Topic
Happiness
About: Happiness is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 22093 publications have been published within this topic receiving 728411 citations. The topic is also known as: joy & happy.
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Book•
21 Dec 1989
TL;DR: Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, which equates the ultimate end of human life with happiness (eudaimonia), is thought by many readers to argue that this highest goal consists in the largest possible aggregate of intrinsic goods.
Abstract: Aristotle's "Nicomachean Ethics," which equates the ultimate end of human life with happiness (eudaimonia), is thought by many readers to argue that this highest goal consists in the largest possible aggregate of intrinsic goods. Richard Kraut proposes instead that Aristotle identifies happiness with only one type of good: excellent activity of the rational soul. In defense of this reading, Kraut discusses Aristotle's attempt to organize all human goods into a single structure, so that each subordinate end is desirable for the sake of some higher goal.This book also emphasizes the philosopher's hierarchy of natural kinds, in which every type of creature achieves its good by imitating divine life. As Kraut argues, Aristotle's belief that thinking is the sole activity of the gods leads him to an intellectualist conception of the ethical virtues. Aristotle values these traits because, by subordinating emotion to reason, they enhance our ability to lead a life devoted to philosophy or politics.
214 citations
Book•
01 Nov 1999
TL;DR: In this article, the authors demonstrate a different and more effective form of politics and economic thought, with the emphasis on development from the bottom-up, in which the aim of the subsistence perspective is happiness, quality of life and human dignity.
Abstract: The aim of the subsistence perspective is happiness, quality of life and human dignity. In movements most often led by women, particularly in the third world, the authors demonstrate a different and more effective form of politics and economic thought, with the emphasis on development from the bottom-up.
213 citations
TL;DR: It is proposed and shown that experiences are more likely to be shared with others, whereas material possessions are more prone to solitary use and that this distinction may account for their differential effects on happiness.
Abstract: Recent evidence indicates that spending discretionary money with the intention of acquiring life experiences-events that one lives through-makes people happier than spending money with the intention of acquiring material possessions-tangible objects that one obtains and possesses. We propose and show that experiences are more likely to be shared with others, whereas material possessions are more prone to solitary use and that this distinction may account for their differential effects on happiness. In 4 studies, we present evidence demonstrating that the inclusion of others is a key dimension of how people derive happiness from discretionary spending. These studies showed that when the social-solitary and experiential-material dimensions were considered simultaneously, social discretionary spending was favored over solitary discretionary spending, whereas experiences showed no happiness-producing advantage relative to possessions. Furthermore, whereas spending money on socially shared experiences was valued more than spending money on either experiences enacted alone or material possessions, solitary experiences were no more valued than material possessions. Together, these results extend and clarify the basic findings of prior research and add to growing evidence that the social context of experiences is critical for their effects on happiness.
212 citations
TL;DR: The authors showed that subjective appreciation of life is positively affected by the ideological complexion of governments and by qualitative features of the welfare state, and the implications for social policy, electoral politics, and our theoretical understanding of life satisfaction are discussed.
Abstract: Little is known about the political determinants of subjective well-being across nations. The dominant theoretical approaches, comparison and trait theory, suggest that cross-national differences will be either nonexistent or largely independent of political conditions. I argue instead that although culture does appear to play a significant role, the results of democratic competition have even more dramatic effects upon national levels of life satisfaction. Specifically, I demonstrate that subjective appreciation of life is positively affected by the ideological complexion of governments and by qualitative features of the welfare state. The implications for social policy, electoral politics, and our theoretical understanding of life satisfaction are discussed.
212 citations
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TL;DR: For instance, the authors argued that people use emotion words as if they were highly and systematically interrelated, and that the key is to realize that saying someone is, for example, anxious is not independent of saying that he or she is happy, sad, etc.
Abstract: This chapter is about self-report questionnaires, rating scales, behavioral or physiological indexes, and other measures of emotion that rely, directly or indirectly, on such everyday English words as anger, fear, happiness, anxiety , or stress . These measures are typically constructed and interpreted on the assumption that people use each such word as if it were independent of all other emotion words that are not its synonym. Considerable evidence suggests otherwise: people use emotion words as it they were highly and systematically interrelated. Interpretation of any measure that relies on emotion words requires that we take these interrelationships into account. The key is to realize that saying someone is, for example, anxious is not independent of saying that he or she is happy, sad , etc. Implications of this thesis are discussed for topics such as the use of mood questionnaires in a psychological clinic, research on the causes and consequences of emotion, research on the meaning of facial expressions, and theories of emotion in which labeling is thought to play a central role.
212 citations