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| Happiness (Photo credit: -Reji) |
Happiness derived from ignoring others' suffering is false happiness, because it is based on personal luck so it can be transcient; happiness derived from passion or compassion is true happiness because it embraces all life brought to us, joy or sorrow, so it lasts as long as we live.
yunyi, to me happiness simply means choosing to be happy. I don't think it's any more complicated than that. I think one can be indifferent to the whole world and still be happy.
ReplyDeleteI agree that happiness can be a choice (but just some people could not choose it!), but I don't seem to agree that those who chose to be happy are indifferent to the whole world. They can have sympathy too.
DeleteYun Yi, I am going to be more direct about np's sickening comment above. My personal lack of indifference to the dreadful suffering of others robs me of much happiness - I am glad to say. Because I am a sad loner, my happiness is created by supporting 18 (currently) abandoned cats and their kittens in my Greek island 'hovel'.
DeleteYes, np 'one can be indifferent....' it's sometimes called self-centredness' You can keep your effing 'hapiness'.
Sorry np. It was not your happiness I was swearing at, but the kind of 'happiness' that can exist either from cruelty (sadistic pleasure, for instance) or from indifference to suffering of others. Still, all good people have to suppress their own empathy - and enjoy moments of happiness - just to get through the day.
DeleteHappiness is a state of mind - I can't see how it can be 'true' or 'false'. But it can be related to any act that produces it in the individual, and this act can be judged in its context.
Well said, Bob!
Deletep.s. you are right, "false" and "true" are not very appropriate here. may be "transcient" and "long lasting" would be better terms here.
DeleteHappiness is a real problem word - I would like to know how Chinese deals with the concept. It means a personal feeling of well-being either in some context or generalized. We are happy with, and unhappy with different things at the same time, but that is not the same thing as 'generally happy'.
DeleteI think it's hopeless to deny that some people derive happiness from causing pain to others. You could call it 'satisfaction' or 'perverted happiness', but it's only the individual who actually knows what it IS.
Bob, you made this concept "happiness" a controversial, with I probably have to agree. Yes, there are many people on this earth derive their happiness from others' pain and suffering.
DeleteChinese mainstream culture doesn't encourage much about happiness, rather, it encourages "hard working", which makes those who are happy feeling guilty. However, on the other hands, because of being happy is not something so "credible", lots of people live unhappily, thus no one really feel comfortable to make others happy. This really distorted a simple human nature into a complicated/dart phenomenon: instead of be happy openly, healthily, many of them just try their best to make others miserable.
Well, things might not be so bad. I could be cynical about this. Frankly speaking, I am quite sick of that culture. There is no use to disguise otherwise.
The subject of happiness is as complicated as it gets. But the enjoyment of happiness is simple. It is generated by chemicals in the brain. Some drugs can provide them, but the effect is short-lived. The feeling of happiness can also be stimulated by tiny electrical currents to certain parts of the brain. Happiness is real if you feel it, just like pain
DeletePerhaps 'hard work' can make more people happy than individualism, especially if the work results in more comfort and better health for the population generally. This is the happiness of giving as Neavada says.
I think happiness is knowing that we've given all we can give...as opposed to taking all we can take. Same principle, basically.
ReplyDeleteWhat a selfless/beautiful way to put it. :-)
DeleteWell said Neavada. It's a pity the word 'happiness' has such a positive ring to it - bad things make a bad person happy.
DeleteI see what you're saying here, but tend to agree with NP that happiness is a choice that can occur independently of what's going on in the rest of the world.
ReplyDeleteYes, but independence can be co-existing with sympathy, am I right? :-)
DeleteI prefer the word 'happiness in its global sense. For mankind to be happier is a great goal for people who can do something about it. On a personal level I regret most individual's happiness (especially my own) if it has not been the result of giving rather than taking (Thank you Neavada)
ReplyDeleteThanks Bob! I think based on the definition given by Neavada, you are a still happy one. I think this world would be so much better if more people consider "giving" than just "taking"!
DeleteYun, I understand what you’re saying and totally agree. I also agree with those who say that happiness is a choice, but so much better when it’s derived from passion or compassion, as you wrote.
ReplyDeleteThanks Madilyn :-)
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