happiness essay pdf

1000-Word Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology

Philosophy, One Thousand Words at a Time

Happiness: What is it to be Happy?

Author: Kiki Berk Category: Ethics , Phenomenology and Existentialism Words: 992

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Do you want to be happy? If you’re like most people, then yes, you do.

But what is happiness? What does it mean to be “happy”? [1]

This essay discusses four major philosophical theories of happiness. [2]

1. Hedonism

According to hedonism, happiness is simply the experience of pleasure. [3] A happy person has a lot more pleasure than displeasure (pain) in her life. To be happy, then, is just to feel good. In other words, there’s no difference between being happy and feeling happy.

Famous hedonists include the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus and the modern English philosophers Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. [4] These philosophers all took happiness to include intellectual pleasures (such as reading a book) in addition to physical pleasures (such as having sex).

Although we associate being happy with feeling good, many philosophers think that hedonism is mistaken.

First, it’s possible to be happy without feeling good (such as when a happy person has a toothache), and it’s also possible to feel good without being happy (such as when an unhappy person gets a massage). Since happiness and pleasure can come apart, they can’t be the same thing.

Second, happiness and pleasure seem to have different properties. Pleasures are often fleeting, simple, and superficial (think of the pleasure involved in eating ice cream), whereas happiness is supposed to be lasting, complex, and profound. Things with different properties can’t be identical, so happiness can’t be the same thing as pleasure.

These arguments suggest that happiness and pleasure aren’t identical. That being said, it’s hard to imagine a happy person who never feels good. So, perhaps happiness involves pleasure without being identical to it.

2. Virtue Theory

According to virtue theory, happiness is the result of cultivating the virtues—both moral and intellectual—such as wisdom, courage, temperance, and patience. A happy person must be sufficiently virtuous. To be happy, then, is to cultivate excellence and to flourish as a result. This view is famously held by Plato, Aristotle, and the Stoics. [5]

Linking happiness to virtue has the advantage of treating happiness as a lasting, complex, and profound phenomenon. It also explains how happiness and pleasure can come apart, since a person can be virtuous without feeling good, and a person can feel good without being virtuous.

In spite of these advantages, however, virtue theory is questionable. An important part of being virtuous is being morally good. But are immoral people always unhappy? Arguably not. Many bad people seem happy in spite of—or even because of—their unsavory actions. And a similar point can be made about intellectual virtue: unwise or irrational people aren’t always unhappy, either. In fact, some of these people seem happy as a direct result of their intellectual deficiencies. “Ignorance is bliss,” the saying goes!

But virtue theorists have a response here. Maybe some immoral people seem happy, on the surface; but that doesn’t mean that they are truly happy, at some deeper level. And the same thing can be said about people who lack the intellectual virtues: ignorance may lead to bliss, but that bliss isn’t true happiness. So, there seems to be some room for debate on these issues.

3. Desire Satisfaction Theory

According to the desire satisfaction theory, happiness consists in getting what you want—whatever that happens to be. A happy person has many of her desires satisfied; and the more her desires are satisfied, the happier she is.

Even though getting what you want can be a source of happiness, identifying happiness with desire satisfaction is problematic.

To start, this implies that the only way to become happier is by satisfying a desire. This seems wrong. Sometimes our happiness is increased by getting something we didn’t previously want—such as a surprise birthday party or getting stuck taking care of a neighbor’s cat. This implies that desire satisfaction is not necessary for happiness.

Desire satisfaction is not always sufficient for happiness, either. Unfortunately, it is common for people to feel disappointed when they get what they want. Many accomplishments, such as earning a degree or winning a tournament, simply don’t bring the long-lasting happiness that we expect. [6]

So, even if getting what we want sometimes makes us happy, these counterexamples suggest that happiness does not consist in desire satisfaction. [7]

4. Life Satisfaction Theory

According to the life satisfaction theory, happiness consists in being satisfied with your life. A happy person has a positive impression of her life in general, even though she might not be happy about every single aspect of it. To be happy, then, means to be content with your life as a whole.

It’s controversial whether life satisfaction is affective (a feeling) or cognitive (a belief). On the one hand, life satisfaction certainly comes with positive feelings. On the other hand, it’s possible to step back, reflect on your life, and realize that it’s good, even when you’re feeling down. [8]  

One problem for this theory is that it’s difficult for people to distinguish how they feel in the moment from how they feel about their lives overall. Studies have shown that people report feeling more satisfied with their lives when the weather is good, even though this shouldn’t make that much of a difference. But measuring life satisfaction is complicated, so perhaps such studies should be taken with a grain of salt. [9]

5. Conclusion

Understanding what happiness is should enable you to become happier.

First, decide which theory of happiness you think is true, based on the arguments.

Second, pursue whatever happiness is according to that theory: seek pleasure and try to avoid pain (hedonism), cultivate moral and intellectual virtue (virtue theory), decide what you really want and do your best to get it (desire satisfaction theory), or change your life (or your attitude about it) so you feel (or believe) that it’s going well (life satisfaction theory).

And if you’re not sure which theory of happiness is true, then you could always try pursuing all of these things. 😊

[1] This might seem like an empirical (scientific) question rather than a philosophical one. However, this essay asks the conceptual question of what happiness is, and conceptual questions belong to philosophy, not to science.

[2] Happiness is commonly distinguished from “well-being,” i.e., the state of a life that is worth living. Whether or not happiness is the same thing as well-being is an open question, but most philosophers think it isn’t. See, for example, Haybron (2020).

[3] The word “hedonism” has different uses in philosophy. In this paper, it means that happiness is the same thing as pleasure (hedonism about happiness). But sometimes it is used to mean that happiness is the only thing that has intrinsic value (hedonism about value) or that humans are always and only motivated by pleasure (psychological hedonism). It’s important not to confuse these different uses of the word.

[4] For more on Epicurus and happiness, see Konstan (2018). For more on Bentham and Mill on happiness, see Driver (2014), as well as John Stuart Mill on The Good Life: Higher-Quality Pleasures by Dale E. Miller and Consequentialism by Shane Gronholz

[5] For more on Plato and happiness, see Frede (2017); for more on Aristotle and happiness, see Kraut (2018), and on the Stoics and happiness, see Baltzly (2019).

[6] For a discussion of the phenomenon of disappointment in this context see, for example, Ben Shahar (2007).

[7] For more objections to the desire satisfaction theory, see Shafer-Landau (2018) and Vitrano (2013).

[8] If happiness is life satisfaction, then happiness seems to be “subjective” in the sense that a person cannot be mistaken about whether or not she is happy. Whether happiness is subjective in this sense is controversial, and a person who thinks that a person can be mistaken about whether or not she is happy will probably favor a different theory of happiness.

[9] See Weimann, Knabe and Schob (2015) and Berk (2018).

Baltzly, Dirk, “Stoicism”,  The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy  (Spring 2019 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2019/entries/stoicism/>.

Berk, Kiki (2018). “Does Money Make Us Happy? The Prospects and Problems of Happiness Research in Economics,” in Journal of Happiness Studies, 19, 1241-1245.

Ben-Shahar, Tal (2007). Happier . New York: McGraw-Hill.

Driver, Julia, “The History of Utilitarianism”,  The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy  (Winter 2014 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2014/entries/utilitarianism-history/>.

Frede, Dorothea, “Plato’s Ethics: An Overview”,  The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy  (Winter 2017 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2017/entries/plato-ethics/>.

Haybron, Dan, “Happiness”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy  (Summer 2020 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2020/entries/happiness/>.

Konstan, David, “Epicurus”,  The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy  (Summer 2018 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2018/entries/epicurus/>.

Kraut, Richard, “Aristotle’s Ethics”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2018 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2018/entries/aristotle-ethics/>.

Shafer-Landau, Russ (2018). The Ethical Life: Fundamental Readings in Ethics and Moral Problems. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Vitrano, Christine (2013). The Nature and Value of Happiness. Boulder: Westview Press.

Weimann, Joachim, Andreas Knabe, and Ronnie Schob (2015). Measuring Happiness . Cambridge: The MIT Press.

Related Essays

Meaning in Life: What Makes Our Lives Meaningful? by Matthew Pianalto

The Philosophy of Humor: What Makes Something Funny?  by Chris A. Kramer

Virtue Ethics  by David Merry

John Stuart Mill on The Good Life: Higher-Quality Pleasures by Dale E. Miller

Consequentialism by Shane Gronholz

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Is Death Bad? Epicurus and Lucretius on the Fear of Death  by Frederik Kaufman

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About the Author

Dr. Kiki Berk is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Southern New Hampshire University. She received her Ph.D. in Philosophy from the VU University Amsterdam in 2010. Her research focuses on Beauvoir’s and Sartre’s philosophies of death and meaning in life.

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18 Introduction to Philosophical Approaches to Happiness

James O. Pawelski, University of Pennsylvania

• Published: 01 August 2013
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For at least 2500 years, philosophers in the East and West have debated the nature and cultivation of happiness, generating a rich historical collection of theories, definitions, and insights. Philosophers have also developed valuable methods that can be used effectively in the study of happiness. The chapters in this section explore some of the central ideas about happiness from the history of philosophy, as well as some of the key methodological contributions of philosophy to current debates about happiness. The historical chapters show that there has been widespread disagreement about happiness, point out the importance of avoiding presentism in its study, and raise questions regarding the ethical application of knowledge about happiness. The analytical chapters show how philosophy can help in the normative quest for more satisfactory theories of happiness and point to the importance of collaborating with empirical psychology and other disciplines in the study of happiness.

