OCT 30

17: OCT 30

Assigned

• Haybron, C5, “The Sources of Happiness” (24)
• Csiksentmihalyi, C2, “The Content of Experience’ (17)

Is There a Secret to Happiness?

• Maybe not. Our work in this unit suggests the following:

• Happiness does depend upon some external factors, what we’ve called “modest good fortune”. These are necessary but not sufficient for happiness. They include (for western adv industrial cultures):

• Living in a moderately wealthy society with a stable economy,
• Rights, Basic Liberties, Opportunities
• Security of various kinds - health, employment, security in old age,
• Access to social respect and relationships

• Within a range from modest to greater good fortune in having these external goods, there are many solutions sets for achieving happiness. The emphasis shifts from external strategies to internal strategies. Relevant questions include:

• Do the major correlates of happiness (Argyle) apply to me? Should I choose them as strategies? (Career over relationship in my 20s, invest in faith community, etc.)

• Examples: Are my needs for intimacy, social status, and meaningfulness similar to the general population? Do I find meaningfulness in the same ways that most people do? Generally, how much do I fit the norms implied by the correlates?

• The Asymmetry of “greater good fortune” or the asymmetry of happiness makers.

• How sensitive is my happiness to “greater good fortune”? If I didn’t have X problem, I would be happier, but having it doesn’t preclude my happiness. If I did have Y good fortune, I would be happier, but not having it doesn’t limit my happiness. Strictly speaking this is paradoxical, maybe contradictory, but there is a solution.

• Let’s call this paradox the “asymmetry of happiness makers” (and unmakers). If something is a happiness maker you would expect it’s absence to be an unhappiness maker. Symmetrical. But this isn’t always true. The reason may be that our subjectivity tilts us toward seeing our actual fortunes as sufficient. Examples:

• I would be happier if I got tenure or a promotion, but not getting these things doesn’t objectively limit my potential happiness. (Recall tenure studies.)
• I would be happier if I won an award, but not winning doesn’t objectively limit my potential happiness.
• I would be happier if I didn’t have X chronic health problem, but….

• Why don’t happiness makers (and unhappiness makers) have symmetrical effects? (Here, Gilbert helps. Language squishing and experience stretching are part of our subjective “immune system”.)

Subjectivity allows us reweave our understanding of our happiness in light of successes and failures. I think this explains the asymmetry. More examples:

• You will probably all be happier if you succeed at your chosen goals, but other goal achievement is equally able to make you happy.
• Having enjoyed a satisfying career, I can say that it contributed to my happiness, even though other things could have happened that would have made my life happier.

• What conclusion(s) follow:

• If you enjoy moderate good fortune, your happiness depends upon you and your internal strategies - getting better at introspection and self-knowledge, managing your affect states, seeking typical states like flow, savoring, and gratitude.

• Finally, if this is correct, there is no secret to happiness. Happiness is about bringing our knowledge of ourselves into line with the many things that we know make humans happy. It’s more like learning to ride a bike than it is discovering a secret.

Haybron, “The Sources of Happiness”

• Acknowledges cultural relativity of what counts as happiness. (Note universality of happiness itself.)
• Focusing on things we don’t adapt to. But also that we can change.
• Haybron’s list (expanding from Ryan Deci’s theory of basic needs)

• 1. Security -

• material, social, project, time. Rational approach to risk.

• 2. Outlook -

• the “internal strategy” -external H-makers vs internal H-making skills.
• positivity (savoring, gratitude, pos focus) and acceptance (not passivity or low ambition)
• caring for others. -volunteering next to dancing in joy. (But maybe not for you?)
• extrinsic vs intrinsic motivation.

• 3. Autonomy - general human desire for self-determination.

• Option freedom v autonomy. (Paradox of Choice - still current)
• Makes a case for autonomy as universal - takes diff shape in kin-culture.

• 4. Relationships

• Component h-makers: understanding, validation, caring, trust (also a security item)

• 5. Skilled and meaningful activity.

• development of skills, meaningful activity (work or not), appreciative engagement.

• Money —

• shows an Easterlin graph.
• income affects H-l more.

Csiksentmihalyi, Finding Flow, Chapter 2

The Content of Experience

• Theoretical position, p. 21: In story of woman with two jobs: looking for patterns of human commitment to a life. Wants to ask less for self-reports of happiness and more about the moods and affect that might be functionally related to happiness.

• Two big points:

• 1. Happiness is positive emotion that might be driven by behavior. And,
• 2. It may be especially evident in a life of commitments and goals which reduce "psychic entropy." (Negative emotions are “entropic” for C.)

• Discussion of emotions, goals, and thoughts in terms of the organization of "psychic entropy", 22 roughly, the cognitive / emotive state of order in my mind at a particular moment or during an activity.
• Intentions and goals inform and order our psychic energy. Most prefer intrinsic motivation, next extrinsic, finally least productive of positive affect is no goal state. :*William James: self-esteem is a ratio of expectation (goals) to success. Set goals too high, lowers success and self-esteem.

• Note distinction between Eastern philosophical suspicion of origin of goals and "superficial reading" that suggests it counsels renunciation of goals.

• Three contents of consciousness: emotions, intentions, and thoughts. Their integration allows for flow. Concentration is necessary for flow, but can be impaired by lack of motivation and emotion.

• FLOW, p. 29ff. (What a quiet mind is getting ready for.)

• effortless action, being in the zone, altered time consciousness.
• clear set of goals, focusing attention.
• often at limits of skill and challenge level.
• absorption in task, dynamic feedback. "All in."

• Theoretical Problem about the Relation of Flow to Happiness:

• "It is the full involvement of flow, rather than happiness, that makes for excellence in life. When we are in flow, we are not happy, because to experience happiness we must focus on our inner states, and that would take away attention from the task at hand." [Theoretical note: choice of "rather than happiness". Also could be "causes LS" or savoring model.] Think about place of flow in hierarchy of daily goals. Intensity of flow varies widely from extreme to mundane activity. Note related states.
• Data on frequency of flow experiences, p. 33. About 20% yes, often. 15% no, never. (Again, you need to ask how much flow you want or need. Might depend upon how you feel when challenged. Ok, to live life staying “inside your game”.)