Study Questions for Happiness

January 23

How do the diverse disciplines of economics, pscyhology, and philosophy contribute to the contemporary study of happines?

Economics is based on the theory of Rational Agents, where we are based on trying to maximize self-interest. The problem is that humans are emotional and we have biases, which is where psychology comes in. Cognitive psychology is where we, as humans believe we are perfectly aware of all the information, but in reality we are biased because we are not aware. For example, the world survey of well-being states that as GDP increases with time, our well being increases as well. Psychology, especially positive psychology is important for humanistic psychology. Philosophy is important was religious and cultural human wisdom.

- Amanda

Alfino 10:44, 9 March 2007 (PST) Good start. More detail could be included.

What is the difference betweeen "state Happiness" and "life Happiness"? In what ways are these concepts in tension when thinking about happiness in general?

Happiness of state is the degree in quality of happiness at a particular time. It is for a short duration, it has a time signature and it is the overall state of an organism. Happiness of state can only be judged in the movement ?? because Gilbert states that our memory is likely to adjust itself to maximize our content ness even when our past does not necessarily implicate happiness. You can’t remember things the way they were. Happiness of life is the appreciation of happy states. It again depends on Gilbert’s idea of what you remember of it. Happiness of life is the assessment of a person’s entire life. Luck seems to be the issue here. It is a judgment one makes after death.

Two important principles is that it is hard to have Life Happiness without State Happiness. And the second principle is that the Life happiness is not the sum of all State Happiness. They are in tension because people make the assumption that H-l= sum of H-s, but in reality, it is one’s mind-set where one appreciates life that makes the difference. For example, one could have several bad H-s and one good H-s, but upon death, one could reflect the one good H-s and have a fulfilled life.

- Nick Lewis

Alfino 10:45, 9 March 2007 (PST)I don't think this distinction requires you to get into Gilbert. Raising issues of the relationship bt state/life happiness more directly.

How might an appeal to the "structure of a full life" help distinguish H-l from H-s?

We define a structure as where you are driven to achieve something, and when life changes, they are willing to let it happen. All these things add to the H-s, and a cumulative H-s leads to a H-l; however, the structure has to be something that allows for the changes to happen

- Greena George

Alfino 10:46, 9 March 2007 (PST)Good start. Identify specific things in a "full life"

What does it mean to say that "pleasure isn't linear"?

We are defining “pleasure” as state of gratification. This being said, your pleasure does not continually increase. If pleasure was linear, then the very next thing that was done will provide a higher pleasure. It would have to be more pleasurable than the previous and it would have to be immediately following. This proves that pleasure isn’t linear, since it is in the form of bursts or occurrences or events that cause different levels of pleasure. If pleasure was linear, then happy states equal a happy life and that isn’t true.

- Amanda

Alfino 10:46, 9 March 2007 (PST)Good.

January 30

Briefly compare Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism regarding their views of happiness (add detail from general reference reading if necessary, but work primarily from the handout)?

In Hinduism, the union with Brahma defines happiness. It shows regard for diverse deities and understand your dharma and choose a path through yoga for achieving release (moksha). The explanation of happiness is given against an analysis of samsara. The complexity of attachmens is mirrored in the many Dharmas.

In Jainism, the realization of the soul’s true nature and attaining moksha or liberation is what happiness epitomizes. It is done through meditation and ascethic practice aimed at identification with Atma, the unchanging reality.

In Buddhism, the freedom from suffering that characterizes existence and the attainment of nirvana defines happiness. They follow the four Noble truths and Noble 8 fold path. Practice right thinking, speech, conduct, effort, mindfulness and concentration. Analysis of attachment and desire explains the origin of suffering and shows both the conditioned reality of normal existence. The practices of Buddhism are intended to help us understand reality and release ourselves from suffering.

- Nick Lewis

Alfino 10:49, 9 March 2007 (PST) OK!

How does the problem of suffering come into play in these traditions?

Hinduism "solves" the problem of the existence of suffering and evil in a fairly neat manner: all present suffering, it says, is exactly deserved, being the paying back of one's karma, the accumulation of deeds done in past lives--and all present evil will be exactly repaid in the form of suffering in future lives. As a result traditional Hinduism often has not paid much attention to relieving the suffering of people, although social reform movements have arisen in the last century. [http://wri.leaderu.com/wri-table2/hinduism.html]

In Jainism, Suffering is a result of past-life greed, hatred, and ignorance, which returns as suffering (karma). Suffering is also seen as illusory, in that it results from attachment to bodily pleasure and pain, while only the Absolute truly exists. Suffering is one way of actively ridding oneself of bad karma. ([http://www.beliefnet.com/story/80/story_8048_1.html]

Buddhism locates suffering at the heart of the world. According to Buddhism, existence is suffering (dukkha). And by removing the self from the material world, one tries to get past suffering. By being attached and desiring material goods, one can explain the origin of suffering. It shows both the conditioned reality of normal existence. The practices of Buddhism are intended to help us understand reality and release ourselves from suffering.

