Happiness is a word that is seen in a multitude of different ways by a multitude of different people. Everyone has their own idea of what happiness means to them, but it is a word that has no set definition. The author of “Happiness and Its Discontents”, Daniel Haybron views happiness as an entire emotional spectrum that is affected by several factors such as life satisfaction and being exposed to both pain and pleasure. Whereas Ed Diener and Robert Biswas-Diener the authors of “Can Money Buy Happiness”, describe happiness as the emotion someone feels when they obtain an object they believe will improve their life and can be acquired within their means. An example of this would be the joy someone might feel when they are able to buy a car they
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A task that is nearly impossible due to the word being indescribable by human terms, but Haybron manages to find his definition of happiness. Haybron sees happiness sees happiness as an entire emotional spectrum and personality that is affected by several different factors. One of these said factors is how satisfied someone is with their life. The text states, “In a recent study of poor Egyptians, researchers asked them to explain why they were satisfied, and their responses often took something like this form: “One day is good and the other one is bad; whoever accept the least lives” (Haybron 131). Though the Egyptians are poor and living in harsh conditions they describe themselves as happy because they believe their lives are better than being dead and therefore don’t have the right to complain about their current existence. The Egyptians are only happy because they have never been exposed to better living conditions and believe their current lives are pleasant. Two other factors that determine someone’s happiness are how often someone is exposed to pleasure and pain. For instance, if someone has constant backpain they will more likely see the world with a depressed outlook, and if someone is able to have a fun time with their family they will more likely see the world with a joyful outlook. Even though these three things affect happiness they are not …show more content…
They believe happiness is the feeling that appears when someone can gain something they believe will improve their life and is within their means. The authors roughly state, “The couple with the middle-class income are happier [than the wealthier couple] simply because they have modest desires that they can obtain such as a car that runs well and an old but large home” (Diener, Biswas-Diener 170). On the other hand, the wealthier couple have more luxurious desires that are out of their means such as fancy cars, expensive vacations, and nice homes which only leads them to constantly fight over expenses and finances. The wealthier couple are not happy because they the items they wish to obtain leads to debt and several payments that only take them further away from their desires. Similar to pain, pleasure, and satisfaction money/desire plays a vital role in determining in defining one’s happiness and can drastically change someone’s view of their own
A task that is nearly impossible due to the word being indescribable by human terms, but Haybron manages to find his definition of happiness. Haybron sees happiness sees happiness as an entire emotional spectrum and personality that is affected by several different factors. One of these said factors is how satisfied someone is with their life. The text states, “In a recent study of poor Egyptians, researchers asked them to explain why they were satisfied, and their responses often took something like this form: “One day is good and the other one is bad; whoever accept the least lives” (Haybron 131). Though the Egyptians are poor and living in harsh conditions they describe themselves as happy because they believe their lives are better than being dead and therefore don’t have the right to complain about their current existence. The Egyptians are only happy because they have never been exposed to better living conditions and believe their current lives are pleasant. Two other factors that determine someone’s happiness are how often someone is exposed to pleasure and pain. For instance, if someone has constant backpain they will more likely see the world with a depressed outlook, and if someone is able to have a fun time with their family they will more likely see the world with a joyful outlook. Even though these three things affect happiness they are not …show more content…
They believe happiness is the feeling that appears when someone can gain something they believe will improve their life and is within their means. The authors roughly state, “The couple with the middle-class income are happier [than the wealthier couple] simply because they have modest desires that they can obtain such as a car that runs well and an old but large home” (Diener, Biswas-Diener 170). On the other hand, the wealthier couple have more luxurious desires that are out of their means such as fancy cars, expensive vacations, and nice homes which only leads them to constantly fight over expenses and finances. The wealthier couple are not happy because they the items they wish to obtain leads to debt and several payments that only take them further away from their desires. Similar to pain, pleasure, and satisfaction money/desire plays a vital role in determining in defining one’s happiness and can drastically change someone’s view of their own