Happiness and well-being
In utilitarianism, the assumed goal of ethics and morality is the greatest amount of "good" for the greatest number of people. But what counts as "good"? Neuroscience tells us the answer: happiness and well-being.
"Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be." -Abraham Lincoln
Other commonly used terms that captures the holistic sense of well-being that is being described here are flourishing, or Aristotle's eudemonia.
See also: Meaning of Life, Ethics, Consequences, Suffering, Quality of Life
What is the Brain Trying to Make Us Do?
How do we know that happiness is the goal?
Our brains are a neural network based machine learning device designed for survival and reproduction. In machine learning, there are two mechanisms for producing a learning effect. Reinforcement, which we can say "strengthens" connections between neurons, and punishment which "weakens" them.
Our brain's reward system causes actions that result in pro-survival outcomes to be reinforced, strengthening the connections between neurons that fired to create this action and increasing the likelihood that the action will happen again. Those that result in anti-survival outcomes are weakened so the negative action will be less likely (see Behaviorism). Humans experience these effects subjectively as pleasure and pain.
It follows logically that our brains are wired to maximize behaviors that result in pleasure and minimize painful ones.
Though the evolutionary goal of this wiring is survival and reproduction, the brain itself only responds to the internal reflexive pleasure and pain reactions regardless of their actual survival benefit. Hence our goal is not to maximize our lifespans and population, it is to maximize our experience of pleasure and minimize pain. When we live a life that gives us robust and varied sources of pleasure, while avoiding unnecessary pain and hardship, we experience this as a general sense of well-being and happiness. Therefore, the utilitarian goal of maximizing happiness and well-being for the greatest number of people can be derived logically from the observation of our brain's neural network.
We have studied the brain and determined that its goal is to be happy.
This is the empirical resolution to the is/ought problem described by Hume but never really spelled out by Sam Harris in the Moral Landscape, which is a primary source of criticism. Some philosophers might argue that it relies on circular reasoning, since there is an underlying assumption that our observations of the brain's behavior and the evidence derived from that is somehow representative of objective reality. But if you're going to nit-pick, then it's turtles all the way down and no other philosophy is going to avoid that, so what's you point?
Defining Happiness
The term happiness and well-being was selected to distinguish momentary joy from lasting contentment and satisfaction. Perhaps there is a better word for it in German or Japanese. There usually is. But for now, this wiki will use happy as a shorthand for the state of being that you achieve when you live a life that brings you satisfaction, joy, stimulation, love, meaning, connection, and all the other things your brain gets off on, while avoiding unnecessary pain and dealing constructively with necessary pain.
Keep in mind that there are many ways of achieving this state of being, and for most people it simply involves being surrounded by the love of their family, having an honest, stable career with fair pay, and stimulating hobby or two. Most people don't need to be movie stars, billionaire CEOs, summit Everest, or jump out of a plane to have a rich and fulfilling life. Many times, the pursuit of these peak experiences can be a distraction from the things that bring lasting happiness.
When defining happiness for yourself, listen to your heart. But if that has not produced good results in the past, definitely listen to someone else. Or just try new things randomly until you find something that works for you. If you aren't doing what makes you happy, and you aren't trying new things, then you're not going to find what makes you happy. This author is a philosopher not a psychologist, and the goal here is to come up with a working definition of happiness not to solve all your personal problems.
The Matrix is an Unrealistic Counterargument
Imagine a box that magically gives you ultimate chemical happiness (i.e. an Experience Machine). You step inside, and you will experience 100 years of bliss before peacefully dying in your sleep. Most people wouldn't choose to. This philosophical gotcha question has been used to undermine arguments for well-being based ethics for centuries. The problem is that the whole premise rests on the existence of a magic box!
With movies like the Matrix and VR making the prospects of such technology seem like a possibility, the fact is they are not, and they probably never will be, not even centuries in the future. You can't put a universe in a box, and it takes a universe to provide the kind of realistic stimulation our brains evolved to need.
A big part of the brain is its connection to the body. If the body isn't moving, the brain isn't getting all of its stimulation. So now the simulation also has to simulate advanced movements. It's not just the inputs that need to be replicated, it's the outputs and the feedback loop between them. How are you going to do that without just creating a complete physical reality to serve as your simulation? This is discussed further on the consciousness page.