- Greena George

Alfino 10:50, 9 March 2007 (PST)Nice job!

What is the right relationship between thinking about suffering and happiness? How should we look at ancient cultures, east and west, which focus on alleviation of suffering as the focus of the pursuit of happiness. Have we eliminated suffering? What kinds? Do we experience the absence of suffering from the conditions of life in ancient times? Have we replaced (in the wealthy world) physical suffering with other kinds?

To know happiness, we need to know suffering, because it is in comparison, that we are happy. By overcoming suffering, we are happy. In ancient cultures, by eliminating suffering, they are reducing the height of happiness. For example, in a regular person’s life, there are natural ups and downs. By eliminating suffering, they are shrinking the downs, which naturally shrinks the ups because one tends to take less risks, thus reducing the benefits.

In comparison to our past, we have not eliminated suffering, the suffering we experience has evolved. For instance, before people suffered from the lack of food, early mortality, diseases and such. Now, we suffer from student loans, caffeine addictions and drama over your latest dating escapade.

- Amanda

Alfino 10:52, 9 March 2007 (PST) A start on a big question

What does a Daoist try to do to become happy, according to Zhang Zi (Chuang Tsu)?

Try to frame your local desire in reality. The way to attain happiness is to attain union with reality. It can be attained through virtue and self development. An example is to be mindful. It is through wu-wei, which is non-actions. It states that relative happiness is not uniform, but varies according to our natures as individuals. Absolute happiness involves coming to “mirror” reality as it really is and thereby, releasing one’s self from illusion. The recipe for happiness is the attentiveness to the creative and ceaseless processes of reality. Attachment and desire lead us to misperceive and misunderstand the world. We need to cultivate objectless desire, objectless knowledge and non-action to remedy this distortion.

- Nick Lewis

Alfino 10:52, 9 March 2007 (PST) A gloss on inaction? Examples?

How does the parable of Chuang Tzu's widowhood illustrate a daoist understanding of the right attitude toward reality?

 

By having a party after his wife’s death, he celebrated her life, instead of mourning her life. The Daoist reality is that death occurs and one must move on. By trying to frame his local desire in reality, he gained perspective of life.

- Greena George

 

 

Alfino 10:52, 9 March 2007 (PST)OK!

Drawing on both your class reading from Chaung Tzu and the Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy article on Daoism, explain, in very general terms (one paragraph) the daoist conception on "inaction". Evaluate.

 

Taoist philosophy recognizes that the universe already works harmoniously according to its own ways; as man exerts his will against the world he disrupts the harmony that already exists. This is not to say that man should not exert will. Rather, it is how he acts in relation to the natural processes already extant that is critical. Wu Wei has also been translated as "creative quietude," or the art of letting-be. This does not mean a dulling of the mind; rather, it is an activity undertaken to perceive the Tao within all things, and to conform oneself to its "way". As one diminishes doing—here 'doing' means those intentional actions taken to benefit us or actions taken to change the world from its natural state and evolution—one diminishes all those actions committed against the Tao, the already present natural harmony.

In our western view of the world, this view seems absolutely ludicrous as imbibed in us are ideas of wanting to do better. Relationships, work, and education, we are supposed to continually work to be keep yourself sharp and on top of things, so the idea of being “inactive” and letting the forces of nature take its toll seems silly.

- Amanda

Alfino 10:54, 9 March 2007 (PST)Good!

Select and summarize some of the evidence Gilbert cites to demonstrate our "cognitive bias" regarding our awareness of the present and future. Evaluate.

 

“Cognitive bias” is when we can imagine something easily, then we give it a higher probability of it happening. We are so optimistic that we “tilt the norm.” Gilberts says that you over estimate your future self because of this, so one is likely to be depressed since it is not attained when one gets to that state. And when you look backward, you only remember the things that support that ‘cognitive bias’ by either blocking out or forgetting the realist events. “They are shades of rose colored glasses.” Two examples: Young people overestimate future-selfs. They believe they will be happier in the future. Second example: Idea of depressed realism, where depressed people have a more accurate outlook on life, because they don’t see through the “rose colored glasses.”

- Nick Lewis

 

 

Alfino 10:55, 9 March 2007 (PST)This could be a lot more specific in its examples. Your overall def. of cognitive bias couls use a little more work.

