Essay on What is Happiness - 751 Words

What is happiness? People have agonized over this question for centuries. Let me start this essay by answering a somewhat easier question: what isn’t happiness? Happiness is NOT feeling good all the time. Happiness is a combination of human emotions and states of mind. Exploring this state of being has consumed the philosophical minds of the ages and will continue to do so for ages to come. In an unofficial poll of students at State University, I found that of the fifty-eight students and one professor, males and females of several ethnic backgrounds and age groups, that I asked the question What is happiness to you?, all of them had very different physical, intellectual, or emotional motivator for their happiness. Only the†¦show more content†¦But these supplementary explanations do not affect the theory of life on which this theory of morality is grounded namely, that pleasure, and freedom from pain, are the only things desirable as ends; and that all desirable things (which are as numerous in the utilitarian as in any other scheme) are desirable either for the pleasure inherent in themselves, or as means to the promotion of pleasure and the prevention of pain. (Pojman 917) Mill seems to think that happiness comes from the desire to be completely pain-free. He says that happiness comes from selfishly fulfilled desires. The desire to attain only pleasure is ludicrous; for a person to achieve a completely pain-free existence is impossible. To gain complete happiness would leave them with no motivation to achieve anything else. Human nature is such that if a person achieved pure happiness, that person would then become dissatisfied with that happiness, causing them to, once again, be unhappy. A person will always experience something contrary to pleasure, leaving them with some type of pain. In my opinion, people seem to be happy for many different reasons at different times in their lives. IShow MoreRelatedWhat Is Happiness?725 Words   |  3 PagesUndoubtedly, happiness is the most important part in our lives. But if you ask different individuals what is happiness, there are absolutely a wide variety of answers you would hear. It is difficult to define happiness because it means different things to different people. Like such, obtaining happiness can vary people to people and it can shape what their lifelong goals and dream are. Usually, happiness can be described as a feeling of pleasure or enjoyment or sometimes a feeling of self-fulfilmentRead MoreWhat is Happiness?1100 Words   |  4 PagesHappiness is a very broad and complex emotion within the realm of human feelings. 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What are the main factors in achieving happiness? I often think of these questions and ask to myself. With the emphasis on the quality of life, the majority of people are always aspiring to live happily, so people are doing their best to achieve happiness. However, happiness is defined variously by each person. Moreover, diverse factors have a direct or indirect influence onRead MoreDefining What Happiness Is All About Essay921 Words   |  4 PagesDefining What Happiness Is All About By Vaishnavi S | Submitted On June 10, 2012 Recommend Article Article Comments Print Article Share this article on Facebook Share this article on Twitter Share this article on Google+ Share this article on Linkedin Share this article on StumbleUpon Share this article on Delicious Share this article on Digg Share this article on Reddit Share this article on Pinterest Expert Author Vaishnavi S What is happiness? There is no definitive meaning to happiness. ItRead MoreHappiness Is Not What I Thought It Was1332 Words   |  6 PagesBlog: Happiness was not what I thought it was   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As humans, we often look for happiness in the wrong places or for the wrong reasons. We even sometimes expect happiness by doing something that makes others happy but unfortunately, that does not work for everyone. A lot of the times we are followers when we should be leaders; we may see something that seems sensational for others and try it instead of searching for happiness ourselves. In other circumstances, we do certain things to keep othersRead MoreWhat Creates Happiness And Good Health1223 Words   |  5 Pages In life there are ways we come to a deeper meaning of what creates happiness and good health. To achieve the deeper meaning we exhaust the ideas of playing sports, creating art, or making things to better the lives of people around us. 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