This is not to mention the obvious fact that society would collapse and the human race would end if we all built happy boxes for ourselves and got inside. Part of our utilitarian calculus is a consideration for future people, so it's obvious why people might be hesitant.
This is the problem with impossible hypotheticals. They imply counterintuitive exceptions to our ethical formulas that provide false falsification. People naturally reject the prospect of going in the box because they intuitively understand that there is no way that the box would actually lead to a more emotionally fulfilling life. They know it would fall short of reality in some critical way and fail to deliver on its promise.
That also brings up another ridiculous part of this hypothetical--how do you trust the box salesman? You are giving up your entire life and that of all of your future progeny based on the word of a box salesman?
In order for this counterargument to be valid, the burden of proof is on the person proposing the hypothetical. If they can't reasonably argue why the hypothetical is possible, it should be dismissed.
Measuring Happiness
Yes, it is possible to obtain very useful statistical metrics regarding happiness levels within a population of people. Definitely useful enough to weigh in on utilitarian ethical questions within the legal and political systems to determine best-practices.
If we can measure happiness, then we can determine through scientific research whether our laws, economic systems, family and relationship structures, religious beliefs, etc. are truly making us happier.
What If We Made Happiness the Goal?
What would be the impact on society if maximizing happiness was the primary goal and measure of our success?
Gross National Happiness is already in use in Bhutan and there is a movement to replace or supplement GDP with something similar in other countries.
It is unfortunate that the only country that has fully adopted GNH is a small, poor, autocratic country that has not always served as the ideal model. Until basic services are universally available, GDP is probably a better meterstick. But once that is achieved and the vast majority of the population are able to live comfortable lives, a transition towards GNH is needed. It is very similar to individuals, who benefit greatly from additional money up to the point where they can live comfortably, after which the pursuit of other goals takes priority. [5]
Some examples where measuring success via GDP fails us. For one, GDP can be considered to increase when a hurricane or other natural disaster strikes [6], when it is objectively a bad thing for society that would be accurately reflected in a GNH measurement. Unproductive economic output like the widespread sale of modern Snake Oil in the forms of homeopathy, fad diets, misinformation generation, etc., would not contribute to GNH as they do with GDP.
Given that happiness is the objective goal of human existence, it stands to reason that the primary measurement of our success as a society should be happiness directly, and not a corollary proxy like money.
Rational Optimism
Optimism can lead to greater happiness, but only if it is tempered by critical thinking and realism. If your optimism causes you to incorrectly evaluate your chances of success, you may take unnecessary risks. A gambler that thinks they will always win is very optimistic, but not very realistic, and most likely very broke.
The key to rational optimism is to have hope that the best outcome happen, in a way that motivates you towards success, rather than blind faith that things will work out regardless of what you do. Optimism should be inspirational and motivational. When it isn't, it is basically Spiritual Bypass.
Psychologist Paul Bloom discusses this in detail on this episode of the Gray Area .
Happiness Isn't the Goal - The Gray Area with Sean Illing
The Surprising Science of Cynicism - Plain English with Derek Thompson
Don't Think About It Too Hard
Obsessing over your personal happiness is a surefire way to be unhappy. Happiness is the feeling you get when you do things that make you happy. So, find ways to do things that make you happy. Find ways to structure your time to give you more opportunities for those things. Don't wonder constantly about whether you are maximizing your happiness. Instead, periodically set aside time to reflect and plan. Then you can be present and mindful when those things that make you happy happen.
However, if you are one of those people who is happiest when they contemplate happiness, you should sign up to be an editor for this wiki.
Another surefire way to be unhappy is to obsess about things that are out of your control. The Serenity Prayer is an attempt to address this issue by ritualizing the reassurance that some things are just out of our control. The Safety page addresses some of the problems that modern fears and anxieties can lead to. The Stoics had a few things to say about it as well.
Elimination of Suffering
See the suffering page to see why eliminating suffering always has the biggest impact on utilitarian outcomes.
Variety is Spicy
Variety is the spice of life, and a key to resilient happiness and avoiding addiction. Read about it on the variety page.
Be Content With Your Baseline
Joy is the emotion that describes momentary feelings of bliss we feel in the times that we are most happy. Having a life sprinkled with many moments of joy is necessary to be happy, but we can't expect to feel that way all the time. The rest of the time, we aspire to be content. [7][8][9]
If you have a baseline of contentment, and spend most of your time in that state. External factors that provide emotional disruptions to this can be minimized with mindfulness, so you can let go of pain quickly, while being fully present in those moments of joy.