What is "skeptical perspectivism" (the view of Gilbert's we christened at the end of Chapter 2)? Do you agree that he holds this position? What are some consequences for a theory of happiness holding this view? (the problem of counterfactual judgment, for instance, in our discussion of Gilbert's enjoyment of "cigars")

“Skeptical perspectivism” is the idea that one can say that one can’t disprove that they are happier or not with or without a certain experience. For instance, cigars make him happy, and his wife is happier without one. He could have been happier w/out cigars (not necessarily) had he not experienced their pharmacological effect as well, thus the idea is one can’t dismiss or counter prove counterfactual situations. The consequences is that we never really know what makes us happy because we never had the experience better, and we never know what that would make us feel.

- Greena George

Alfino 10:56, 9 March 2007 (PST)Good.

What is Gilbert's "language squishing" and "experience stretching" hypotheses? How does this help us think about the subjectivity of report of happiness?

 

Language squishing is when you feel the same, but discuss it differently because there is a language barrier. Experience stretching is when you have different feeling, but discuss it in the same way. This proves that happiness is relative and we can’t rely on the experience or how one relates the experience. The law of large numbers states that the experiences cancel each other out.

- Amanda Alfino 10:56, 9 March 2007 (PST) Ok, but more detail would be good.

How does Gilbert suggest, in Chapter 3, that we may not be completely aware of our experience?

 

We are not completely aware of our experiences as Gilbert shows through the experiments. We find that our brain actually fills in our memory by taking snap shots of the events that occurred and filling in the gaps. This is seen in the Stop sign-Yield car experiment where the views filled in the yield sign with the stop sign. Our brain is not like a recorder, but much like a camera in that regard, where the memory between snap shots is filled.

- Greena George

 

Alfino 10:57, 9 March 2007 (PST)Good. Other studies?

What is the "bridge study"? Summarize and evaluate.

The bridge study was where men were forced to cross a rope bridge suspended over a river. The men were confronted by a woman at mid-bridge or at the end. The woman gave out her phone number letting them know if they were interested in learning more about the experiment, they should call. The results show that the men called the woman if they were confronted at mid-bridge. This was supposedly from their fear that was converted to sexual attraction by the men’s brain. While evaluating this study, we were concerned by certain factors – for instance, we are not aware if the same woman was used, the men’s opinion on what they were thinking when they saw the woman at mid-bridge, and what they were feeling when they called the woman. The study is meant for us to realize and be skeptical about how actually aware we are of our situation – past, present, or future – and the external factors that influence us.

- Amanda === How does the "law of large numbers" affect the problem of the measurement and objectivity of happiness, by the end of Chapter 3 of Gilbert? === The solution to the idea that happiness is relative is the “law of large numbers” because it solves the idea of measurement as biases will cancel each other out and the answers will cluster like in a bell curve. When this comes to the idea of happiness, what it means is on an average, large groups of people tend to be “right” about what makes them happy. (See page 67 in Gilbert book)

-Greena

February 6

Who was Diogenes of Sinope and what did he believe?

Diogenes of Sinope is the most illustrious of the Cynic philosophers. He serves as the template for the Cynic sage in antiquity. He is an alleged student of Antisthenes, Diogenes maintains his teacher’s asceticism and emphasis on ethics, but brings to these philosophical positions a dynamism and sense of humor unrivalled in the history of philosophy. The Cynic conception of ethics is that virtue is a life lived in accord with nature. The Cynics advocate ask_sis, or practice, over theory as the means to free oneself from convention, promote self-sufficiency, and live in accord with nature. Such ask_sis leads the Cynic to live in poverty, embrace hardship and toil, and permits the Cynic to speak freely about the silly, and often vicious, way life is lived by his or her contemporaries. The Cynics consistently undermine the most hallowed principles of Athenian culture, but they do so for the sake of replacing them with those in accord with reason, nature, and virtue.

-Amanda

Evaluate Diogenes' recommendation that we should be suspicious of anything that isn't necessary to living. Specifically, assess the value of the following cynic-inspired values about happiness: 1) simple living; 2) loss of pretence; and 3) imperturbability. How important are these to achieving or increasing happiness?

1. simple living - Cynics had the idea of living simply as illustrated by Diogenes when he gave up his cup as he saw a child drinking water from the fountain using his hands. He wanted people to be suspicious of anything that added to the basics of life. The reason it was important is because if you don’t need those things to make you happy, then no one can take it away from you and therefore take away your happiness. 2. loss of pretence – idea of being a completely genuine person. By being a completely genuine person, one has no need to lie, or feel a need to be shameful of who you are, and let go of other people’s expectations of you. 3. imperturbability – when one is unaffected by the people and their opinion, or the things surrounding you. In a Stoic way of thinking, these were the corner stones to happiness, but in real life, it is helpful, but not the only ingredients to happiness. For instance, being completely imperturbable is not realistic especially in the case of relationships because in order to have connection, one must be willing to remove one’s self- imposed emotional body armor.