Happiness is one of the most central concerns of individual human experience and of collective human culture. It should come as no surprise, then, that it has been a perennial theme throughout the history of philosophical thought. For at least 2500 years, philosophers in the East and the West have paid considerable attention to the nature and cultivation of happiness. Most philosophers have agreed that happiness is an important part of human life, but they have disagreed widely on just what happiness is. Some have argued that happiness is pleasure, others that it is virtue, and still others that it is the fulfillment of human nature. Some have argued that happiness is our natural end; others, that it is something impossible for us to obtain. Some have argued that the pursuit of happiness should be our top priority; others, that we should not pursue happiness at all—and indeed that the pursuit of happiness is one of the greatest causes of human misery. With this long tradition of debate on the topic, philosophy has much to offer the contemporary study of happiness.

In addition to a rich collection of theories, definitions, and insights about happiness, philosophy also has much to contribute in the way of method. With its emphasis on clarity and precision, philosophical thinking can help us sort our way through the bewildering number of meanings happiness has taken on, and it may also help us develop more robust and satisfactory theories of happiness than are currently available.

This section on philosophical approaches to happiness is comprised of this introduction and seven other chapters. The following chapters are evenly balanced between historical and contemporary philosophical considerations, with the first chapters tending more toward historical topics and the later ones toward current philosophical analysis. Given the long history and conceptual complexity of philosophical investigations into happiness, this section can only hope, of course, to provide a sampling of some of this work.

In Chapter 19 , Darrin M. McMahon writes on “The Pursuit of Happiness in History,” presenting some key points in the intellectual history of the notion of happiness in Western culture. McMahon begins with an analysis of Ancient Greek perspectives on happiness, in which luck plays a key role. The happy person is one on whom fortune smiles. But given the reversibility of fortune, the truly happy person is one on whom fortune smiles over the course of the entire life span. With the rise of Classical Greek philosophy, McMahon points out, perspectives on happiness changed considerably. Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and other philosophers argued that happiness is something noble souls can influence through their own efforts of philosophical reflection and virtuous activity. In the Christian era, attempts to achieve happiness on earth were often considered futile, or at best, reminders of our separation from the ultimate happiness that will be enjoyed only by the elect and only in the life to come. Later in the Christian era, thinkers like Aquinas saw earthly happiness as important in its own right but always as a very distant second to the joys of heaven. With the emphasis on reason and scientific investigation in the Enlightenment, perspectives on happiness shifted again, with the dominant view being that happiness is a right of all human beings, and that the proper kind of investigation and action will lead us to the full enjoyment of those rights. Indeed, in the United States Declaration of Independence, a document heavily influenced by the Enlightenment, the pursuit of happiness is identified as an inalienable right.

McMahon's analysis makes clear several important points about perspectives on happiness throughout history. First, these perspectives shift dramatically. What is taken for granted about happiness in one cultural context seems foreign in other cultural contexts. Second, because of these dramatic shifts, we must avoid the mistake of thinking that our current views on happiness necessarily hold true for cultural contexts different than our own. Third, these different perspectives can help us understand our own more deeply. Fourth, we must avoid mistakes others have made in the pursuit of happiness, mistakes like thinking that the attainment of happiness is easy, that we can force people to be happy, and that we can ignore paradoxes in the pursuit of happiness. Indeed, McMahon points out that, while there may be a dominant perspective in each cultural context, there are plenty of countervailing voices and paradoxical results of attempts to attain happiness. Perhaps the most obvious and the most tragic are the numerous post-Enlightenment revolutions that promised to bring happiness to the masses and instead brought widespread misery. McMahon concludes with a paradoxical claim from John Stuart Mill that perhaps the best way to achieve happiness is in the purposeful pursuit of something else.

While Chapter 19 concentrates on different cultural perspectives in Western thought, Chapter 20 shifts to an analysis of views of happiness in Eastern thought. Philip J. Ivanhoe writes about “Happiness in Early Chinese Thought,” focusing particularly on Confucianism and Daoism. (For an analysis of happiness in Hindu and Buddhist thought, see Chapters 27 , 28 , and 29 in this volume.) Ivanhoe focuses on the views of two of the founding figures of these traditions: Kongzi (also known as Confucius) and Zhuangzi. Both the Confucians, as represented by Kongzi, and the Daoists, as represented by Zhuangzi, critique the common search for happiness through such things as wealth, power, and prestige. Instead, they teach that happiness consists in following the Dao (the “Way”), the patterns and processes of Nature. People who follow the Dao, argued Kongzi and Zhuangzi, will experience a state of joy that includes both a freedom from common human concerns, fears, and anxieties and a sense of being a part of something larger than the self. Ivanhoe observes that, although this latter point seems to involve a loss of the self, it is really only the loss of the narrow, small view we often have of the self. Much as these thinkers agree, Ivanhoe observes, there are also significant differences in their understanding of the Dao and of how it can best be followed. Kongzi tended to emphasize the importance of friends, family, and culture; whereas Zhuangzi taught the importance of overcoming socialization in order to connect directly to what is most natural.

Chapter 21 explores the work of philosophers with much less sanguine views about happiness. In her piece entitled “Continental Contributions to our Understanding of Happiness and Suffering,” Emmy Van Deurzen explores the views of continental philosophers such as Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and Heidegger. For these thinkers, she argues, happiness is seen as an obstacle to the deeper goal of wisdom. To the extent that we try to focus on what is pleasant and easy, we ignore the realities of the human situation. It is only by facing up to these difficult realities and allowing ourselves to experience the attendant suffering that we can mature and become wise. This is certainly a devastating critique of forms of happiness that value unruffled pleasantness of experience over truth and wisdom, and it raises the question of how these continental philosophers might have responded to the more authentic, nuanced, and full-bodied conceptions of happiness explored in this volume.

In Chapter 22 , Raymond Angelo Belliotti begins to answer this question by considering what he calls “worthwhile happiness.” In his piece on “The Seductions of Happiness,” he argues that Schopenhauer's critique of happiness—that it is an illusion whose pursuit is futile—is misguided, but that the popular understanding of happiness as “an accurate self-report of a person's predominantly positive state of mind” is overrated. Through a series of illustrative cases, Belliotti argues that happiness so conceived is often at odds with the good. For happiness to be worthwhile, he contends, it must be attained in the right way and connected properly to higher values. He then considers various philosophical perspectives on the connection between happiness and values, concluding that defining happiness as an accurate positive self-appraisal is the most effective of these approaches. Finally, he argues that even worthwhile happiness is not the greatest good, since a robustly meaningful, valuable life is even better than a life of worthwhile happiness. All things considered, Belliotti concludes, it is best to have a life of both worthwhile happiness and robust meaning, but if one can have only one or the other one should choose the life of robust meaning.

Daniel M. Haybron agrees with Belliotti on this point. In Chapter 23 , “The Nature and Significance of Happiness,” Haybron argues that virtue and right action are more important than happiness. He is quick to point out, however, that this does not mean happiness is unimportant. Happiness is pleasant, certainly, but more than that it helps determine how we will live our lives. The trajectory of our individual lives is heavily influenced by the level of happiness we experience, and the trajectory of nations and societies is guided by the dominant definitions of happiness they hold. Haybron distinguishes between the well-being sense of happiness (including hedonism, desire satisfaction, and objectivist accounts) and the psychological sense of happiness (including life satisfaction accounts and emotional state accounts), choosing to focus on the latter in this chapter. He critiques life satisfaction accounts of happiness on the grounds that they are dependent, not just on how one's life is going, but on the standards one uses to assess it. If I have high expectations for my life, then I may have lower life satisfaction than someone with lower expectations—even if my life is actually closer to my ideal than the other person's life is to theirs. So satisfaction with life may tell us less about one's life than about one's expectations for that life. Haybron explores emotional state views of happiness in some detail, arguing that they go far beyond one's mere feeling states to a condition of what he calls “psychic flourishing.” Because of the complexity and nuances of different types of happiness, Haybron calls for more care in the measurement of happiness and implies that we may need more precise scales to measure these different types more accurately.

In Chapter 24 on “Philosophical methods in happiness research,” Valerie Tiberius takes up the question of what philosophy can uniquely contribute to the investigation of happiness. She argues that although many questions about happiness (questions like how people define happiness) are in the domain of empirical researchers, normative questions about happiness (questions about how people should define happiness) cannot be answered through empirical methods alone and require the help of philosophers. She explores in detail philosophical methods that are important for addressing normative questions and creating adequate theories about happiness. (Where Haybron focuses on the psychological sense of happiness, Tiberius focuses on its well-being sense.) Tiberius describes in detail the method of “reflective equilibrium,” which seeks to create theories that have both descriptive and normative adequacy by bringing into equilibrium ordinary judgments, putative normative principles, and background theories. In addition to discussing how this method is used in debates about theories of happiness, she also demonstrates the use of other specific methods as well, including thought experiments, intuition pumps, counter-examples, literary examples, and surveys. She concludes the chapter by emphasizing the importance of using philosophical and empirical methods in tandem, and thus of philosophers and psychologists continuing to work collaboratively in the ongoing study of happiness.

