Human Happiness Midterm 1

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Hinduism

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Yogas (Freedom from Desire) - Five Prohibitions (Yamas) – what not to do Violence, Greed, Sex, Stealing, Lying

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Buddhism

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Dalai Lama (Compassion, “Right Mind”) - Nirvana and the four noble truthso

1. Life as we live it is suffering, frustrationo

2. Cause of suffering, clinging, grasping, is ignorance (about the human condition)o

3. Release: nirvana, disengage from grasping/ignorance

4. 8 fold practice/ path: § action§ thought§ Friendship/ Loving Kindness: Maitri§ Equanimity: Upeksha – balance§ Compassion: Karuna§ Joy: Mudita – joy and delight from other people’s joy§ Kind speech§ Nonjudgmental mindfulnesso

“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion; if you want to be happy, practice compassion.”

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Utilitarianism

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Jeremy Bentham, J.S. Mill (Greater Good) - Happiness is found in actions that promote happiness for the greatest number of people (maximize the wellbeing of others while minimizing pain of others)

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Jen

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-Confucious (Social Harmony) - brings the good things of others to completion and does not bring the bad things of others to completion

-Happiness found in respect, reverence, social harmony, bringing out the good in others Meaning of life is to enhance the welfare of othersHappiness of oneself is embedded in creating others happiness

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Taoism

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Happiness must come naturally, not achieved by grasping for it; “Wu-wei”: happiness found in not acting, rather in a natural unfolding of beingLao Tzuhappiness not grasped with rational mind/categoriesreturn to nature, no intentional strivingstiff & hard are “companions of death”; tender & weak are “companions of life”strong and great are inferior, while tender and weak are superior

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Signal contingent

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self-report measurement of happiness -> pinged at certain times of day to test how you're feeling

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interval contingent

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self-report measurement of happiness -> daily diary method, participants complete questionnaires at certain time each day to test how they're feeling

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Carol Ryff: Domains of happiness

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1. Autonomy

2. Environmental mastery

3. Personal Growth

4. Purpose in life

5. Positive Relations with others

6. Self-acceptance

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Seligman: Domains of Happiness

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1. Positiivty

2. Engagement

3. Relationships

4. Meaning

5. Achievement

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Measure at trait/personality level

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more constant

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Measure at state level

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changes based on situation; like w/ experience sampling

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Thomas Huxley

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argued evolution didn’t produce biologically based capacity to care instead, kindness, cooperation, and compassion are cultural creations, constructed within religious commandments and rituals, in norms governing public exchange, codified in social organizations, as desperate attempts to rein in, to counterquile man’s base tendencies (of aggression, violence and competition).

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Charles Darwin

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-Compassion increased through natural selection as it would rear the greatest number of offspring (survival of the kindest)

-”Social instincts - instincts towards sympathy, play, belonging in groups, caring for offspring, reciprocating act of generosity, and worrying about the regard of others - are part of human nature”

-Our evolved tendencies toward Goodness, are performed with the automatic, well-honed speed of other reflexes.

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Compassion

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emotion that involves more vagal activity than pride and is oriented towards concern for others human needs or reducing harm; promotes a sense of similarity for the weak, whereas pride does not

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historical accounts that claim that compassion is not a natural instinct of the human species

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Freudian Mind, Libertarianism, Political Theory, Evolutionary Survival of the Fittest and Moral Theory.

Freudian Mind: The very emphasis of the commandment “Thou shalt not kill,” makes it certain that we are descended from an endlessly long chain of generations of murderers, whose love of murder was in their blood as it is perhaps in ours.Libertarianism: If any civilization is to survive, it is the morality of altruism that men have to reject.Political Theory: Of mankind we may say in general they are fickle, hypocritical, and greedy of gain.Evolutionary Survival of the Fittest:The natural world is “grossly immoral,” Natural selection “can honestly be described as a process for maximizing short sighted selfishness.”Moral Theory: Sympathy as a good natured emotion is always blind and weak.

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Compassion is natural instinct

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Darwin provided the argument: “(compassion) will have been increased through natural selection; for those communities, which included the greatest number of the most sympathetic members, would flourish best, and rear the greatest number of offspring.”Compassion supports prosocial behavior, which results in more offspring and community benefit.Premature babies need social networks to take care of vulnerable babies.Compassion is important for:Reliable Identification: Avoid exploitation and identify altruistic types to collaborate with. Contagious compassion: Convert competitive interactions into cooperation.Shift costs and benefits of giving.It pays to be good.

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Frans de Waal (1996):

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Food sharing and grooming in chimps. Primates share food for survival. They groom each other in exchange for gifts of food, even with non-kin. They are rewarded with social gratitude.

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Diener; subjective well-being article

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ARTICLE:

Findings: subjective well-being strongly influenced by stable personality dispositions. Happiness = positive emotions, negative emotions, and life satisfaction Methods: self- report measurement: satisfaction with life scale (7 - strongly agree; 1 - strongly disagree)

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Killingsworth; A Wandering mind is an unhappy mind Article

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ARTICLE:

Findings: more happy when present than when mind-wandering, even if doing something mundane; happiest when social/with others like friends Methods: iPhone app for experience sampling self report

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fMRI compassion vs pride; Simon-Thomas Article

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ARTICLE:

Findings: compassion in the midbrain periaqueductal gray; pride in the posterior medial cortex Methods: compassion-inducing slides, or pride-inducing slides; self-report and fMRI measures

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Periaqueductal gray (PAG)

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found in midbrain, activated in compassion' a region that is activated during pain and the perception of others' pain

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Posterior medial cortex (PMC)

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activated in self-referent processing or by pride induction

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right Inferior Frontal Gyrus (IFG)

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activated by self-reports of compassion experience

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Pride experience brain activation

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-reduced activation in IFG and anterior insula

-increased activation in PMC

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Compassion experience brain activation

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-activation in midbrain PAG and in right IFG (inferior frontal gyrus)