-Greena

What is the "separation strategy" for achieving happiness? How is it a separation from your own "illusions"? Give examples and discuss.

The Stoic/ Epicurean separation strategy is where one separates self from world. In this case, there is no transcendent world to go to. We only have the world in which we are in. They believe one must separate things from how things should be and see how things really are. Examples of this is shown in the Gilbert book when they mention the Stop/Yield sign experiment where one’s memory is modified and they cannot really remember what one saw. Another experiment that shows this is when the interviewer changed and the person being interviewed did not notice. - Amanda

How does Platonism and Christianity pose a different separation strategy than Stoicism and Epicureanism?

In the Platonic/ Christian version, unlike the Stoicism/ Epicurean version, one puts one’s faith and hope in another world. God’s world is the world of forms, in which everything is ideally perfect. The world we live in is imperfect and therefore unimportant. Our desire is to reach the perfect world, leaving the imperfect behind. -Greena

How does Csikszentmihalyi propose to analyze experience in terms of structures and content?

Csikszentmihalyi proposes to analyze experience in terms of Productive activities, Maintenance Activities and Leisure Activities. It is not just the activities that we participate in, but who we are with when we do them. He analyzes experience in terms of content by dividing it into emotions, goals, and cognitive content. - Amanda

What is the ESM research method? Do you think it can suggest interesting patterns in our affect (Happiness, Motivation, Concentration, and Flow)? Consider some of the examples cited by Csikszentmihalyi.

The Experience Sampling Method is a method of recording the state of flow of a random group of people throughout the day. By using a pager that will tell them when to record it, the experimenters get a up to date record of what the experimenters states of happiness throughout the day is. - Greena

What is Flow, according to Csikszentmihalyi?

Flow, according to Csikszentmihalyi is when we are in the “zone.” It involves the right amount of concentration, where the activity involved is not too challenging, but at the same time results in unconsciously loosing track of time and a strong than normal arousal and control over things. - Amanda

How is Flow related to happiness?

Csikszentmihalyi does not equate flow to happiness, but feels life is what happens between happiness of life and happiness off life. With flow, life becomes easier. -Greena

February 13

What are the two loves that de Botton thinks we strive for?

A)intimacy and love from status! Intimacy in a platonic or non-platonic sense wherein closeness with another person is experienced and enjoyed. B) Love from the world or love of status> material goods + power may be intermediary goods. Answered by a collaboration with Nick Lewis and Amanda Van De Leest

What is "Platonic Love" and how does it connect with Plato's Pythagorean view of sex?

The traditional “platonic love” is more from the perspective enlightenment, love of knowledge, non-physical intimacy but close appreciation for another. Pythagorean love is sex where you move as little as possible for fear that if wild sex is made then a wild child will be born of it. Plato’s view is that ideal love can replace erotic love. Platonic love relates with Pythagorean love in that sex is not the “most desirable thing in the world” i.e. sexual love is meant for procreation and NOT for pleasure. Answered by a collaboration with Nick Lewis and Amanda Van De Leest

What is Montaigne's goal in discussing the body, according to de Botton? How might we think of Montaigne as a modern Diogenes?

We are supposed to lose our pretenses of our body because they are constructed by us and we cause ourselves suffering because of them. He criticizes how we try to rationalize our bodily functions by denying ourselves. I.E. Nick’s friend with the sock in his pants. Diogenes spoke against pretense as well. He embraced the body, it’s functions, and how it is in reality without impossible ideals. Answered by Amanda Van De Leest

How do Schopenhauer and Goethe provide us with images of love from the romantic period of Western European culture? What are some of the challenges of this view? What are some of the attractions? Alternatives?

The romantic period stressed the idea of a soul-mate, expression and incitation of emotion, and embraced the will. The will is the life force that drives all decisions. It drives you to your soul mate, but there are so many people that it is only by chance that you actually get to your soul mate. If you do not find said soul mate then suicide is an acceptable solution because life isn’t worth living without the one you love… the other half of your soul. The challenge to this view is that the people that hold this view are typically young and if all the young people who didn’t find this love in the timeframe they think they should find this love they’d just all kill themselves and we wouldn’t have a decent population base. ALSO intimacy is not necessarily unique; there are many people in the world that a person can be content or happy with so how could you know that any person is the absolute perfect “other half” for you. Don’t kill yourself if you haven’t found s/he yet. A life of contentment is a better alternative than a life of pain and disappointment. (this seems bland like rice without soy sauce… the romantic view is to get the preverbal soy sauce to the preverbal rice) Answered by a collaboration with Nick Lewis and Amanda Van De Leest

If we look at love within a naturalistic framework (in the spirit of Diogenese, Epicurus, Montaigne, contemporary natural science, etc.), what contrasts do we find with romantic conceptions?