The final chapter in the section is “Happiness and its Opposites.” In this chapter, I examine what happiness is by looking at what it is not. I point out that, although we typically think of happiness and unhappiness as opposites, empirical research is showing that they are not—at least not on the commonsense understanding of what opposites are. Different definitions of happiness have different opposites, but underlying all of them is the important insight that happiness is not simply the absence of unhappiness. This has important implications for the pursuit of happiness, since happiness involves both the presence of certain states or conditions and the absence of others. I examine the importance of these points for understanding philosophical advice on the pursuit of happiness, focusing on the works of Epictetus and Boethius. I also point out the need for more empirical study on the proper balance between the pursuit of happiness and the avoidance of unhappiness.

Much important work remains to be done in the philosophical investigation of happiness. With the rich tradition of philosophical debate on this topic for the last two-and-a-half millennia, there is an ongoing need for scholars to continue to analyze and understand that work. Such effort is important because it gives us access to the best ideas of thoughtful scholars in times and places other than our own. It is also important because it can help us avoid the dangers of presentism, a kind of temporal ethnocentrism that assumes our own views on happiness to be identical both to the views that have been held by others in the past and to those that will be held by others in the future. The avoidance of presentism is especially important when individuals and governments make decisions and adopt policies intended to increase the happiness of future generations. It is critical that this happiness be of the sort that those future generations will actually value. Related to this concern is the question of how the new knowledge being created about happiness will be applied in our own day. History is fraught with cases where knowledge was used for immoral purposes, and this is especially true in the domain of happiness. There will be much ethical work for philosophers to do to make sure, for example, that knowledge about happiness is not used to oppress others.

In addition to work in the history of philosophy, there is much yet to be done on the continued development and application of the philosophical methods explored in this section. Philosophical analysis can continue to help us disambiguate various definitions of happiness, render more precise the various dimensions of happiness studied as empirical constructs, develop more satisfactory theories of happiness, and generate suggestions for further empirical research.

Philosophers have many historical and methodological contributions to make to the study of happiness. Collaboration with other scholars coming from different traditions and using different types of methods will enable important progress in the continued study of a subject so central to human experience.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Ilona Boniwell, Susan David, Daniel Haybron, and Valerie Tiberius for their suggestions on the overall plan for this section. I am especially indebted to Behdad Bozorgnia for help in making a variety of crucial editing decisions, and I am grateful to Xuan Gao for her keen eye in helping to prepare this section for publication.

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What Is Happiness Essay

What is happiness? We can ask hundreds of people, and each of them would probably give different answers. One would say that happiness is to be with a loved one, the second would say that happiness is the stability, and the third, on the contrary, would say that happiness is the unpredictability. For someone, to be happy is to have a lot of money while for others – to be popular. All in all, there are plenty of different understandings of happiness.

Personally, I consider happiness as simplicity and peace when my family and friends are healthy and happy as well. I recognize that they all are dear to me and able to understand what is going on inside me. I know that they will support me in any situation doing everything that depends on them. In return, I am also ready to do much for them. What we do for others, helping them when they need our help, advice, or support and obtaining appreciation, is happiness because helping others, we are doing something very significant and necessary.

What does it mean to be happy? I think it is, primarily, a state of mind, it means to have harmony with yourself and the people around. Happiness is multi-faceted. Perhaps, the word “love” is the most appropriate one to describe my happiness as love is driven by our world. People create wonderful things concerning their job, hobby, or family. Love is life, and I am happy when I realize that I live up to the hilt.

However, some people might be unhappy even though they should be. For example, teenagers who have everything to live a happy life, including healthy family, close friends, and enough money to satisfy basic needs, ask their parents to buy the latest model of IPhone. In the case, parents could not afford it, some teenagers tend to feel unhappy. After all, one can be a successful leader and have millions as well as prestige, but do not have a loving family and emotional harmony.

In my opinion, material values are not a true measure of happiness. Happiness is the ability to be optimistic in spite of difficulties and the ability to overcome them successfully. Finally, challenges should be taken as the lessons that life presents us. Even the negative things teach something, give a new experience, or refer to the correct direction.

I believe that happiness is not a gift and not a given right as every person has its own happiness inside. Moreover, it is never too late to become happy. We can inspire and motivate ourselves and others to be happy. A stranger’s passing smile, warm rays of the sun penetrating the window, or a cup of freshly brewed coffee – happiness is in detail. Everyone chooses and prefers different sources. It is of great importance for people to enjoy moments of life, even the most insignificant ones.

We need to appreciate every moment in our lives remembering that happiness is within us. After all, time passes, and we are getting hurt by the fact that we did not appreciate the time when we had a chance. Therefore, living in peace and harmony with others, helping those who need your help, and avoiding things that you would regret about in future are paramount ways to find happiness and make others happy.

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What Is Happiness and Why Is It Important? (+ Definition)

It seems like an odd question, but is it? Do you know how to define happiness? Do you think happiness is the same thing to you as it is to others?

What’s the point of it all? Does it even make a difference in our lives?

In fact, happiness does have a pretty important role in our lives, and it can have a huge impact on the way we live our lives. Although researchers have yet to pin down the definition or an agreed-upon framework for happiness, there’s a lot we have learned in the last few decades.

This article will dive into the science of happiness, what it actually is, and why it matters.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Happiness & Subjective Wellbeing Exercises for free . These detailed, science-based exercises will help you or your clients identify sources of authentic happiness and strategies to boost wellbeing.

This Article Contains:

• A Look at the Oxford English Dictionary’s Definition of Happiness

What is the Meaning of Happiness in Positive Psychology?

The psychology behind human happiness, 8 examples that describe what a happy life looks like, why is happiness so important, 6 videos that explain happiness, a take-home message, a look at the oxford english dictionary ‘s definition of happiness.

First, let’s take a look at the definition of happiness so we’re all on the same page.  Oxford English Dictionary ’s definition of “happiness” is a simple one: “ The state of being happy .”

Not exactly what we were looking for, was it? Perhaps we need to dive a little deeper.  Oxford English Dictionary ’s definition of “happy” is a little more helpful: “ Feeling or showing pleasure or contentment .”

That’s better! So, happiness is the state of feeling or showing pleasure or contentment. From this definition, we can glean a few important points about happiness:

• Happiness is a state, not a trait; in other words, it isn’t a long-lasting, permanent feature or personality trait, but a more fleeting, changeable state.
• Happiness is equated with feeling pleasure or contentment, meaning that happiness is not to be confused with joy, ecstasy, bliss, or other more intense feelings.
• Happiness can be either feeling or showing, meaning that happiness is not necessarily an internal or external experience, but can be both.

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The meaning of happiness in Positive Psychology really depends on who you ask.

Happiness is often known by another name in positive psychology research: subjective wellbeing, or SWB.

Some believe happiness is one of the core components of SWB, while others believe happiness is SWB. Regardless, you’ll frequently find SWB used as a shorthand for happiness in the literature.

And speaking of the literature, you will find references to SWB everywhere. A quick Google search for the word “happiness” offers over 2 million results (as of January 6th, 2019). Further, a scan for the same term in two of psychology’s biggest online databases (PsycINFO and PsycARTICLES) returns 19,139 results from academic and other journals, books, dissertations, and more.

Is it difficult to define scientifically?

With so many takes on happiness, it’s no wonder that happiness is a little difficult to define scientifically; there is certainly disagreement about what, exactly, happiness is.

According to researchers Chu Kim-Prieto, Ed Diener, and their colleagues (2005), there are three main ways that happiness has been approached in positive psychology:

• Happiness as a global assessment of life and all its facets;
• Happiness as a recollection of past emotional experiences;
• Happiness as an aggregation of multiple emotional reactions across time (Kim-Prieto, Diener, Tamir, Scollon, & Diener, 2005).

Although they generally all agree on what happiness feels like—being satisfied with life, in a good mood, feeling positive emotions , feeling enjoyment, etc.—researchers have found it difficult to agree on the scope of happiness.

However, for our purposes in this piece, it’s enough to work off of a basic definition that melds the OED ‘s definition with that of positive psychologists: happiness is a state characterized by contentment and general satisfaction with one’s current situation.

Pleasure vs. happiness

The association between the two makes sense, and it’s common to hear the two words used interchangeably outside of the literature; however, when it comes to the science of positive psychology, it is important to make a distinction between the two.

Happiness, as we described above, is a state characterized by feelings of contentment and satisfaction with one’s life or current situation. On the other hand, pleasure is a more visceral, in-the-moment experience. It often refers to the sensory-based feelings we get from experiences like eating good food, getting a massage, receiving a compliment, or having sex.

Happiness , while not a permanent state, is a more stable state than pleasure. Happiness generally sticks around for longer than a few moments at a time, whereas pleasure can come and go in seconds (Paul, 2015).

Pleasure can contribute to happiness, and happiness can enhance or deepen feelings of pleasure, but the two can also be completely mutually exclusive. For example, you can feel a sense of happiness based on meaning and engagement that has nothing to do with pleasure, or you could feel pleasure but also struggle with guilt because of it, keeping you from feeling happy at the same time.

Happiness vs. meaning

Happiness and meaning have an even more distinct line between the two. Rarely are happiness and meaning confused or used interchangeably, and for good reason—they describe two very different experiences.

Humans may resemble many other creatures in their striving for happiness, but the quest for meaning is a key part of what makes us human, and uniquely so.

Roy Baumeister et al. (2013)

Unlike happiness, meaning is not a fleeting state that drifts throughout the day; it’s a more comprehensive sense of purpose and feeling of contributing to something greater than yourself.