If you find that your baseline is melancholy, anger, or anxiety, you might want to get that checked out or start developing a mental practice that cultivates contentment. If you aren't jumping for joy all the time but generally feel like life is good, you're fine.
Study Question: If you believe that you are content, and that your belief in that contentment is a self-fulfilling prophecy, how can you verify whether you are truly content without undermining the belief that makes it real?
Happiness and Meaning
Finding Meaning in Life is one of the most important things you can do to improve your happiness. Many philosophers often see these as divergent pursuits, but that is only if you use the hedonistic definition of happiness. The definition of happiness and well-being used here is meant to strike a balance between the pursuit of moments of joy, love, and connection that create happiness, and moment of altruism, kindness, sadness, and contemplation that create meaning.
Both are necessary. If you pursue meaning without joy you can end up like the stereotype of the bitter old nun hitting kids with a ruler in Catholic school. [10] If you pursue happiness without meaning, you can have a really good time, but you are more likely to go off the rails when life inevitably throws you a curveball.
These articles present the prevailing view of the dichotomy between happiness and meaning.
- Is a Happy Life Different from a Meaningful One?
- The Differences between Happiness and Meaning in Life
- The Connection Between Meaning and Happiness
- Is Happiness Really the Meaning of Life?
When you have a working knowledge of the psychology of happiness and resilience, and understand that the goal is to foster an enduring sense of happiness that can survive all of the ups and downs of life, then the connection between the pursuit of happiness and the pursuit of meaning becomes clear. We need both.
Some ways that pursuits of meaning increase utilitarian happiness:
- Utilitarianism is about the greatest good for the greatest number, not just for you.
- Altruism creates direct feelings of happiness in all parties involved.
- Altruism creates good karma, which increases the probability of good things happening to you.
- Philosophy and spirituality help us reinterpret past negative experiences in a positive light.
- Meaning makes you more resilient to future negative experiences.
- Meaningful pursuits like family and community increase your personal social safety net and the amount of support you can draw on in times of hardship.
The perceived conflict between happiness and meaning is due to the use of shortsighted, hedonistic definition of happiness. When we balance short term rewards with long term consequences, we find that the pursuit of meaning and the pursuit of happiness are two sides of the same coin. Yin and yang. Essential halves of a holistic whole, each influencing the other like so many feedback loops and self-referential meta concepts.
The over-emphasis on meaning over happiness can drain life of joy. Over-emphasizing fun without meaning can make life feel empty. Moderation is key, as with all things.
God and Happiness
See the god concept page for a discussion of the impact that belief in god has on happiness and the brain patterns behind it. When done right, the concept of god is a self-organizing happiness engine that makes the enjoyment of life automatic.
See the Tree of Knowledge for a syllogism demonstrating that god wants us to be happy.
The Theory of everything page has metanarrative that tells the story of the origins of universal love.
Pod and Happiness
The Science of Happiness, Ten Percent Happier, and the Happiness Lab podcasts are a great resource for interesting and informative stories about scientific research into happiness. The better ones tend to stay away from popular self-help trends that often lead to grift, focusing more on the philosophy and day-to-day rituals that increase happiness.
Hidden Brain has a number of great episodes relating to creating happiness and long term well-being, especially their Happiness 2.0 series, and the episode on Languishing and Flourishing.
- Why you feel empty
- Happiness 2.0: The Reset Button
- Happiness 2.0: Surprising Sources of Joy
- Happiness 2.0: Cultivating Your Purpose
- Happiness 2.0: The Only Way Out is Through
- Happiness 2.0: The Path to Contentment
- Emotions 2.0: What's Better Than Being Happy?
- You 2.0 Where Happiness Hides
- You 2.0: Befriending Your Inner Voice
- You 2.0: Make the Good Times Last
- You 2.0: Slow Down!
- You 2.0: Fighting Despair
- The Paradox of Pleasure
- The Path to Enough
The Poor and Disabled are Still Happy so Why Bother?
Studies show that the baseline level of happiness that people have is rather stable, and is independent of factors like wealth. People in the most impoverished nations in the word often self-report levels of happiness that aren't significantly less than those in the richest. [11][12][13]
Studies also show that we quickly return to our baseline level of happiness after both positive and negative changes in circumstance, such as winning the lottery or becoming disabled. [14][15]
This is known as the hedonic treadmill, and it suggest that our efforts to become happier are futile. Ironically, a sense of futility can actually have a significantly negative impact on happiness. So focusing on the hedonic treadmill can get you off of it, but not in a good way.