Diogenes’ notion is naturalistic so therefore relationships are extra “stuff” that we don’t need. We are not supposed to have dependent relationships with others because they can affect our happiness level. On the other hand, romantic conceptions argue for dependency on others. Not a dependency where your happiness is contingent on others but where you have deep social relationship as a part of the intrinsic social nature of humans. Answered by a collaboration with Nick Lewis and Amanda Van De Leest

What is Gilbert's analysis of our reactions to Fisher & Eastman, in Chapter 4? Do you agree?

We are appalled by their actions, but that is because we have differing views on why they would either choose to kill themselves or be happy at the moment of death because our modern ideals pride themselves on the extension of life. Gilbert’s critique is what each individual keys into a situation meaning the unique experiences they bring to that situation. We tend to see the things that are absent instead of seeing what is truly there; so if we are used to A and B but C isn’t that important to us and we end up with B and C then all we do is mourn the loss of A instead of priding ourselves with the fact that we still have B and C. We mismanage our perceptions because we imagine based on our own ideas and experiences and so therefore color the event that is occurring to our own bias. Answered by Amanda Van De Leest

How do we undervalue aspects of our experience that are outside our attention? How do go wrong (what bias do reasearches find) in predicting our future happiness (ch. 5)?

We take for granted everyday actions. We just don’t see “everything.” Gilbert says our brain is not a video recorder and that it only takes snapshots and that our brain, when called upon puts them together as best it can with what it has and fills in the blanks what it wants thus making our experience, or memory thereof, not faithful. The biases we find are that happy people are over-optimistic and it may or may not pan out that way, but pessimistic people generally predict a more accurate reception of a future experience. Answered by a collaboration with Nick Lewis and Amanda Van De Leest

Can we get better at predicting our future happiness by connecting ourselves to our present experience in a richer way, by "pre-feeling" it (ch. 6)?

Yes. We can better predict our experiences by relating similar experiences had in the past. It’s like the common practice of the “pre-funk” or preparing for an experience by subjecting yourself to a similar environment before the desired affair. It’s important because our future wants and needs are not as predictable as we think they are and so therefore we need to be ready for what they turn out to be by being more mindful of our experiences today and using them to evaluate our experiences in the future; we will make better predictions be less disappointed and possibly be more happy. Answered by a collaboration with Nick Lewis and Amanda Van De Leest

February 20

Summarize the evidence (esp. from Layard and Easterbrook) for the claim the money has limited ability to raise well-being. What inferences about happiness does this data support?

1- there is the graph that displays how the hedonic treadmill entraps people with habituation. A good example of said hedonic habituation is a man/woman who had a room in a 2 star hotel and was upgraded a hotel room in a 10 star hotel but a) has no companion and b) would have difficulty going back to the roach-filled 2 star hotel. Easterbrook talks about the guy named Diener who concludes a) lacking money causes unhappiness but having money doesn’t cause happiness and b) millionaires as a group are no happier than people with average income.

How does Veenhoven's research on well-being contribute to social comparison theory? What kind of evidence do we have on social comparision from other studies?

2- Veenhoven contributes to social comparison theory by describing interpersonal comparisons of wellbeing between “my” own wellbeing and someone else’s wellbeing from whom I have knowledge and who “judges” me. He specifically looks at the difference between socialist and capitalist countries and finds that in socialist countries a decrease in the amount of money you make is acceptable if there is a general decrease in the amount of impoverished people. This is thought to be attributed to the fact that the people are not as different from each other income-wise so they have less gaps between classes to compare. Also, because people work less they have a fuller personal lives and is thought that this contributes to the high sense of well being. Norway is the example given but applies all socialist countries.

Evaluate Seligman's explanation for the flat trend in well-being in affluent countries.

Well being comes from an appreciation of the attachments and relationships you have. It is important to have those relationships because it gives you another dimension of an experience that you otherwise wouldn’t have. This positive force makes life more “worth living.” It is also important to continually work on the attachments that you have and to be able to determine whether or not you should be able to continue them if they have negative results. This would explain the flattening of the economic graph because relationships, as a substitute for money, would cause the slope to increase while money without relationships would cause a continuation of status quo.

What's the difference between being a Maximizer and a Satisficer? Assess the evidence for the claim that Maximizers might not be maximizing well-being?