As the quote from Baumeister and colleagues (2013) suggests, there are important distinctions between the methods of searching for and the benefits of experiencing happiness and meaning. Scott Barry Kaufman at Scientific American (2016) outlines these distinctions that Baumeister and his fellow researchers found between the two:

• Finding one’s life easy or difficult was related to happiness, but not meaning;
• Feeling healthy was related to happiness, but not meaning;
• Feeling good was related to happiness, not meaning;
• Scarcity of money reduced happiness more than meaning;
• People with more meaningful lives agreed that “relationships are more important than achievements;”
• Helping people in need was linked to meaning but not happiness;
• Expecting to do a lot of deep thinking was positively related to meaningfulness, but negatively with happiness;
• Happiness was related more to being a taker rather than a giver, whereas meaning was related more to being a giver than a taker;
• The more people felt their activities were consistent with the core themes and values of their self, the greater meaning they reported in their activities;
• Seeing oneself as wise, creative, and even anxious were all linked to meaning but had no relationship (and in some cases, even showed a negative relationship) to happiness (Kaufman, 2016).

Basically, although the two overlaps and each can contribute to the experience of the other, the two can be mutually exclusive (Baumeister et al., 2013).

Relevant reading: 19 Cliché Happiness Quotes & The (Lack Of) Science Behind Them

The origins and etymology of happiness (Incl. root words)

According to Etymology Online  (n.d.), the word for “happy” in most languages came from the word for “lucky.” This suggests an interesting trend—perhaps our ancestors believed that happiness was largely a by-product of luck?

It also points to a possible difference of general opinion between earlier generations and our own 20th and 21st-century generations: that happiness was not a vital factor in a good life, but essentially a bonus that some lucky individuals got to experience.

Here’s what author Darrin McMahon writes about the origins and root words of the word “happiness:”

“It is a striking fact that in every Indo-European language, without exception, going all the way back to ancient Greek, the word for happiness is a cognate with the word for luck. Hap is the Old Norse and Old English root of happiness, and it just means luck or chance, as did the Old French heur, giving us bonheur, good fortune or happiness. German gives us the word Gluck, which to this day means both happiness and chance.”

(McMahon, 2006)

What does self-happiness mean?

Although the term is not used very often, “self-happiness” refers to a sense of happiness or satisfaction with one’s self. It is often associated with self-confidence, self-esteem, and other concepts that marry “the self” with feeling content and happy.

In general, it means that you are pleased with yourself and your choices, and with the person that you are.

Happiness can be defined as an enduring state of mind consisting not only of feelings of joy, contentment, and other positive emotions, but also of a sense that one’s life is meaningful and valued (Lyubomirsky, 2001).

Happiness energizes us and is a highly sought after state of being. But, what components make up happiness?

Martin Seligman (2002) argued that happiness has three dimensions that can be cultivated:  

• The regular experience of pleasantness (the pleasant life)
• The frequent engagement in satisfying activities (the engaged life)
• The experience of a sense of connectedness to a greater whole (the meaningful life)

Although each dimension is important, the happiest people tend to be those who pursue the full life— they infuse their life with pleasure, engagement, and meaning (Seligman et al., 2005).

Building on Seligman’s three dimensions of happiness, Sirgy and Wu (2009) added the balanced life dimension.

According to these authors, balance in life is another key factor contributing to happiness because the amount of satisfaction derived from a single life domain is limited. One needs to be involved in multiple domains to satisfy the broad spectrum of human needs. As a result, cultivating a sense of balance is crucial for juggling these life domains.

Now that we know what happiness is, let’s dive a little deeper. What does psychology have to tell us about happiness?

There are many different theories of happiness, but they generally fall into one of two categories based on how they conceptualize happiness (or well-being):

• Hedonic happiness/well-being is happiness conceptualized as experiencing more pleasure and less pain; it is composed of an affective component (high positive affect and low negative affect) and a cognitive component (satisfaction with one’s life);
• Eudaimonic happiness/well-being conceptualizes happiness as the result of the pursuit and attainment of life purpose, meaning, challenge, and personal growth; happiness is based on reaching one’s full potential and operating at full functioning (AIPC, 2011).

Some theories see happiness as a by-product of other, more important pursuits in life, while others see happiness as the end-goal for humans. Some theories state that pursuing happiness is pointless (although pursuing other important experiences and feelings may contribute to greater happiness), and some assume that happiness can be purposefully increased or enhanced.

Although they differ on the specifics, these theories generally agree on a few points:

• It’s good to be happy, and people like being happy;
• Happiness is neither a totally fleeting, momentary experience nor a stable, long-term trait;
• At least some portion of our happiness is set by our genetics, but the amount varies from about 10% up to 50%;
• The pursuit and attainment of pleasure will rarely lead to happiness;
• There are many sources that contribute to or compose happiness (AIPC, 2011).

What sources create true personal happiness?

Taking together all the various theories and findings on happiness, we know that there are at least a few factors that are very important for overall happiness:

• Individual income;
• Labor market status;
• Physical health;
• Social relationships;
• Moral values;
• Experience of positive emotions (AIPC, 2011).

All of these factors can contribute to a happy life, but research has found that good relationships are a vital ingredient (Waldinger & Schulz, 2010).

When we are happy in our most important relationships (usually our spouse or significant other, our children and/or our parents, other close family members, and our closest friends), we tend to be happier.

We have some control over how our relationships go, so that leads us to an interesting and important question: can we increase our own happiness?

Can individuals learn how to be happy?

The answer from numerous studies is a resounding YES—you CAN learn how to be happier.

The degree to which you can increase your happiness will vary widely by which theory you subscribe to, but there are no credible theories that allow absolutely no room for individual improvement. To improve your overall happiness, the most effective method is to look at the list of sources above and work on enhancing the quality of your experiences in each one of them.

For example, you can work on getting a higher salary (although a higher salary will only work up to about $75,000 USD a year), improve your health , work on developing and maintaining high-quality relationships, and overall, find ways to incorporate more positive feelings into your daily life. This does assume basic access to safety as well as social equality.

Of course, what it looks like will depend on the individual—a happy life for one person may be another’s nightmare!

However, there are a few examples that can display a wide range of lives that can be conducive to happiness:

• A woman who lives alone, has excellent relationships with her nieces and nephews, gives to charity, and finds meaning in her work;
• A man who is happily married with three healthy children and a relatively low-paying job;
• A widow who enjoys regular visits with her children and grandchildren, along with volunteering for local charities;
• A cancer patient who has a wonderful support system and finds meaning in helping others make it through chemotherapy;
• A social worker who works 70-hour weeks with no overtime pay, to ensure the children on her caseload are in good hands;
• An unmarried man in a monastery who has no earthly possessions and no salary to speak of, but finds meaning in communing with his god;
• A teenager in a foster home who has several close friends and enjoys playing football on his school’s team;
• A man who lives with several pets, enjoys a high salary, and loves his job.

Each of these was pulled from real-world examples of people who are happy. They may not seem like they have it all, but they all have at least one of the ingredients from the list of sources mentioned earlier. We don’t need to have everything we want in order to be happy—true happiness can be obtained by finding joy in what we already have, however much or little that may seem.

What are some visions you associate with happiness? Are there any similarities with these dreams?

You might be wondering why happiness is considered such an important aspect of life, as there are many components of a meaningful life.

In some ways, science would agree with you. It appears that  life satisfaction , meaning, and well-being can be linked with happiness, but happiness is not necessarily the overarching goal for everyone in life. It is still important because it has some undeniably positive benefits and co-occurring factors.

June Silny at Happify outlines 14 answers to the question, “ What’s so great about happiness, anyway? ”

• Happy people are more successful in multiple life domains, including marriage, friendship, income, work performance, and health.
• Happy people get sick less often and experience fewer symptoms when they do get sick.
• Happy people have more friends and a better support system.
• Happy people donate more to charity (and giving money to charity makes you happy, too).
• Happy people are more helpful and more likely to volunteer—which also makes you happier!
• Happy people have an easier time navigating through life since optimism eases pain, sadness, and grief.
• Happy people have a positive influence on others and encourage them to seek happiness as well, which can act as reinforcement.
• Happy people engage in deeper and more meaningful conversations.
• Happy people smile more, which is beneficial to your health.
• Happy people exercise more often and eat more healthily.
• Happy people are happy with what they have rather than being jealous of others.
• Happy people are healthier all around and more likely to be healthy in the future.
• Happy people live longer than those who are not as happy.
• Happy people are more productive and more creative, and this effect extends to all those experiencing positive emotions.

The relationship between mental health and happiness

As you can probably assume from the list above, there is a strong relationship between mental health and happiness! When happy people are healthier, have better relationships, make friends more easily, and find more success in life, it’s easy to see why happiness and mental health are related.

The sources that contribute to happiness are the same as those that provide people with a buffer or protection against mental illness, which explains the close relationship between the two.

A recent study explored the association between happiness and mental health in college students and found that a relatively strong, positive correlation connects the two factors (Shafiq, Nas, Ansar, Nasrulla, Bushra, & Imam, 2015). This correlation held, even when gender and socio-demographic variables were added to the mix.

The close tie between mental health and happiness is reason enough to make happiness an important priority for parents, educators, researchers, and medical professionals alike, along with the simple fact that we all like to feel happy!

17 Exercises To Increase Happiness and Wellbeing

Add these 17 Happiness & Subjective Well-Being Exercises [PDF] to your toolkit and help others experience greater purpose, meaning, and positive emotions.

Created by Experts. 100% Science-based.

If you’re interested in learning more about happiness from a scientific perspective, there are a few videos you might want to check out, including:

Positive Psychology: The Science of Happiness by Professor Tal Ben-Shahar from WGBH Forum.

