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Comparative analysis of the pursuit of happiness
Comparative analysis of the pursuit of happiness
John stuart mill theory on happiness
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In “In Pursuit of Happiness” by Mark Kingwell, Kingwell really questions the reader about is it better to pursue happiness if it’s risking to never truly find it or just by simply letting happiness come to them naturally. He really tries to figure out the question himself by reading insights or stories from other philosophers and authors with similar interests only to come to find out that there seems to be an underlying theme that relates to a lot of “self-help” happiness. Kingwill also writes about the nature of happiness and the idea of “better living” simply saying that it seems that rich or poor it seems that no one can ever truly win in the”mug’s game”. But yet, he still question what might really be the true definition of happiness and …show more content…
I also think that Kingwell’s purpose was to inform the reader about a word that we often find hard to define such as happiness. The author’s audience seem to concerned readers who seem to be who want to find happiness or who seemed to be confused about whether they are happy or not. One of the many strategies Kingwell uses is the fair use of information because he uses John Stuart Mill and other great thinkers. In his article, Kingwell even quoted Mill, “ John Staurt Mill fingered an even more troubling problem. “Ask yourself whether you are happy,” he wrote in his 1873 Autobiography, “ and you cease to be so” The search for happiness is one of the chief sources of unhappiness” I think he ones at least one emotionally loaded term and i think it serves as a key to the article which would simply the word “happy” or “happiness”. This term is seemed as more of an evil term rather than just a ‘happy’ term. Kingwell even states “ On this view, asking about happiness can only result in unhappiness or confusion, and therefore the project must succumb to its own self contradiction”. This quote basically supports as well his underlying theme of to pursue happiness is when you will really be unhappy. Another great strategy I think that Kingwell uses is that throughout the article, he seems to be persistent on begging the question. I feel like he asks a few questions throughout
He seems to imply that happiness is simply a relative state, which is entered by seeing one of the more positive aspects of a situation. Overall, Gilbert argues a strong case for happiness comes from our interpretations of our experiences. However, happiness also takes into account a wide range of other aspects of our lives, including our thoughts and actions, and even genetics. Therefore, happiness should be defined as the amalgamation of how we think and act, and how we interpret our experiences as positive or negative. What this means is that in order to become happier, we must simply force ourselves to become more optimistic.
Burkeman is an author who is incredibly well educated on the subject of seeking happiness, has wrote multiple works (such as The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking) on the subject, and his stylistic approach of “present the goods, make them stay” in this particular article is both clever and monumentally effective. The use of the casual tone catches the reader’s attention better, simply because it’s ironic and is in a sense, odd to read. Every paper should accommodate a certain tone to fit the subject matter. If a research paper took on a casual tone, readers wouldn’t take the author seriously, however, Burkeman utilizes an indifferent tone not only to stay true to a theme of irony, but to make the reader stay and want more. This is further proven by his use of the Museum of Failed Products as his hook and his leading example as to why everybody should stop shunning their failures. Climatically, when he has the reader’s unfaltering attention, he presents the ‘why’ behind his seemingly crazy theory behind finding happiness. Burkeman provides multiple credible sources from several different studies to prove that he not only took the time to research this subject, but he is effectively proving that he knows what he’s talking
The philosopher Aristotle once wrote, “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” This famous quote compels people to question the significance of their joy, and whether it truly represents purposeful lives they want to live. Ray Bradbury, a contemporary author, also tackles this question in his book, Fahrenheit 451, which deals heavily with society's view of happiness in the future. Through several main characters, Bradbury portrays the two branches of happiness: one as a lifeless path, heading nowhere, seeking no worry, while the other embraces pure human experience intertwined together to reveal truth and knowledge.
Happiness plays an important and necessary role in the lives of people around the world. In America, happiness has been engrained in our national consciousness since Thomas Jefferson penned these famous words in the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” (Jefferson). Since then, Americans have been engaged in that act: pursuing happiness. The problem however, as Ray Bradbury demonstrates in his novel Fahrenheit 451, is that those things which make us happy initially may eventually lead to our downfall. By examining Guy Montag, the protagonist in Fahrenheit 451, and the world he lives in we can gain valuable insights to direct us in our own pursuit of happiness. From Montag and other characters we will learn how physical, emotional, and spiritual happiness can drastically affect our lives. We must ask ourselves what our lives, words, and actions are worth. We should hope that our words are not meaningless, “as wind in dried grass” (Eliot).
