Sociology Happiness Essay

1650 Words7 Pages
Happiness is a life style that we adopt or borrow from others. Kathy Seligman has principally explored the concept of happiness in her essay “cultivating Happiness” with rigid analysis of facts that determines an individual genesis to happiness. Considering the fact that happiness is not a tangible commodity, she vividly captures our imagination with her argument, which avers that developing positive traits can impact positively in ones life if well nurtured. Thus, it is paramount to understand her position as far as her argument in relation to happiness, which she has pegged around children, is concerned. The underlying facts expose her knowledge of happiness and this is candidly presented by the way she has articulated her introduction in the essay using a 6-year-old Fiona McLaughlin, as the guiding light on the way various emotional developments can be enhanced to create a positive attitude in children. Structural Functionalism is defined as: a broad perspective in sociology, which sets out to interpret society as a structure with interrelated parts. Functionalism addresses society as a whole in terms of the function of its constituent elements; namely norms, customs, traditions and institutions. Happiness certainly would fall under Structural Functionalism. It requires parts of system in order for it to work properly. As the old saying goes, “ Money can’t buy happiness.” This shows that you could have all the money in the world, but still not be happy. Happiness, as stated earlier, requires several, but not limited to, factors: fulfillment, personal satisfaction, sound family, and character. More than likely if one of these key components is missing, the person will not be completely, or if at all, happy. This being said, it plays even more into the fact that happiness is the Structural Functionalism paradigm. It takes all the “parts of the

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