Shawn Achor – The Happiness Advantage: Linking Positive Brains to Performance TEDTalk from TEDx Talks

Positive Psychology – Happier by Professor Tal Ben-Shahar, Ph.D. from FightMediocrity

How to be Happy – The Science of Happiness and Feeling Positive in Life from Memorize Academy

The Surprising Science of Happiness TED Talk by Dan Gilbert from TED

How to Be Happy – The Secret of Authentic Happiness – Martin Seligman from Practical Psychology

I hope this piece was helpful and informative for you, and that you learned something new about the scientific study of happiness. It’s a fascinating area of research, and new findings are coming out all the time. Make sure you stay up to date on the happiness literature , as the findings can be of great use in helping you to live your best life!

What are your thoughts on happiness? Would you define it differently? What do you find is the most important ingredient for your own happiness? Let us know in the comments section below!

Thanks for reading, I hope you are all finding happiness in all your life journeys.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Happiness Exercises for free .

• AIPC. (2011). Happiness and positive psychology. Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors Article Library . Retrieved from https://www.aipc.net.au/articles/happiness-and-positive-psychology/
• Baumeister, R., Vohs, K. D., Aaker, J. L., & Gabinsky, E. N. (2013). Some key differences between a happy life and a meaningful life. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 8 , 505-516.
• Joseph Sirgy, M., & Wu, J. (2009). The pleasant life, the engaged life, and the meaningful life: What about the balanced life? Journal of Happiness Studies, 10 , 183-196.
• Kaufman, S. B. (2016). The differences between happiness and meaning in life. Scientific American . Retrieved from https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/beautiful-minds/the-differences-between-happiness-and-meaning-in-life/
• Kim-Prieto, C., Diener, E., Tamir, M., Scollon, C. N., & Diener, M. (2005). Integrating the diverse definitions of happiness: A time-sequential framework of subjective well-being. Journal of Happiness Studies, 6 , 261-300.
• Lyubomirsky, S. (2001). Why are some people happier than others? The role of cognitive and motivational processes in well-being. American Psychologist, 56(3) , 239.
• McMahon, D. (2006). Happiness: A history . Grove Press.
• Online Etymology Dictionary (n.d.). Happy . Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/behaviorism/
• Paul, M. (2015). The difference between happiness and pleasure. Huffington Post: Life . Retrieved from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-difference-between-happiness-and-pleasure_b_7053946
• Seligman, M. E. (2002).  Authentic happiness: Using the new positive psychology to realize your potential for lasting fulfillment . Simon and Schuster.
• Seligman, M. E., Steen, T. A., Park, N., & Peterson, C. (2005). Positive psychology progress: empirical validation of interventions. American Psychologist, 60(5) , 410.
• Shafiq, S., Naz, R. A., Ansar, M., Nasrulla, T., Bushra, M., & Imam, S. (2015). Happiness as related to mental health among university students. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 5 , 124-132.
• Silny, J. (n.d.). What’s so great about happiness, anyway? (The answer: plenty!). Happify Daily . Retrieved from https://www.happify.com/hd/whats-so-great-about-happiness/
• Waldinger, R. J., & Schulz, M. S. (2010). What’s love got to do with it?: Social functioning, perceived health, and daily happiness in married octogenarians. Psychology and Aging, 25 , 422-431.

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What our readers think.

His article was extremely helpful and enabled me to grasp the concept of the confusing question of what it means to be happy and the general meaning of happiness. I’m so glad I found this article to be honest.

I disagree with your comment that ‘Happiness is not a state but a trait.’ I see happiness as a purely internal construct. I choose to be happy regardless of the people or things going on around me. Those people who look for happiness in others, outside of themselves, bounce back and forth between some fleeting form of happiness and unhappiness. If they would instead see happiness as an internal construct, man vs himself, they wouldn’t be dependent on someone else for their personal feelings of happiness. Because really, you don’t have the power to change others… But you do have all the power you need to change how you choose to see and react to what’s around you. The ball of your happiness is 100% in your court.

The article was very helpful and informative

Just finished your article on happiness, or SWB and meaning . As stated in your article, happiness is fleeting and subject to feel good material goods and personal objectives. Having sex, kids, buying a new car, an opioid response. However, I thought life was supposed to have meaning that would contribute to my happiness. I chose a career based on what I thought I could contribute to my own and others lives. Rather naïve on my behalf and futile at this stage. I’m 72 years old and understand less now about the world as it is than ever before. I’ve seen the horrors of war and have moved forward from those days to marrying, having a family and building a career, the dopamine response, however I’ve lost the meaning of life and find myself unhappy, angry, reclusive and frustrated. I have done drugs, tried meditation and read books searching for meaning and happiness, which has been elusive at times. Your article helped put certain expectations of others and myself in perspective and what I need to do to achieve happiness and meaning. Thank you!

Thanks for this article. Nowadays, i do gratitude exercice in the morning, midday and before sleep. It’s help me stay more in positive thoughts. I like soo much.

I write: I am grateful for … ( 10x )

Thank you so much for this very insightful article. It really taught me a lot.

Thank you very much for the article. I think it will help me a lot. It has given me clear ideas of how I can try and attain some degree of happiness, and hence greater contentment. Happiness is important in individuals – I believe it is a key to tolerance and a stable society.

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Essay on Happiness

List of essays on happiness, essay on happiness – short essay (essay 1 – 150 words), essay on happiness – for kids and children (essay 2 – 200 words), essay on happiness – 10 lines on happiness written in english (essay 3 – 250 words), essay on happiness (essay 4 – 300 words), essay on happiness – ways to be happy (essay 5 – 400 words), essay on happiness – for school students (class 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 standard) (essay 6 – 500 words), essay on happiness – ways of developing happiness (essay 7 – 600 words), essay on happiness – sources of suffering, happiness and conclusion (essay 8 – 750 words), essay on happiness – long essay on happiness (essay 9 – 1000 words).

Happiness is defined by different people in different ways. When we feel positive emotions we tend to feel happy. That is what happiness is all about. Happiness is also regarded as the mental state of a person in an optimistic manner.

Every person defines happiness in his/her own manner. In whatever manner you may define happiness; the truth is that it is vital for a healthy and prosperous life.

In order to make students understand what true happiness is all about, we have prepared short essays for students which shall enlighten them further on this topic.

Audience: The below given essays are exclusively written for school students (Class 3, 4 ,5, 6 and 7 Standard).

Introduction:

Happiness is a state of mind and the feeling expressed when things are going great. It is what we feel when we get our first car, buy a new house or graduate with the best grades. Happiness should be distinguished from joy. When joy is a constant state of mind, happiness depends on events in our lives.

Importance of Happiness:

The opposite of happiness is sadness which is a state of negativity in the mindset. When we remain sad for an extended period of time it can lead to depression. To avoid this state of mind we must always remind ourselves of happenings in our lives that made us happy.

Conclusion:

Though life throws countless challenges at us on a daily basis, if we drown in those challenges we would definitely become depressed. It is important that we find positive things in our daily lives to get excited about and feel the happiness.

Happiness is a state of mind which makes you feel accomplished in life and having everything in this world without a single reason to repent. Well, although there can be no perfect definition of happiness; happiness is when you feel you’re at the top of the world where a sense of complete satisfaction prevails.

The meaning of happiness is relative and varies from people to people. For some, happiness is when you experience professional success, reunions with family and friends, eating out, reading books or watching good movies. While for others, happiness can be accomplished by some weekend activities which might help you de-stress and get the satisfaction of mind.

If you involve yourself in social activities where you help the needy and provide support to the weaker section of the society, you can experience happiness if not anything else. When a young boy flies a kite, plays with mud, and watches the nature, for him, that is the greatest happiness in the world.

The happiness of mind is often considered quite contrary to jealousy and anger which you experience once you have failed or unaccomplished any desired goal. You should always try to rehearse the ways of keeping yourself satisfied and keeping away from negativity to experience peace and happiness in life. True happiness begins where desire ends!

What is happiness? It is a state of being happy. But it does not mean to be happy all the time. Happiness is a feeling of something good that is happening in our life. We feel happy when we achieve something. But happiness is spread when our dear one is happy as well. Some people find true happiness in playing with their pets, while some may find happiness in staying engaged in creative work.

Happiness is often derived from channelizing thoughts to positive thinking. However, it is not as simple as it may sound.

To achieve the state of complete happiness one has to practice on improving the state of life by:

1. Staying contended in life with what you have. Cribbing and grumbling never lead to happiness.

2. Staying focused on the current life instead of daydreaming of the good days or old days.

3. Stop blaming for something that went terribly wrong in life. The life is all about moving on. Stop worrying and set new goals in life.

4. Being thankful to God for all the good things that you have in your life.

5. Having good people around you who can boost up positivity in your life.

Everyone desires to be happy in life. Happiness cannot be achieved without establishing complete control of one’s thoughts as it is very easy to be carried away by the waves of thoughts and emotions surrounding us. Remind yourself of the good things of your life and be thankful about it.

What is happiness? Some would state that happiness implies being well off. Others would state that for them, happiness intends to be sound. You will discover individuals saying that for them happiness implies having love in their life, having numerous companions, a great job, or accomplishing a specific objective. There are individuals, who trust that the want of a specific wish would make happiness in their life; however, it may not be so. Having true happiness is something which is desired by all.

