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Nine Suggestions for Increasing Happiness. Dr. Mark Alfino Department of Philosophy Gonzaga University. Instead of an opening joke, an opening quote. "Ask yourselfwhether you are happy," Samuel Johnson wrote in his 1873 Autobiography, "and you cease to be so.“
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Nine Suggestions for Increasing Happiness Dr. Mark Alfino Department of Philosophy Gonzaga University
Instead of an opening joke, an opening quote • "Ask yourselfwhether you are happy," Samuel Johnson wrote in his 1873 Autobiography, "and you cease to be so.“ • Happiness: "a good bank account, a good cook, and a good digestion.“ Rousseau • Happiness is good health and a bad memory. - Ingrid Bergman • Whoever said money can't buy happiness didn't know where to shop. • Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go. - Oscar Wilde
Strategy for the talk. Suggestions Themes Research
Four Points • Happiness is not a Mystery.
1. Happiness is Not a Mystery. • Mysteries vs. Puzzles • We have multiple sources of evidence and insight about happiness, from global culture to contemporary science.
Four Points • Happiness is not a Mystery. • Happiness is Real.
2. Happiness is Real. • Happiness is a validated construct of several social sciences. • Results of research on happiness often corroborate ancient thought on and human experience of happiness. • Results of research on happiness lead to practical hypotheses that can be explored through reflection and self-study of daily life.
Four Points • Happiness is not a Mystery. • Happiness is Real. • We know a lot about it.
3. We know a lot about happiness. 1. PA / NA --- LS(DS) 2. Some major explanatory variables for happiness: • Heritable factors • Love and Relationship • Religious Participation (or equiv.) • Material Sufficiency
3. We know a lot about happiness. 1. PA / NA --- LS(DS) 2. Some major explanatory variables for happiness: • Heritable factors • Love and Relationship • Religious Participation (or equiv.) • Material Sufficiency • Control
Four Points • Happiness is not a Mystery. • Happiness is Real. • We know a lot about it. • We know that there are real challenges to increasing happiness.
4. We know that there are real challenges to increasing happiness. • Set Point Theory
4. We know that there are real challenges to increasing happiness. • Set Point Theory • Fragility of Conditions
4. We know that there are real challenges to increasing happiness. • Set Point Theory • Fragility of Conditions • Human Cognitive bias • The “hard problem” of happiness.
9. Study Happiness • Studying happiness raises awareness of features of your experience relevant to your well-being. • Objective and cultural knowledge about happiness challenges our assumptions and personal biases about happiness.
8. Engage in Self-study • Self-observation and self-evaluation provide information and evidence for thinking about your subjective responses to situations. • You may need to make subjective changes in order to become the sort of person who can be happier.
Books addressing blind spots and opacity in self-awareness. Stumbling on Happiness Predictably Irrational Strangers to Ourselves
7. Factor in the Life Span. • Life Span Psychology • SOC Theory • Selection • Optimization • Compensation
Flow “flow” a state of engagement or absorption in tasks that combines high levels of challenge with high levels of skill.
Harmen Steenwyck, An Allegory of the Vanities of Human Life, 1640.
Nine Suggestions for Increasing Happiness • Seek the integration of Pleasure and Life Satisfaction. • Live toward Death. • Cultivate Gratitude, Compassion, and Humility. • Savor • Value Relationship • Seek Flow • Factor in the Life Span • Engage in Self-Study • Study Happiness
Themes • Pursuit of Self-Knowledge • Contemplative Practices • Pursuit of Knowledge • Integration of Pursuits • Development • Pleasure • Meaningfulness
Themes • Pursuit of Self-Knowledge • Contemplative Practices • Pursuit of Knowledge • Integration of Pursuits • Development -- Becoming • Pleasure -- Present • Meaningfulness -- Symbolic