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Interesting distincion. Can you please also elaborate on the distinction between joy and happiness? Possibly relevant: there are languages [1] where you have t

Interesting distincion. Can you please also elaborate on the distinction between joy and happiness? Possibly relevant: there are languages [1] where you have two verbs to express states of being, a long-term being (e.g., traits of character) and a short-term being (e.g., when describing a behavior or a situation). Is this aspect relevant for your distinction between sadness vs misery or joy vs happiness? Finally, are native speakers of languages with 2 states of being happier because they learned to distinguish better those emotional states? [1] e.g., google for "ser vs estar <language>" where <language> in {Portuguese, Spanish}

gerbilly 10y ago
Not the original poster, but... Happiness: For me is calm, equanimity. Happiness can be sustained without negative effects. Happiness is not an emotion. Joy: Is an emotion which means it is more more intense but also shorter in duration. If someone was always stuck in a state of joy we might start to worry about them (mania?). Experiencing joy is pleasurable but clouds the mind, and is tiring if sustained for too long. Generally, all emotions put a cognitive filter on the mind: anger focuses the mind on a perceived threat and is known to exclude other information for example. True happiness unclouds the mind and makes it see more clearly.