The Path to Happiness:

There are small things which when incorporated into our daily lives, can lead us to the path of happiness. For instance, instead of thinking about problems, we should actually be thinking about the solutions. Not only will we be happier but we shall also be able to solve our problems faster. Similarly, once in a while, you start the day with the longing to achieve a few targets. Toward the day’s end, you may feel disappointed and miserable, in light of the fact that you haven’t possessed the capacity to do those things. Take a look at what you have done, not at what you have not possessed the capacity to do. Regularly, regardless of whether you have achieved a ton amid the day, you let yourself feel disappointed, due to some minor assignments you didn’t achieve. This takes away happiness from you.

Again, now and then, you go throughout the day effectively completing numerous plans, yet as opposed to feeling cheerful and fulfilled, you see what was not cultivated and feel troubled. It is out of line towards you.

Each day accomplishes something good which you enjoy doing. It may tend to be something little, such as purchasing a book, eating something you cherish, viewing your most loved program on TV, heading out to a motion picture, or simply having a walk around the shoreline. Even small things can bring great levels of happiness in our lives and motivate us for new goals.

Happiness is not what you feel from outside, rather it is something which comes from your inner soul. We should find happiness in us rather than searching for it in worldly desires.

Happiness is defined by different people in different ways. Some find happiness in having a luxurious life while some find it in having loving people around them rather than money. True happiness lies within us and our expectation of happiness. It is something that should be felt and cannot be explained in words.

Even though this simple word has a lot of meaning hidden in it, many fail to understand the real one or feel the real happiness. Finding happiness in the outer world is the main reason for this failure. Nothing can buy you happiness, whether be the favorite thing you desire for or the person you love the most or the career you build, unless and until you feel it within yourself.

Ways to be Happy:

Bring happiness and soulful life to yourself rather than expecting it from the outside world like things, money, etc. Being happy is not as easy as advised to be one happier person. To be content and happy with whatever you have and yourself it takes time and patience. You should practice to be a happier person in all moments and eventually you will notice that no sorrow can sink you down.

Whatever good or bad happened in your past shouldn’t bother your present. Learn to live today with more happiness than yesterday and forget about your past sadness for a harmonious life. Thankfulness to the life you got is another important character you should acquire to be happy. If you compare yourself with someone with better luxurious life, then you will never be happy or content and do it the other way.

Don’t depress your mind with bad and negative thoughts about yourself and around. Try to find every goodness in a situation you face and accept the things that already happened, whether good or bad. Never forget to choose merrier and positive people to be closer to you so that their vibes will also help you in being one merrier person.

Whenever you feel low and depressed never hesitate to go to those around you to find happiness. But be aware of those negative ones that may pull you even deeper into the bad thoughts. Always surround yourself with positive thinking and motivating people so that you can rise higher even from the deepest fall.

Happiness is nothing but a feeling that will be seeded into your soul only if you wish to and nothing other than yourself can indulge this feeling in you. Don’t spoil your life finding happiness somewhere else.

Happiness is a very complicated thing. Happiness can be used both in emotional or mental state context and can vary largely from a feeling from contentment to very intense feeling of joy. It can also mean a life of satisfaction, good well-being and so many more. Happiness is a very difficult phenomenon to use words to describe as it is something that can be felt only. Happiness is very important if we want to lead a very good life. Sadly, happiness is absent from the lives of a lot of people nowadays. We all have our own very different concept of happiness. Some of us are of the opinion that we can get happiness through money, others believe they can only get true happiness in relationships, some even feel that happiness can only be gotten when they are excelling in their profession.

As we might probably know, happiness is nothing more than the state of one being content and happy. A lot of people in the past, present and some (even in the future will) have tried to define and explain what they think happiness really is. So far, the most reasonable one is the one that sees happiness as something that can only come from within a person and should not be sought for outside in the world.

Some very important points about happiness are discussed below:

1. Happiness can’t be bought with Money:

A lot of us try to find happiness where it is not. We associate and equate money with happiness. If at all there is happiness in money then all of the rich people we have around us would never feel sad. What we have come to see is that even the rich amongst us are the ones that suffer depression, relationship problems, stress, fear and even anxiousness. A lot of celebrities and successful people have committed suicide, this goes a long way to show that money or fame does not guarantee happiness. This does not mean that it is a bad thing to be rich and go after money. When you have money, you can afford many things that can make you and those around you very happy.

2. Happiness can only come from within:

There is a saying that explains that one can only get true happiness when one comes to the realisation that only one can make himself/herself happy. We can only find true happiness within ourselves and we can’t find it in other people. This saying and its meaning is always hammered on in different places but we still refuse to fully understand it and put it into good use. It is very important that we understand that happiness is nothing more than the state of a person’s mind. Happiness cannot come from all the physical things we see around us. Only we through our positive emotions that we can get through good thoughts have the ability to create true happiness.

Our emotions are created by our thoughts. Therefore, it is very important that we work on having only positive thoughts and this can be achieved when we see life in a positive light.

Happiness is desired by every person. However, there are very few persons that attain happiness easily in life.

It is quite tough to get happiness in life as people usually link it with the things and the people around them. The simple fact is that happiness usually starts as well as finishes with your own life. All those people who understand this fact easily get the true happiness in their life.

Happiness in Relationships:

There are lots of people who link happiness with the money and there are few others also who link it with the personal relations. It is very important to know that if you are not happy with yourself then, it is not possible to remain happy in your relationship as well.

The problems in the relationship have been increasing speedily and the main cause behind it is the huge amount of expectation that we have from the other individual. We always want them to make us feel happy. For example, some people feel happy if their partner plans a surprise for them or if he/she buy them a new dress. But all these things are not a true source of happiness in life.

Ways of Developing Happiness:

The lack of happiness in the relationship not only exists in couples but also in the relationship of friends, sister – brother or parent-child.

The following are the few ways that help in creating happiness in the relationships:

1. Pay Attention to Yourself:

You should always pay attention to yourself to get happiness. You should not give importance to any other person in your life in comparison to yourself and also expect the same from that person. Giving too much importance to the other and not receiving anything back from them makes a person disappointed and happiness gets lost.

2. Have some Initiative:

You can make the plan of traveling outside yourself. Don’t wait for your parent, partner or kid to take you outside. You can ask them to come along with you if they want. But, if they decline your offer then, don’t get discouraged and carry on your trip plan along with full happiness.

3. Provide some Space:

It is necessary to provide some amount of space to every individual and spend some time with oneself. It helps in creating happiness.

Happiness is Necessary for Good Life:

It does not matter that whether you are a working expert, a schoolchild, a retired person or a housewife, happiness is necessary for everybody to live a good and happy life. Happiness is essential for an individual’s emotional comfort. A person who is not fit emotionally will feel an impact on his complete health that will drain very soon.

Unluckily, despite the fact that happiness is tremendously necessary, people do not give so much importance to all those habits which can keep them happy. They are so excessively captivated inside their professional lives as well as other nuts and bolts of life that they overlook to relish the happy memories of their life. It is also the main reason that problems like anxiety, stress, and depression are increasing gradually in people’s lives today.

Happiness is an internal feeling. It is a healthy emotion. Happiness helps us to stay fit both mentally and physically. Happiness helps in lowering stress and keeping away from any health issues. The reason of happiness may be different for different person. You just need to find out what actually makes you happy. So, if you want real happiness in life then, you need to understand that only you can make yourself happy.

“There is no way to happiness, happiness is the way” this sentence has been attributed to Buddha. Well, at least that’s what it says on one sticker in my dorm room. The fact is that man has occupied himself with the path to happiness for millennia. Something happened during our evolution that made us deeply question the purpose of our existence. People like Buddha are part of the answer, or at least they try to give us the answer.

Since these questions have troubled us there have been many who sought to answer them and by doing so, they formed philosophies and religions. The search for earthly happiness will make many do incredible deeds but if this energy is used in the wrong way it can cause great suffering. How can we know which recipe for happiness is the best one and what we should devote our time and attention to? The trick is, there is no right answer and as the first sentence of this essay states, there is no way to be happy because being happy is the way. That’s how I got my head around this problem, let me explain some more.

Source of Suffering:

At the expense of sounding Buddhist, when you think about most of the things that make us unhappy are material in nature. They are the things that we really do not need but they make us feel happy. This notion is not just something the wise man from the 6 th century BC India expressed but many more have said this before and after him. Socrates and Jesus to name just a few.

What I find interesting in the struggle for happiness is the paradox present in the instructions to reach it. One has a  thought all through life to be good and hard working so he can get the things he wants and needs later on in life but then as you start to struggle for the money you realize that your life is turning into a money grabbing game. So, the source of happiness and stability becomes the source of all your anxiety and aggression. Naturally, we can see how some people thought that all material things stand on the path to our happiness.

But what about the immaterial, what if you are in love with someone you are not supposed to love? The above instruction would tell you to surrender your heart’s desire and you will be free from constraints. Is this happiness? Or is it the struggle to do and achieve the impossible the real source of happiness?

Source of Happiness:

People often forget that they are animals and like all of them they have a logic to their nature and their own specific needs. Like all the other animal’s people are caught in the struggle for existence and sometimes surviving the day can be a real ordeal if you get caught in the wrong circumstances. Men has made himself safe from most of the things that could have harmed him in nature but in doing so he forgot what he has made.

Think about the present from a historical perspective. Even a hundred years ago most people lost up to 80% of all their children to diseases, clean water was a rarity for most of our existence, and people actually had to labor to make food and to have enough to feed their family all through the year. The fact is we have a lot to be grateful for in the present age and the fact that some of us are unhappy because we do not have all our heart’s desires is just a symptom of collective infancy. Having all of your loved ones around you, with a roof to shelter under and with lots of delicious food is the only source of happiness man needs everything else should just be a bonus.