4- A Maximizer and a satisficer two extreme ends of the spectrum where a total maximizer would spend an eternity searching for, as the example in class indicated, “the perfect sweater” a satisficer would find the sweater that may not be the perfect deal or even the perfect sweater but good enough. Where the satisficer could be considered a slacker the Maximizer would be considered a work-a-holic; either being considered extreme and negative. To put it in perspective a Maximizer might try to maximize a certain experience or situation but my not take into account that maximizing (finding the perfect…whatever) isn’t the most efficient use of time which could be spent enjoying a product/experience etc.

From Chapter 2 of McMahon: Compare and contrast the Roman image of happiness found in Horace and in the context of Roman life in the 1st century B.C. with the image of happiness in the story of Perpetua and Felicitas in the 2nd century A.D. Follow also Christian thought about Happiness in Augustine and Aquinas.

5- The rural Roman ideal of happiness is exemplified by Horace because he has a materialist point of view where he derives an almost romantic idea of the autonomous man as a sovereign wayfarer. This stands in stark contrast to the views of Perpetua and Felicitas where their happiness is derived from the transcendental and as Christians they embraced the suffering of this Earth because they are being true to their beliefs which are more important than declaring allegiance to a Roman God. Aquinas moves Christianity closer to earth and declares that we can thus have perfect and imperfect happiness.

How does the contrast between Roman and early Christian conceptions of happiness raise questions about asceticism and transcendentalism? How is sensual pleasure treated in each historical model?

6- It is more Roman vs. early Christian. Christianity raises the question of atheticism as a denial of sensual pleasure to achieve it in a later life (transcendental). The adverse would be the Roman ideal which is an appreciation for worldly pleasure; I.e. the Romans thought the God’s gave you pleasure in this life rather than the next.

Could you improve your happiness by re-evaluating your approach to the sensual and ascetic aspects of your life? Are there areas of your life where a more ascetic attitude would be warranted? Are there other areas of your life in which more attention to savoring sensual pleasure would be appropriate?

7- This is a very personal question wherein the answer would vary from person to person without necessarily being wrong, HOWEVER it seems to us that all people could benefit from some sort of evaluation of their sensual and ascetic views on happiness whether those views change or not as a result of the evaluation.

February 27th

What is the general Stoic view of the person, our telos, and the path to happiness? What is your hegemonikon?

The general Stoic view of the person is to not assign more value to a person than it really is. One should not deify a person, and one should not degrade a person as well. The right value should be given to the person. The “telos of man” is to live well. This means to have the same (homo) logos. The key to living in agreement is to pay attention to your guiding principal (hegemonikan). The beginning of this tradition is invented by Zeno in 323 bc and basically ends with Epictetus and later stoicism is absorbed by Christianity. This concept is also called your virtue (hegemonikan). The virtue was considered a kind of guide or spirit to help with. Hegemonikos is the “guiding light” or the principle that guides you generally through personal philosophy.

- Collaboration of Amanda, Nick & Greena

How do we "make progress" toward becoming a Sage?

We can “make progress” toward becoming a Sage once we understand that some things are up to us and some things are not. The sage anticipates what happens and discounts surprise. The sage also lives life under the guiding principle of the hegemonikan and thus lives virtuously. One should approach life with equanimity. - Collaboration of Amanda, Nick & Greena

Can we alter our "natural" responses to bring them in line with correct understanding of nature? ( Can we "live in agreement"?)

We can alter our “natural” responses to bring them in line with a correct understanding of nature. It is a very Aristotelian view on the world. It is the idea that one pretends to be “correct” with the world until it becomes so. In a modern way of saying it, it is also the idea of conditioning until one achieves the desired behavior.

Can we alter our responses in this way?

 Yes.  See above. 

- Collaboration of Amanda, Nick & Greena

Should we adjust our responses in this way, assuming we can? Consider several points of view.

  We should adjust them if it is what the “guiding principle” of the hegemonikon tells us to.  

Ex 1- man with a sick kid. The man leaves his sick child since he could not bear being with the child. (pg 77, book 1, section 11) The idea is that he acted “naturally,” but Epictetus tells him that it was in accordance to nature, but not rightly done. The basis is that if “whatever therefore, we find to be at the same time both affectionate and reasonable, this we confidently assert to be both right and good.” So according to Epictetus, if it is both affectionate and reasonable, then it is right and good. Ex 2 – the athlete who had a disease that required his wiener to be chopped off or die. He chose to die. In this case, one must choose what one’s hoegmonikon is required of you and do it. It depends on how he thought of his condition. If he thought of how it affects his manhood and chose to die because to it, then it is not right. Or if he thought of it as how it would affect him as a wrestler – as it affects his livelihood and his identity – then it was the right choice. - Collaboration of Amanda, Nick & Greena

Is it possible to avoid suffering from negative emotions and increase positive emotions, such as joy?

