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The Pursuit of Happiness

The Pursuit of Happiness. The Problem of Pursuit John Stuart Mill, Autobiography. The Paradox of Hedonism —the person who is constantly aiming at happiness tends to find it harder to achieve.

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The Pursuit of Happiness

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  1. The Pursuit of Happiness

  2. The Problem of PursuitJohn Stuart Mill, Autobiography The Paradox of Hedonism—the person who is constantly aiming at happiness tends to find it harder to achieve.

  3. The Problem of PredictingDaniel Gilbert, Stumbling on HappinessJonathan Haidt, The Happiness Hypothesis To pursue happiness, we have to predict what will makes us happy, but we’re not very good at that. Why not? • Habituation—We get used to new things, so they make less of a difference than we think they will. • “Set point”—we have an inborn happiness-level that doesn’t change much, so we overestimate the impact of new circumstances.

  4. The Problem of Predicting • Present skews predictions—for example: shopping on an empty stomach, comparing products in store. • Failure to understand emotional immune system—we’re not aware of ways we will adapt to tragedy if it happens. (Lance Armstrong: “cancer was the best thing that ever happened to me”) • Failure to take into account the big picture—if you lose your spouse, it will not be the only thing going on in your life. • ETC.

  5. What Makes Us Happy?Some inner factors – OptimismMartin Seligman, Authentic Happiness Optimism Test Test at Authentic Happiness Website What is the basic idea underlying the test? Optimism and pessimism are rooted in styles of explaining why things happen.

  6. What Makes Us Happy?Some inner factors - Optimism TERMS Good Events (I did great on the exam) Bad Events (I got a very low grade) Permanent conditions (I am very intelligent, I am not very intelligent) Temporary Conditions (I studied, I didn’t study) Pervasive conditions (things go well for me, things don’t go well for me) Local Conditions (philosophy teachers “get” me, they don’t “get” me)

  7. What Makes Us Happy?Some inner factors - Optimism Good Events (I did great on the exam) Bad Events (I got a very low grade) Permanent conditions (I am very intelligent, I am not very intelligent) Temporary Conditions (I studied, I didn’t study) Pervasive conditions (things go well for me, don’t go well for me) Local Conditions (philosophy teachers “get” me, they don’t “get” me) This is an optimisticexplanatory style because it makes person think good events are more likely and bad events are less likely in the future.

  8. What Makes Us Happy?Some inner factors - Optimism Good Events (I did great on the exam) Bad Events (I got a very low grade) Permanent conditions (I am very intelligent, I am not very intelligent) Temporary Conditions (I studied, I didn’t study) Pervasive conditions (things go well for me, don’t go well for me) Local Conditions (philosophy teachers “get” me, they don’t “get” me) This is a pessimisticexplanatory style because it make a person think good events are less likely and bad events are more likely in the future.

  9. What Makes Us Happy?Some inner factors - Optimism • How cultivating optimism is like plugging into the experience machine • How being pessimistic is like being plugged into a negative experience machine • Is it best to be realistic?

  10. What Makes Us Happy?Some inner factors – Gratitude Gratitude Test Test at Authentic Happiness Website Gratitude and the Experience Machine Martin Seligman, Authentic Happiness

  11. What Makes Us Happy?Some outer factors - MoneyRichard Layard, Happiness: Lessons from a New Science Does Higher Income Increase Happiness?

  12. What Makes Us Happy?Some outer factors - ChildrenMihaly Cziksentmihalyi, Finding FlowDaniel Gilbert, Stumbling on Happiness Graph on p. 243 of Gilbert Does Having Children Make You Happy?

  13. Reading List (BBC Website)

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