Happiness cannot be found by rejecting everything that is material or by earning more money then you can spend. The trick is to find balance by looking at yourself and the lives of people around you and by understanding that there is a lot to be grateful for, the trick is to stop searching for a path and to understand that we are already walking on one. As long as we are making any type of list of the prerequisite for our life of happiness, we will end up unsatisfied because life does not grant wishes we are the ones that make them come true. Often the biggest change in our lives comes from a simple change of perspective rather than from anything we can own.

Happiness is the state of emotional wellbeing and being contented. Happiness is expressed through joyful moments and smiles. It is a desirable feeling that everybody want to have at all times. Being happy is influenced by situations, achievements and other circumstances. Happiness is an inner quality that reflects on the state of mind. A peaceful state of mind is considered to be happiness. The emotional state of happiness is mixture of feelings of joy, satisfaction, gratitude, euphoria and victory.

How happiness is achieved:

Happiness is achieved psychologically through having a peaceful state of mind. By a free state of mind, I mean that there should be no stressful factors to think about. Happiness is also achieved through accomplishment of goals that are set by individuals. There is always happiness that accompanies success and they present feelings of triumph and contentment.

To enable personal happiness in life, it is important that a person puts himself first and have good self-perception. Putting what makes you happy first, instead of putting other people or other things first is a true quest towards happiness. In life, people tend to disappoint and putting them as a priority always reduces happiness for individuals. There is also the concept of practicing self-love and self-acceptance. Loving oneself is the key to happiness because it will mean that it will not be hard to put yourself first when making decisions.

It is important for an individual to control the thoughts that goes on in their heads. A peaceful state of mind is achieved when thoughts are at peace. It is recommended that things that cause a stressful state of mind should be avoided.

Happiness is a personal decision that is influenced by choices made. There is a common phrase on happiness; “happiness is a choice” which is very true because people choose if they want to be happy or not. Happiness is caused by circumstances and people have the liberty to choose those circumstance and get away from those that make them unhappy.

Happiness is also achieved through the kind of support system that an individual has. Having a family or friends that are supportive will enable the achievement of happiness. Communicating and interacting with the outside world is important.

Factors Affecting Happiness:

Sleep patterns influence the state of mind thus influence happiness. Having enough sleep always leads to happy mornings and a good state of mind for rest of the day. Sleep that is adequate also affects the appearance of a person. There is satisfaction that comes with having enough sleep. Enough rest increases performance and productivity of an individual and thus more successes and achievements are realized and happiness is experienced.

Another factor affecting happiness is the support network of an individual. A strong support network of family and friends results in more happiness. Establishing good relationships with neighbors, friends and family through regular interactions brings more happiness to an individual. With support network, the incidences of stressful moments will be reduced because your family and friends will always be of help.

Sexual satisfaction has been established to affect happiness. It is not just about getting the right partner anymore. It is about having a partner that will satisfy you sexually. There is a relationship between sex and happiness because of the hormones secreted during sexual intercourse. The hormone is called oxytocin and responsible for the happiness due to sexual satisfaction. Satisfaction also strengthens the relationships between the partners and that creates happiness.

Wealth also plays a significant role in happiness. There is a common phrase that is against money and happiness: “money cannot buy happiness” is this true? Personally, I believe that being financially stable contributes to happiness because you will always have peace of mind and many achievements. Peace of mind is possible for wealthy people because they do not have stressors here and then compared to poor people. Also, when a person is wealthy, they can afford to engage in luxurious activities that relaxes the mind and create happiness. For a person to be wealthy, they will have had many achievements in life. These achievement make them happy.

A good state of health is an important factor that influences the happiness of individuals. A healthy person will be happy because there are no worries of diseases or pain that they are experiencing. When a person is healthy, their state of mind is at peace because they are not afraid of death or any other health concerns. Not only the health of individuals is important, but also the health of the support system of the person. Friends and family’s state of health will always have an impact on what we feel as individuals because we care about them and we get worried whenever they are having bad health.

Communication and interactions are important in relation to an individual’s happiness. Having a support system is not enough because people need to communicate and interact freely. Whenever there are interactions like a social gathering where people talk and eat together, more happiness is experienced. This concept is witnessed in parties because people are always laughing and smiling in parties whenever they are with friends.

Communication is key to happiness because it helps in problem solving and relieving stressors in life. Sharing experiences with a support system creates a state of wellbeing after the solution is sought. Sometime when I am sad, I take my phone and call a friend or a family member and by the time the phone call is over, I always feel better and relieved of my worries.

Happiness is an important emotion that influences how we live and feel on a daily basis. Happiness is achieved in simple ways. People have the liberty to choose happiness because we are not bound by any circumstances for life. Factors that influence happiness are those that contribute to emotional wellbeing. Physical wellbeing also affects happiness. Every individual finds happiness in their own because they know what makes them happy and what doesn’t.

Emotions , Happiness , Psychology

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Happiness Essay for Students and Children

500+ words essay on happiness.

Happiness is something which we can’t describe in words it can only be felt from someone’s expression of a smile. Likewise, happiness is a signal or identification of good and prosperous life. Happiness is very simple to feel and difficult to describe. Moreover, happiness comes from within and no one can steal your happiness.

Can Money Buy You Happiness?

Every day we see and meet people who look happy from the outside but deep down they are broken and are sad from the inside. For many people, money is the main cause of happiness or grief. But this is not right. Money can buy you food, luxurious house, healthy lifestyle servants, and many more facilities but money can’t buy you happiness.

And if money can buy happiness then the rich would be the happiest person on the earth. But, we see a contrary image of the rich as they are sad, fearful, anxious, stressed, and suffering from various problems.

In addition, they have money still they lack in social life with their family especially their wives and this is the main cause of divorce among them.

Also, due to money, they feel insecurity that everyone is after their money so to safeguard their money and them they hire security. While the condition of the poor is just the opposite. They do not have money but they are happy with and stress-free from these problems.

In addition, they take care of their wife and children and their divorce rate is also very low.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Happiness Comes from Within

As we now know that we can’t buy happiness with money and there is no other shortcut to happiness. It is something that you feel from within.

In addition, true happiness comes from within yourself. Happiness is basically a state of mind.

Moreover, it can only be achieved by being positive and avoiding any negative thought in mind. And if we look at the bright side of ourselves only then we can be happy.

Happiness in a Relationship

People nowadays are not satisfied with their relationship because of their differences and much other reason. But for being happy in a relationship we have to understand that there are some rules or mutual understanding that keeps a relationship healthy and happy.

Firstly, take care of yourself then your partner because if you yourself are not happy then how can you make your partner happy.

Secondly, for a happy and healthy relationship give you partner some time and space. In addition, try to understand their feeling and comfort level because if you don’t understand these things then you won’t be able to properly understand your partner.

Most importantly, take initiative and plan to go out with your partner and family. Besides, if they have plans then go with them.

To conclude, we can say that happiness can only be achieved by having positive thinking and enjoying life. Also, for being happy and keeping the people around us happy we have to develop a healthy relationship with them. Additionally, we also have to give them the proper time.

FAQs about Happiness

Q.1 What is True Happiness? A.1 True happiness means the satisfaction that you find worthy. The long-lasting true happiness comes from life experience, a feeling of purpose, and a positive relationship.

Q.2 Who is happier the rich or the poor and who is more wealthy rich or poor? A.2 The poor are happier then the rich but if we talk about wealth the rich are more wealthy then the poor. Besides, wealth brings insecurity, anxiety and many other problems.

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Essay on Happiness

Happiness, a concept as elusive as it is cherished, has been the subject of philosophical debate, literary exploration, and psychological study for centuries. This essay endeavors to dissect the meaning of happiness, its various forms, and the myriad ways in which we, as individuals and societies, strive to attain it. For students participating in essay writing competitions, understanding and articulating the essence of happiness presents an opportunity to delve into a topic both universally relevant and deeply personal.

Happiness is often described as a state of well-being and contentment, a positive emotional condition where one feels fulfilled and satisfied. However, this simple definition barely scratches the surface of its complexity. Philosophers, from Aristotle to contemporary thinkers, have long debated whether happiness is derived from external achievements and pleasures or is a state of internal well-being and peace.

The Philosophical Dimensions of Happiness

Ancient perspectives.

• Aristotelian Happiness (Eudaimonia) : Aristotle posited that true happiness is found through leading a virtuous life and fulfilling one’s potential.
• Hedonism : In contrast, hedonism argues that pleasure and the avoidance of pain are the highest forms of happiness.

Modern Interpretations

• Utilitarianism : This philosophy suggests that the greatest happiness of the greatest number should be the guiding principle of conduct.
• Existentialist View : Existentialists propose that happiness is subjective and lies in authentic living, despite life’s inherent meaninglessness.

Psychological Understanding of Happiness

Psychology offers insights into how happiness functions in the human psyche:

• Positive Psychology : This field, pioneered by Martin Seligman, focuses on cultivating positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and achievement.
• Biological Aspects : Neurological research shows that certain brain chemicals like dopamine and serotonin play a crucial role in feeling happy.

