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Can Science and Technology Help us Achieve Happiness

PPDO International Conference on “Happiness and Public Policy” UN Conference Centre, Bangkok 18-19 July 2007. Can Science and Technology Help us Achieve Happiness. Yongyuth Yuthavong Minister of Science and Technology , with contributions from Pun-arj Chairatana and Kasititorn Pooparadai.

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Can Science and Technology Help us Achieve Happiness

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  1. PPDO International Conference on “Happiness and Public Policy” UN Conference Centre, Bangkok 18-19 July 2007 Can Science and Technology Help us Achieve Happiness Yongyuth Yuthavong Minister of Science and Technology, with contributions from Pun-arj Chairatana and Kasititorn Pooparadai

  2. Hedonism - Precursor of Happiness Philosophy J.S. Mill • All actions should be directed toward achieving the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people. • Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832): quantitative measures • John Stuart Mill (1806-1873): qualitative measures J. Bentham

  3. Happiness –the Real Goal? • Richard Layard (2005): Happiness should be the real goal of economics. • Social comparisons: Happiness is derived from relative, not from absolute income. • Adaptation: People get used to higher income levels. • Tastes change: Failure to recognize tastes change may hurt happiness.

  4. The Happy Planet Index • HPI = (Life satisfaction x Life expectancy)/Ecological Footprint • The HPI reflects the average years of happy life produced by a given society, nation or group of nations, per unit of planetary resources consumed. • It represents the efficiency with which countries convert the earth’s finite resources into well-being experienced by their citizens.

  5. CountryLife sat Life exp EF HPI 32 Thailand 6.5 70.0 1.6 55.4

  6. “Happy” People (from Diener and Seligman, “Beyond Money”) • “Are you happy with your life?” (scale 7-1) Forbes’s richest Americans 5.8 Pennsylvania’s Amish 5.8 Greenland Inuits 5.8 African Masai 5.7 College students 4.9 Kolkata slumdwellers 4.6 Kolkata homeless 2.9

  7. Richard Easterlin (1974)Does Economic Growth Improve the Human Lot? • No real correlation between a nation's income level and its citizens' happiness. • Money could not buy happiness after a certain point. • Though poverty was strongly correlated with misery, once a country was solidly middle-class, getting wealthier didn't seem to make its citizens any happier.

  8. Daniel Gilbert: Very difficult to predict what will make one happy in the future. USE OTHER PEOPLE’S EXPERIENCE

  9. Does Technology Bring Happiness? • Yes, if fulfilling expectations bring happiness: • Good health. • Good living condition. • Good work. • Good communication. • Good cultural fulfillment and entertainment. BUT • People adapt very quickly to “good”.

  10. Happiness in Thai Context • The 10th National Economic and Social Development Plan • Shift in focus: from “Economy” (8th NESDP) to “Human” (“9th NSEDP) to “Society” • Emphasize His Majesty’s Principle of Sufficiency Economy for achieving sustainable happiness for the society • Visioning Thailand to move towards Green and Happiness Society targeting at 3 different levels: Thai society, Communities, individuals/families

  11. Happiness in Thai Context • Elements of Happiness • Happy mind, body, soul, knowledge and understanding • Ability to make a decent living • Having a loving and caring family • Living in a livable environment with property and life safety • Having rights and freedom and mutual respect for all humankind

  12. Happiness in Thai Context • “Well-being Strategies” • national agenda, • Local needs, Local definition of “what happiness means” • Local participation • Local action/drive towards achieving Happiness (Provincial level)

  13. Science and Technology Role UNDP’s Human Development Report 2001

  14. Examples ICT for Poverty Reduction : Rural IT Empowerment Biotechnology: Food, Healthcare, Environment etc.

  15. What about future Happiness? Emerging IssuesFacing Us • Geopolitical-economyand finance • Business and industry environment • Society and lifestyle • Natural environment and energy • EmergingTechnology

  16. Emerging Issues: S&T Responses(Asia Focus) RAND Corporation, The Global Technology Revolution 2020

  17. Emerging Issues in Science and Technology, National S&T Assembly, 16/0707 มาตรฐานภาคเอกชน มาตรฐานในประเทศ มาตรฐานระหว่างประเทศ GMOs Environment Life style S&T Knowledge New health structure Energy Globalized trade

  18. The dark side: a word of warning • Technology Dependency and Addiction: • Can we live and work without computer, mobile phone? • From TV to computer addiction (such as game online) who are happy, and who are not? • Toxic Information and Information Overload: • Inappropriate content (who to judge?) such as pornography, violence can lead to negative behavior • Ethical Issues: • How one apply S&T knowledge to improve mankind conditions can be, and will be, questioned?: GMO, Cloning • Fraud through the use of ICT • Technology and Security • Business episionage (Die Hard 4.0, the recent Estonian ICT attack in July 2007)

  19. Finally, do we always want happiness? • There are more goals in life than happiness: • Job • Family • Public good • “Enlightenment”, religious

  20. Marcus Tullius CICERO (106-43 BC) • A life employed in the pursuit of useful knowledge, in honorable actions and the practice of virtue, will reap the happiest fruits and yield an unspeakable comfort to the soul. • The life given us by nature is short, but the memory of a life well spent is eternal.

  21. The Paradox of Happiness • An emerging condition. • If you look for it, you will likely not find it. • BUT... • When conditions are right, it emerges (when you may not even expect it).

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