Negative emotions are inevitable, but it is not possible to avoid suffering from negative emotions entirely, However, it is possible to reduce suffering. It is not about increasing positive emotions, but about embracing them, just as you would embrace and accept negative emotions. To overly react to either would be equally as bad. - Collaboration of Amanda, Nick & Greena

What are some of the paradoxes in our attitudes toward work, according to Csiksentmihalyi?

According to Csiksentmihalyi, one of the paradoxes is that most people dislike work, but invariably find the most flow at work (not necessarily in their occupation). Work is a necessary “evil,” and it is necessary to eat and enjoy leisure. Without work, one would live in squalor and it was shown earlier that squalor reduces happiness. - Collaboration of Amanda, Nick & Greena

Is it realistic to think that we can rethink some of the cultural values we associate with work? Is this only possible for "sweet" jobs? Reflect on the Argentine customer service example.

Yes it is. The American view is concentrated on work, or not working, whereas the Mediterranean view is that work is secondary and everything revolves around family, culture, and leisure. No, it is not possible only for sweet jobs. One can enjoy work even if it isn’t “sweet.” For instance, the Argentine customer service agent wasn’t happy that he/she had the shitty job, but he/she could control how good he/she could do his/her job. (maybe he or she just got a raise and we don’t know the reason for the happiness. We can only assume.) - Collaboration of Amanda, Nick & Greena

How does de Botton think that the enlightenment conception of happiness has altered the environment within which we make social comparison?

The enlightenment conception of happiness is the idea that everyone is on equal standing and thus can control your own destiny. The idea that we can control our destiny sprang from the scientific advances of that time and idea that religion no longer dictates everything. It has altered the environment within which we make social comparison because there is no more class distinction. People see themselves on the same level as the richest. - Collaboration of Amanda, Nick & Greena

March 6

What is the ascetic and robust hedonist view of pleasure? What is habituation, the hedonic treadmill?

Ascetic view- negative account of desire. Desire is a lack (says Socrates). The ascetic’s best bet is not developing them to begin with to extinguish it by means other than satisfying the desire. This could be called “de-habituation” which could be in the form of discipline in quantity and or discipline in the rate of consumption. “dink water instead of wine” as rate of consumption increases more variety is needed.

The hedonist is the ultimate consumer; one who, in order to maximize pleasure, would seek out the source of said pleasure as much as possible perhaps varying sources in order to maximize.

- Amanda

Is there a middle ground between asceticism and robust hedonism? What are some of the strategies and principles of this middle ground?

Yes. Increasing quality and decreasing quantity in order to dehabituate; Savoring – fully appreciating the experience; also having a long term plan for happiness is ideal; spontaneity and rituals…

- Nick

How does consumption rate affect pleasure yield, according to Gilbert?

When the rate of consumption is faster the pleasure yield slows because if you consume really really fast your pleasure highs are not nearly as high. The trick is to have variety whereby you vary pleasure. - Greena

What are some of the bias (indicate with studies) in our ability to predict future pleasure satisfication or future happiness?

Cognitive bias (blind spot to what you actually want) and bias of incongruence. The specific studies indicated are the “snack study”, and the “partridge and gumbo study”. The snack study involves a group being offered snacks. In the beginning they chose to have a variety of snacks but at the end of the study people regretted not getting a bunch of what they really wanted. The reason they got the variety is due to the fact that they thought they would get tired of the one thing or that they weren’t sure what they really wanted. This proves that we have to judge what we really want as compared to what we will want in the future.

- Amanda

What is Gilbert's theory of our "psychological immune system"?

The psychological immune system is the resilience of the human being and the human constitution. People who have been in terrible situations have thought that they would be unhappy in those situations and even though they are sad in the situation they are happier afterward. The example is the cancer survivor who appreciates the life they have and looks forward to the little things that they used to overlook. This further proves how we don’t really know what we want.

- Nick

How do different forms of leisure promote different affective states, according to Csikzentmihalyi

Flow is about something that is highly challenging and requires skill. Relaxation has low challenge, yet high skill. Apathy has low challenge and corresponding low skill. Anxiety has high challenge and low skill. Each is important in its function for leisure.

- Greena

Does leisure require concentration and skill, according to Csikzentmihalyi?

Yes, it depends on the activity. For instance, in some cases leisure requires concentration and skill since it is necessary in order to find flow. See previous question for details.

