were you referring to? The dopaminergic "rush" of winning a big pot? The wash of serotonin that accompanies falling in love? The warm, fuzzy feeling of shooting heroin? That nirvanic state of "just being" that all those zen books talk about?

These are all VERY different emotional states.

[Darryl_P]

[ QUOTE ]
...what brand of "happiness" were you referring to? The dopaminergic "rush" of winning a big pot? The wash of serotonin that accompanies falling in love? The warm, fuzzy feeling of shooting heroin? That nirvanic state of "just being" that all those zen books talk about?

These are all VERY different emotional states.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well said. Every form of happiness comes with a price and the trick is to find the best "deal" IMO.

Some have suggested that ignorance is bliss, but I disagree with this. Rather, I think the person who points such a thing out is a defeatist of sorts, someone who reacts to the plight he is in by resigning himself to it rather than fighting it like a warrior.

A typical member of the ignorant masses must constantly keep himself occupied because he must avoid deep reflection at all costs. This would be when he realizes that all of his efforts are pointless and that he has some big time sins to address and set straight. Luckily for him, western society offers many opportunities to keep running in that gerbil wheel, rewarding and encouraging him all the while. His constant state of stress is visible to an astute observer and is hardly the object of envy, even if it does come with euphoric moments at times.

The highest form of happiness is the nirvanic Buddhist type IMO, but the price for that is, among other things, giving up just about everything you own. That takes more courage than I can muster up at the moment so I'll never know what that's like, but based on my observations of others, this one looks like it's permanent and has no downside except the extreme difficulty of getting there.

[madnak]

[ QUOTE ]
I don't even see what the question is. What is "happiness"? No one really knows, and the dictionary just gives us some equally vague synonyms.

[/ QUOTE ]

Is happiness desirable? Or, more pertinently, what are the costs of happiness?

[ QUOTE ]
When you asked:

[ QUOTE ]
Biologically speaking, what triggers happiness at a neurochemical level?

[/ QUOTE ]

...what brand of "happiness" were you referring to? The dopaminergic "rush" of winning a big pot? The wash of serotonin that accompanies falling in love? The warm, fuzzy feeling of shooting heroin? That nirvanic state of "just being" that all those zen books talk about?

These are all VERY different emotional states.

[/ QUOTE ]

[/ QUOTE ]

All of the above, really. And all of those states do typically involve the release of dopamine. I think primarily the kind of happiness that has to do with "reward pathways" and that tends to reinforce behavior, if you want to get nitty. But I'm really talking about the general state of bliss, the elusive "what people want," whatever it may be.

Another relevant question is whether it's even possible to be really "happy," to "have" what you "want." It seems like humans should "normally" be in a state of content equilibrium, and should only deviate from that state when some need arises (such as the need for food). But in practice, homeostasis seems neither necessary nor sufficient for human contentment.

Is that because it's difficult to meet certain needs (such as social needs), or is there something "more" to happiness than satiation? Even many people who seem satisfied strike me as somehow discontent. Maybe I'm just projecting that on them, but even "smaller" things like general satisfaction seem like they may have their costs.

[madnak]

[ QUOTE ]
The highest form of happiness is the nirvanic Buddhist type IMO, but the price for that is, among other things, giving up just about everything you own. That takes more courage than I can muster up at the moment so I'll never know what that's like, but based on my observations of others, this one looks like it's permanent and has no downside except the extreme difficulty of getting there.

[/ QUOTE ]

I've known people (typically suffering from mood disorders, etc) to give up everything they own and seek this kind of happiness, and remain miserable.