Happiness Is Happiness: Real Or An Illusion?

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Happiness: Real or an Illusion?
As a society, we have evolved tremendously in nearly every area of our lives. Our industrial and technological advancements, as well as the cultural traditions we are taught, influence and shape the people we become. Our interaction with one another provides us with social structure and gives us the ability to construct social norms in our communities. As we continue to understand human interaction, we are better able to understand the realm of Philosophy and the concept of moral principles. It is through this discipline that we can categorize and understand what morality means to different societies as well as how they interpret worth and value. Through philosophy and moral principles, we can observe how the idea of happiness is integrated into the …show more content…

Even though a false happiness can be viewed as an equal to genuine happiness, it does not carry the same intrinsic value or any real value for that matter. Individuals have a desire to live and physically do things in life, not just experience them. For instance, a person who wants to become a parent wants to physically be one, not just experience the feeling of being one. The value of the two situations is unequal, even though the same happiness is produced. There is a desire to be in contact and be involved in a true reality, not conform to a man-made one. In addition, living through life, and going through different experiences makes an individual who they are. Simply being happy does not shape a person into the individual they desire to become. This further strengthens Nozick’s criticism, that happiness is not the only intrinsically valuable thing to strive for. There are other intrinsic values that shape an individual’s quality of life. In conclusion, false happiness is in no shape or form real happiness. It is simply an illusion created to display the same satisfaction as feeling true

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