- Amanda

March 20

How does Gilbert feel that practice and coaching might help us avoid some of the biases he discusses early in Chapter 10? Be prepared to mention some of the particular bias he claims to document with studies.

we remember the best times and the worst times because of which our wealth of experience is skewed and does not always provide a good basis for future context. Experience is no unique it is also not random there is a pattern and that pattern allows us to blend experience with other people. Through that you can analogize experience and learn from it in recognizing that your experience is not unique you can work to actively change. Collaboration by Nick, Greena, Amanda

Explain and evaluate the statement, "We remember feeling as we believe we must have felt." What are some of the implications of this statement for happiness?

In the case of the Gore vs. Bush experiment voters recall how they predicted they would feel not how they really felt. It means we believe our expectations instead of reality. For implications for this with happiness please refer to question 1. Collaboration by Nick, Greena, Amanda

Summarize Glibert's discussion of "super-replicating" ideas in Chapter 11. Explain, in particular, how this perspective might help explain some puzzles about our attitudes toward raising children and continuing to work more than we need to for promoting our happiness.

Meme theory is based on evolutionary biology. It is an analogy of genes and ideas, they both need people to transmit them in the context of cultural and intercultural interaction. Ideas about happiness can be replicaters whether the ideas actually lead to happiness or not. This can be seen in the example of the imperfects (pg 216). One belief is false and is strongly believed but it helps one that is true and not strongly believed. When seen collectively our happiness is still well taken care of. Kids are a tone of friggin’ work, a pain in the ass, they reduce state happiness, they destroy out bodies, they are expensive, time consuming, and yet for some stupid reason in our brain want’s us to make babies. We psych ourselves up for having children because we falsely believe that having a family is great. Because of the psych-up the end experience is remembered as really good; fantastic and we remember all the negatives as “little bumps in the road.” Working is a super-replicating idea. People believe that when one works more they can get more money which will help them do the things they want to do increasing happiness.In reality working more than we need only detracts from happiness because people don’t have time to do the things they want to do with the money they get. Collaboration by Greena, Amanda

Explain the research on "surrogation" and the practical implications of this for predicting the effect of future experiences on our happiness.

There are two surrogacy experiments. The first study wanted to know how we would feel about eating ice cream and then doing a boring task. The first group was simulators who imagined how they would feel. The second group was surrogates who used experience from someone else. Both of these groups predicted how they would feel; the results show surrogates predicted their experiences much better than the simulators who imagined their experience. It has a tendency to project the present onto the future. It also fails to recognize that things will look differently after the event has occurred. Lastly, it has a tendency to fill in and leave out things. Our general bias is to imagine our own experience because we thing we are unique; we are not and when we realize this we can experience other people’s experiences aka surrogacy to predict better and be more happy (to be more accurate). Collaboration by Nick, Greena, Amanda

Summarize key developments in the history of happiness from the renaissance and enlightenment.

In the renaissance there is a renewed awareness and justification of natural felicity from otherworldly aestheticism and union with God and the belief that happiness can happen in this world and in nature. It coincides with the increase in wealth in Florence. They had time and money to study comfortably the ideas of happiness from the ancients… thus a rebirth in Roman and Greek thought. Luther emphasized health and happiness. His view of marriage was that it is natural and allows sensual and transcendent pleasure. The enlightenment was characterized by more modern thought. Enlightenment is the first modern experiment in the limits of wealth and material pleasure. It is a revival of hedonism started by Locke’s “tabula rasa” in which pleasure and plain is etched from the world. It also proposed that we have an equal claim on happiness (promotion of democracy and liberty). It is also here where the idea of modern skepticism about relationship of reason to happiness. Collaboration by Nick, Greena, Amanda

How does hedonism, or an openness to natural felicity return to Western thought through art, politics and religious culture?

An openness to natural felicity leading to hedonism returns to Renaissance Western thought through art in Reuben, Virgil and Horace; philosophy through Locke; and religion through Aquinas. In Reuben’s “The Felicity of Regency,” we see the potentiality for earthly happiness. It’s a good example because it’s full of naked people as an expression of sensuality. We can also say that through religion, the novel idea is one can achieve happiness. There was an increase in the belief that we generated momentum for our own happiness. Poems of Horace and Virgil urged themes of simplicity and acceptance, harmony and peace.

Locke refers to political happiness and equal opportunity within society and government regardless of class, wealth or status. A necessary element to human dignity is the ability to determine pleasure and pain for ourselves.

St. Thomas Aquinas believed “that for the knowledge of any truth whatsoever man needs Divine help, that the intellect may be moved by God to its act. He, like Locke believes truth through reason and faith. The goal of human existence is union and eternal fellowship with God. This goal can be achieved through the beatific vision, an event where a person experiences perfect, unending happiness by comprehending the very essence of God. The way to happiness is through charity, peace and holiness. Collaboration by Nick, Greena, Amanda