Significantly changing your happiness for the better requires changes in thought pattern significant enough move your baseline. If adopting futility and cynicism can make it worse, making it better requires adopting optimism, a god concept, or a new philosophy that provides you with meaning that you didn't have before. Getting a pretty good pay raise at work is not going to move the needle that much.
Of course, anyone that goes from living in poverty to one of relative comfort is going to say "this is much better." [16] Money shields you from many of the worst forms of suffering. As countries adopt more capitalism in pursuit of this money, they must prioritize culture. leisure time, family, and community to prevent their loss from negating the gains provided by wealth.
Lifting people up out of poverty to eliminate suffering, and adopting an optimistic metanarrative to improve your baseline, both have payoffs that are well worth the effort. So that is a good reason to bother.
This article has an optimistic take on how we can improve our baseline happiness and escape the hedonic treadmill. Studies show that our baseline happiness can be changed by roughly 30-40% if we engage in practices that promote it. That's worth doing!
Strategies for Improving Happiness
The general good habits that help improve our baseline level of happiness include:
- Exercise, good diet, and maintaining physical health
- Practice gratitude
- Foster meaningful relationships
- Altruism and other acts of kindness
- Mindfulness
- Education
- Curb your materialism
- Have more fun!
This section will collect useful advice, articles, or videos that offer unique perspectives on creating a life with more happiness and joy.
Most of These Ideas in a Book
For a popular book that has lays out all of the best ideas that the science of positive psychology has to say about finding happiness and meaning in life, from a secular spirituality perspective that is very similar to this wiki, check out The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt.
Same Ideas in a Travel Docuseries
The recent travel docuseries with notable Baha'i Rainn Wilson explores these ideas while visiting beautiful places around the world. Are travel docuseries just an excuse for actors to take round the world junkets on the producer's dime? Probably. But they are still interesting and entertaining when done right. This one explores what makes a happy country, which is the one true benchmark we have to compare the success of our cultures. Watch on Peacock.
Your Mind a Kingdom Is
In prose that foretells Yoda, William Byrd's 1588 poem My Mind to Me a Kingdom Is expresses the possibilities that are open to you if you practice optimism.
My mind to me a kingdom is;
Such present joys therein I find,
That it excels all other bliss
That earth affords or grows by kind:
Though much I want that most would have,
Yet still my mind forbids to crave.
No princely pomp, no wealthy store,No force to win the victory,
No wily wit to salve a sore,
No shape to feed a loving eye;
To none of these I yield as thrall;
For why? my mind doth serve for all.
I see how plenty surfeits oft,And hasty climbers soon do fall;
I see that those which are aloft
Mishap doth threaten most of all:
They get with toil, they keep with fear:
Such cares my mind could never bear.
Content I live, this is my stay;I seek no more than may suffice;
I press to bear no haughty sway;
Look, what I lack my mind supplies.
Lo, thus I triumph like a king,
Content with that my mind doth bring.
Some have too much, yet still do crave;I little have, and seek no more.
They are but poor, though much they have,
And I am rich with little store;
They poor, I rich; they beg, I give;
They lack, I leave; they pine, I live.
I laugh not at another’s loss,I grudge not at another’s gain;
No worldly waves my mind can toss;
My state at one doth still remain:
I fear no foe, I fawn no friend;
I loathe not life, nor dread my end.
Some weigh their pleasure by their lust,Their wisdom by their rage of will;
Their treasure is their only trust,
A cloakèd craft their store of skill;
But all the pleasure that I find
Is to maintain a quiet mind.
My wealth is health and perfect ease,My conscience clear my chief defence;
I neither seek by bribes to please,
Nor by deceit to breed offence:
Thus do I live; thus will I die;
Would all did so as well as I!
Music Makes You Happy
Pharrell Williams can go either way depending on your mood.
Elton John's favorite song.
Ren's reaction to being placed in a happy helmet is similar to the reaction many people have to Pharrell Williams, experience machines, and quite possibly this wiki. This short is an insightful depiction of what it is like when morality is enforced through authoritarian control and happiness is artificially simulated. Helping others only brings happiness when it is done by free will.