Though everyone has their own definition of happiness and how it may be achieved, many still fall victim to society’s overwhelming standards and high expectations of how one should live. Throughout life, many that seek power may claim to have the answers one yearns for in order to gain the trust and loyalty they need to rule. However, by letting the ideas of the superior classes in society influence the course of actions one takes to achieve happiness, one automatically forfeits their natural right for the pursuit of happiness because how some may view happiness is not necessarily what one may want out of life. Various authors have portrayed this sense of absolute power through their writing as a way to bring awareness about the lack of control readers have in their own lives. Such may originate in the little control many have in their own lives due to them desperately giving their free-will to those that promise happiness.
Austen intends to show how human happiness is found by living in accordance with human
A lot of people wonder what true happiness really is if they will ever experience true happiness. If you ask a person, what is true happiness, everyone will have different happiness. True happiness is not only found in one place and it is not always found in the same place for everyone. In Fahrenheit 451 Montag thought that he was happy when in reality he was not even in love with Mildred and neither was he happy. This is proven when Clarisse puts the dandelion under his chin. True Happiness can be not worrying about anything and letting loose without a care in the world. It can also mean freedom, even spending time with loved ones and family.
Happiness: an idea so abstract and intangible that it requires one usually a lifetime to discover. Many quantify happiness to their monetary wealth, their materialistic empire, or time spent in relationships. However, others qualify happiness as a humble campaign to escape the squalor and dilapidation of oppressive societies, to educate oneself on the anatomy of the human soul, and to locate oneself in a world where being happy dissolves from a number to spiritual existence. Correspondingly, Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 and Krakauer’s Into the Wild illuminate the struggles of contentment through protagonists which venture against norms in their dystopian or dissatisfying societies to find the virtuous refuge of happiness. Manifestly, societal
Ashley Janowiak Human Happiness and External goods Happiness is a goal every human pursues, yet the ways in which it is pursued differs amongst people. Some believe prosperity will bring them happiness. Others believe material, power, fame, success, or love will bring them happiness. No matter what one believes is the right way to conquer this goal, every person will take their own unique path in an attempt to find it. But what is happiness like?
The idea of justice although obvious for philosophers like Locke, Rousseau, and John Rawls, proves itself to be a labyrinthine issue for Americans; nevertheless, ones thing is clear: the people are guaranteed the ability to pursue happiness. Sometimes searching for American equity juxtaposes the American Dream to the pursuit of happiness with a paralytic justice. However, justice in all forms plays a part through the governments duty; who does the government serve and protect? Despite this, opportunity continues to play a major role in correlation to the hopes and aspirations of many Americans; what freedoms to pursue happiness would Americans receive if they were striped of their rights?
Candide by French novelist Voltaire, a master of literary satire, portrays a young man by the name of Candide who goes from a lavish, sheltered lifestyle to the real world and experiences all the hardships life has to offer. Through the story, the title character tries to acquire money and get back to his girl because he believes that is the key to his eternal happiness. He’s searching for what could make him happy but nothing seems to be the answer. Candide has many important themes such as the folly of optimism, the uselessness of philosophical speculation, and the hypocritical nature of religions. While each theme helps develop the plotline and no one is more important than the others, the principal reoccurring theme I observed was the human desire to seek and obtain happiness and how often that fails catastrophically.
What is happiness? We usually refer to happiness as just an emotion but is that all it is? Jeremy Bentham is convinced that avoiding pain and seeking pleasure for the betterment of a community is the end, or the purpose of all human life. Bentham beliefs that happiness relies on pleasure, an idea that contradicts with my belief that happiness is an end onto itself, or self sufficient. I believe that if happiness is to be the sole purpose of man, as Bentham states in his collection of writings, then it should be the ultimate end, leading to nothing else. Therefore if happiness is self sufficient, it cannot rely on pleasure or pain to be man 's purpose because it relies on things outside of itself to make man happy.
...ome very valid points. I think he wrote it to help the reader out. He wanted to open the reader's eyes to these issues so they wouldn't be searching for happiness in the wrong places. But, is there a "right" place to look for happiness? This is never clearly answered in the essay but we are left with some helpful insight.
Bowman, James. "The Pursuit of Happiness." The American Spectator. N.p., Sept. 2010. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.
But in this debate, one question still raises its head - What is happiness? Happiness is not actually leading a luxurious life, but the luxury of living a life. Happiness is not actually about expanding your business, but it lies in expanding the horizons of life. Happiness is not having a meal in the most famous restaurant, but having it with your most beloved family. It does not lie in attending honorable parties, but to attend a party with honor.