3 ms·
I reject the significance of the question, and I reject the purported method used to answer it. First, defang it of the direction of causal fit problem. Does be
by tommorris 17y ago
I reject the significance of the question, and I reject the purported method used to answer it. First, defang it of the direction of causal fit problem. Does being in a state of greater educational attainment dispose one towards happiness? The answer? Irrelevant.
Let us say that it was not true in a concrete case: that Paris Hilton (or someone equivalent) was happier than, say, W.V.O. Quine. Would that mean that the late Professor Quine should have dropped all that logic lark, caught the next plane to Hollywood and started snorting coke and appearing in sex tapes? Of course not.
If the only goal we had in life was happiness, we would spend all day watching TV, popping Prozac and engaging in mindless consumerist 'retail therapy' to cover up for our lack of... oh, wait.
- JeffJenkins 17y agoPenelope Trunk has written a bunch of articles on people who are interested in happiness vs living an interesting life. I can't speak to the validity of her sources, but it's something interesting to think about: http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2010/01/14/do-you-overemphasize-happiness/ http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2010/01/14/do-you-overemphasiz...
- phaedrus 17y agoWow thanks for the link, that's a really good blog in general.
- gcheong 17y agoProblem is, there seems to be at least 3 different kinds of "happiness", at least according to Martin Seligman in this TED video: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/martin_seligman_on_the_state_of_psychology.html http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/martin_seligman_on_the_sta... It would seem that she is trying to move away from the first level of happiness (simply trying to seek out "feel good" experiences) toward higher level happiness that is achieved through flow experiences and meaning but may not have a lot of pleasure attached.
- timwiseman 17y agoAn approach worth contrasting seeking either happiness or interesting life is to try living a life with morality and purpose that leaves the world better than you found it in some meaningful way.