Aristotle defines happiness as the final good which means, to live a good life, by doing good deeds and happiness depends upon us. Jefferson states that happiness is freedom
The term for the use of free will is personal agency. Personal agency refers to a person’s life choices and the paths that the individual goes down, along with the consequences from these actions (Feist, Feist, & Roberts, 2013). This theory assumes that all people are basically good inside and that all individuals have an instinctual need to improve themselves, as well as the world around them. Included in the humanistic theory is the emphasis on the personal value of one’s worth, the uniqueness of individual values, and the innovative spirit of human beings. The method is optimistic in nature and concentrates on virtuous human capabilities to prevail over pain, deprivation, and hopelessness (Feist, Feist, & Roberts, 2013).
But through our shifting and changing, we sustain a certain amount of perpetuality in that our ideals – those impressed upon us by the founding fathers of our nation – are passed down throughout the generations as basic and undeniable. The country’s pledge states these words as clearly as Jefferson announces the human rights of Life, Liberty, and pursuit of Happiness. “One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” These words symbolize our faith and enduring belief in the message the Declaration of Independence laid bare for a candid
Happiness can mean several different things; joy, cheerful, bliss and hopeful. For some people, the definition of happiness seems to be avoiding pain at all costs. The problem with defining happiness seems to be an epidemic disparity with what it means to be happy. There is no one way to define this state of being we are all craving to reach. It is as if it depends on what level of for example Maslow’s hierarchy of self-growth.
Since the true path to happiness, according to Epictetus, is the attainment of virtue, we can all become happier by improving ourselves, whether morally or intellectually. Furthermore, Epictetus' philosophy of happiness would lead us to live less stressful lives if we came to worry about only that which we can control. Still, while I admire Epictetus and his philosophy, I do not believe that most of us could be happy purely through the attainment of virtue. I believe that social support and some level of material possessions are necessary for happiness; we cannot forever strive only for virtue. I do, however, believe that Epictetus had a strong point when he asserted that we should only, rationally-speaking, worry about what we can change -- what good is there in worrying about things we cannot
Answer Key 1. In the opening paragraph, Bertrand Russell says, “The happy life is to an extraordinary extent the same as the good life.” What does he mean? Is this statement paradoxical? He means that by being a good person, doing good for other people and trying to make other people happy, you will also be happy. This statement is not paradoxical because we do not have to sacrifice ourselves to help others.
English III TN Core Writing Assessment Writing Prompt #2 Analysis of “The Futile Pursuit of Happiness” By Jon Gernter And “The Science of Happiness” By Michael Mendelsohn The “Pursuit of Happiness” is a right that is given to all citizens of the United States of America in the Declaration of Independence. However, I am not sure the attempt to become happier than we are at this present moment is always an easy task much less even possible at times unless we work for it. The Futile Pursuit of Happiness, written by Jon Gernter, focuses on affective forecasting. This idea suggests that people demonstrate poor judgment in predicting future emotional states when it comes to their well-being. How can anyone foresee what will make them happy or unhappy or how they will react or feel about it when it actually does happen?
How many times have we fantasized about having a perfect life, and in that fantasy, we dreamt that we are extremely happy living that life? According to Daniel Gilbert, in his essay “Immune to Reality”, “because we ignore how our psychological immune system works, we cannot predict how happy our choices will make us”. Therefore, it gets us away from the perfect life that we wish so much. At the end, can we learn how to control the Psychological Immune System to achieve happiness in our life? We would be in a better standing position if we can take advantage of the knowledge how our psychological immune system works, identify what kind of happiness we want to experience, and recognize that we cannot be always happy.
Happiness Paper University of Phoenix PSY/225 Kimberly Kinsey Happiness Paper What is happiness? Some would say it is being in a state of joy, having contentment or maybe even partaking in something that is pleasurable. Happiness can mean many different things to many different people. The state of happiness is subjective to the individual person experiencing the emotion that contributes to their well-being. What does happiness achieve?
“And all the mountains tipt with radiant gold, but I reluctant leave the pleasing views” (Wheatley 2). Now by reading that it lets people know that nothing has happened yet, but it is bound to happened. It stating that all this that she writes, thinks, and dreams about is only a dream right now. It is a dream that many hopes are to become true. But back then this is all they had to hold onto was the dreaming of a better life.