Cultural and Social Aspects of Happiness

Different cultures view happiness in distinct ways:

• Collectivist vs. Individualist Societies : In collectivist cultures, happiness is often tied to social harmony and family, whereas in individualist cultures, personal achievement and autonomy are emphasized.
• Influence of Wealth and Material Success : While economic stability can contribute to happiness, the adage that money can’t buy happiness holds true, as beyond a certain point, increased wealth does not equate to increased happiness.

The Role of Relationships in Happiness

The role of relationships in happiness is profound and significant. Healthy and meaningful relationships contribute significantly to an individual’s overall well-being and sense of happiness. Here are some key ways in which relationships play a crucial role in fostering happiness:

• Emotional Support: Close relationships, such as those with family, friends, and romantic partners, offer emotional support during challenging times. Having someone to confide in and share one’s feelings with can alleviate stress and sadness, promoting happiness.
• Social Connection: Human beings are inherently social creatures, and positive social interactions are vital for happiness. Engaging with others, whether through conversations, shared activities, or celebrations, provides a sense of belonging and fulfillment.
• Reduced Loneliness: Loneliness is a significant factor in unhappiness. Meaningful relationships combat loneliness by providing companionship and a sense of community, enhancing emotional well-being.
• Enhanced Self-Worth: Healthy relationships can boost an individual’s self-esteem and self-worth. Feeling valued and loved by others contributes to a positive self-image and greater overall happiness.
• Shared Experiences: Relationships offer opportunities to share experiences, both joyful and challenging. Celebrating achievements and facing difficulties together can deepen connections and create lasting happiness.
• Stress Reduction: Supportive relationships act as a buffer against stress. Knowing that one can rely on others during trying times can mitigate the negative effects of stress on mental and physical health.
• Empathy and Understanding: In relationships, individuals often find empathy, understanding, and validation of their feelings. Being heard and understood by others fosters emotional well-being and contentment.
• Longevity and Health: Research suggests that people with strong social connections tend to live longer, healthier lives. Improved physical health contributes to a greater overall sense of happiness and well-being.
• Sense of Purpose: Relationships, especially those involving family and children, can provide individuals with a sense of purpose and meaning in life, contributing to a deeper and more enduring happiness.
• Support for Goals: Healthy relationships encourage personal growth and the pursuit of individual goals. Supportive partners, friends, and family members can help individuals achieve their aspirations, leading to a sense of accomplishment and happiness.
• Positive Feedback Loop: Happy relationships often create a positive feedback loop, where the happiness of one person enhances the well-being of others in the relationship, fostering a harmonious and joyful environment.
• Forgiveness and Resolution: Healthy relationships allow for forgiveness and conflict resolution, reducing negative emotions and promoting happiness through reconciliation and understanding.

Personal Practices in Pursuing Happiness

Several personal practices can enhance one’s sense of happiness:

• Mindfulness and Meditation : These practices help in cultivating a state of present-moment awareness and acceptance, leading to higher levels of happiness.
• Gratitude : Regularly expressing gratitude can shift focus from what is lacking to what is abundant in one’s life.
• Helping Others : Altruism and kindness not only benefit others but also enhance the giver’s sense of happiness and fulfillment.

The Complexity and Paradox of Happiness

The pursuit of happiness can sometimes be paradoxical:

• The Hedonic Treadmill : This concept describes the human tendency to quickly return to a relatively stable level of happiness despite major positive or negative events or life changes.
• Adaptation and Expectation : People often adapt to new levels of happiness, constantly raising their expectations and seeking more.

Educational and Professional Pursuits of Happiness

In the context of education and careers:

• Fulfillment in Learning : Finding joy in learning and academic achievement can contribute significantly to a student’s happiness.
• Career Satisfaction : Engaging in work that is meaningful, challenging, and aligns with personal values can lead to greater job satisfaction and happiness.

In conclusion, writing an essay on happiness requires a thoughtful approach. This guide has provided valuable insights and tips to help students explore this multifaceted topic effectively. By understanding the various facets of happiness, crafting a compelling narrative, and engaging the audience, writers can create essays that inspire reflection and foster a deeper appreciation for the pursuit of happiness in life.

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The Nobel Winner Who Liked to Collaborate With His Adversaries

By Cass R. Sunstein

Mr. Sunstein is a law professor at Harvard and an author of “Noise,” with Daniel Kahneman and Olivier Sibony.

Our all-American belief that money really does buy happiness is roughly correct for about 85 percent of us. We know this thanks to the latest and perhaps final work of Daniel Kahneman, the Nobel Prize winner who insisted on the value of working with those with whom we disagree.

Professor Kahneman, who died last week at the age of 90, is best known for his pathbreaking explorations of human judgment and decision making and of how people deviate from perfect rationality. He should also be remembered for a living and working philosophy that has never been more relevant: his enthusiasm for collaborating with his intellectual adversaries. This enthusiasm was deeply personal. He experienced real joy working with others to discover the truth, even if he learned that he was wrong (something that often delighted him).

Back to that finding, published last year , that for a strong majority of us, more is better when it comes to money. In 2010, Professor Kahneman and the Princeton economist Angus Deaton (also a Nobel Prize winner) published a highly influential essay that found that, on average, higher-income groups show higher levels of happiness — but only to a point. Beyond a threshold at or below $90,000, Professor Kahneman and Professor Deaton found, there is no further progress in average happiness as income increases.

Eleven years later, Matthew Killingsworth, a senior fellow at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, found exactly the opposite : People with higher income reported higher levels of average happiness. Period. The more money people have, the happier they are likely to be.

What gives? You could imagine some furious exchange in which Professor Kahneman and Professor Deaton made sharp objections to Dr. Killingsworth’s paper, to which Dr. Killingsworth answered equally sharply, leaving readers confused and exhausted.

Professor Kahneman saw such a dynamic as “angry science,” which he described as a “nasty world of critiques, replies and rejoinders” and “as a contest, where the aim is to embarrass.” As Professor Kahneman put it, those who live in that nasty world offer “a summary caricature of the target position, refute the weakest argument in that caricature and declare the total destruction of the adversary’s position.” In his account, angry science is “a demeaning experience.” That dynamic might sound familiar, particularly in our politics.

Instead, Professor Kahneman favored an alternative that he termed “adversarial collaboration.” When people who disagree work together to test a hypothesis, they are involved in a common endeavor. They are trying not to win but to figure out what’s true. They might even become friends.

In that spirit, Professor Kahneman, well into his 80s, asked Dr. Killingsworth to collaborate, with the help of a friendly arbiter, Prof. Barbara Mellers, an influential and widely admired psychologist. Their task was to look closely at Dr. Killingsworth’s data to see whether he had analyzed it properly and to understand what, if anything, had been missed by Professor Kahneman and Professor Deaton.

Their central conclusion was simple. Dr. Killingsworth missed a threshold effect in his data that affected only one group: the least happy 15 percent. For these largely unhappy people, average happiness does grow with rising income, up to a level of around $100,000, but it stops growing after that. For a majority of us, by contrast, average happiness keeps growing with increases in income.

Both sides were partly right and partly wrong. Their adversarial collaboration showed that the real story is more interesting and more complicated than anyone saw individually.

Professor Kahneman engaged in a number of adversarial collaborations, with varying degrees of success. His first (and funniest) try was with his wife, the distinguished psychologist Anne Treisman. Their disagreement never did get resolved. (Dr. Treisman died in 2018.) Both of them were able to explain away the results of their experiments — a tribute to what he called “the stubborn persistence of challenged beliefs.” Still, adversarial collaborations sometimes produce both agreement and truth, and he said that “a common feature of all my experiences has been that the adversaries ended up on friendlier terms than they started.”

Professor Kahneman meant both to encourage better science and to strengthen the better angels of our nature. In academic life, adversarial collaborations hold great value . We could easily imagine a situation in which adversaries routinely collaborated to see if they could resolve disputes about the health effects of air pollutants, the consequences of increases in the minimum wage, the harms of climate change or the deterrent effects of the death penalty.

And the idea can be understood more broadly. In fact, the U.S. Constitution should be seen as an effort to create the conditions for adversarial collaboration. Before the founding, it was often thought that republics could work only if people were relatively homogeneous — if they were broadly in agreement with one another. Objecting to the proposed Constitution, the pseudonymous antifederalist Brutus emphasized this point: “In a republic, the manners, sentiments and interests of the people should be similar. If this be not the case, there will be a constant clashing of opinions, and the representatives of one part will be continually striving against those of the other.”

Those who favored the Constitution thought that Brutus had it exactly backward. In their view, the constant clashing of opinions was something not to fear but to welcome, at least if people collaborate — if they act as if they are engaged in a common endeavor. Sounding a lot like Professor Kahneman, Alexander Hamilton put it this way : “The differences of opinion, and the jarrings of parties” in the legislative department of the government “often promote deliberation and circumspection and serve to check excesses in the majority.”

Angry science is paralleled by angry democracy, a “nasty world of critiques, replies and rejoinders,” whose “aim is to embarrass,” Professor Kahneman said. That’s especially true, of course, in the midst of political campaigns, when the whole point is to win.

Still, the idea of adversarial collaboration has never been more important. Within organizations of all kinds — including corporations, nonprofits, think tanks and government agencies — sustained efforts should be made to lower the volume by isolating the points of disagreement and specifying tests to establish what’s right. Asking how a disagreement might actually be resolved tends to turn enemies, focused on winning and losing, into teammates, focused on truth.

As usual, Professor Kahneman was right. We could use a lot more of that.

Cass R. Sunstein is a law professor at Harvard and an author of “Noise,” with Daniel Kahneman and Olivier Sibony.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

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