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Maybe it's just the wording we use, but when you say "But in my life philosophy, it's not so much important to be happy, as to be a good person and to have a fu

Maybe it's just the wording we use, but when you say "But in my life philosophy, it's not so much important to be happy, as to be a good person and to have a fulfilling life." Doesn't that mean that being a good person and having a fulfilling life is what makes _you_ happy? This is something I think a lot about, and I know this is a philosophical topic that has been around for ever, but how do we call the state in which we're "ok" with our life? In your case the mental state when you believe that you're being a good person and having a fulfilling life? Is that happiness? Or is happiness a by-product of that state? I believe this is what Aristotle called achieving virtue, maybe, it's been a while since I studied philosophy...

wegs 6y ago
No, it doesn't. There are definitely times when being a good person and having a fulfilling life does make me happy. There are also times when it's tough and painful and makes me unhappy. There are more of the former than the latter (and I do believe striving for a meaningful life is a good strategy for reaching happiness), so there's a clear correlation, but they're not the same. They're not actually even close. There's an even bigger difference in why you do things. If you do something because it helps someone (and that results in you being happy) it's very different than if you do the exact same thing to make you happy (and that thing also results in helping someone). The philosophy I described is close to the philosophy of Aristotle or Confucius, albeit without the same rigid roles and social hierarchies which they use to define virtue. But the mental state of being content where you are is another thing entirely. That's related to several Eastern philosophies (Zen and Buddhism especially), but it's very different from the American philosophy of striving for individual happiness, or the Aristotelian / Confucian philosophy of striving for virtue.

wegs 6y ago

No, it doesn't. There are definitely times when being a good person and having a fulfilling life does make me happy. There are also times when it's tough and painful and makes me unhappy. There are more of the former than the latter (and I do believe striving for a meaningful life is a good strategy for reaching happiness), so there's a clear correlation, but they're not the same. They're not actually even close. There's an even bigger difference in why you do things. If you do something because it helps someone (and that results in you being happy) it's very different than if you do the exact same thing to make you happy (and that thing also results in helping someone). The philosophy I described is close to the philosophy of Aristotle or Confucius, albeit without the same rigid roles and social hierarchies which they use to define virtue. But the mental state of being content where you are is another thing entirely. That's related to several Eastern philosophies (Zen and Buddhism especially), but it's very different from the American philosophy of striving for individual happiness, or the Aristotelian / Confucian philosophy of striving for virtue.