No happiness, only moments?
January 4, 2006 5:47 PM Subscribe
There is no happiness, only moments of happiness. Agree?
I realize this is a very, very wide open question that can't be answered definitively. I'm simply curious to know if this idea rings true with other people.
I realize this is a very, very wide open question that can't be answered definitively. I'm simply curious to know if this idea rings true with other people.
This post was deleted for the following reason: seems too open ended
If there is no happiness, then of what are the moments composed? If there are moments of happiness, then happiness must exist. Otherwise, the moments are of nothing.
posted by JekPorkins at 6:05 PM on January 4, 2006
posted by JekPorkins at 6:05 PM on January 4, 2006
One might argue that there is no objective happiness; happiness only exists as a state experienced by someone/thing. By this logic, happiness and moments of happiness are both meaningless without a subject to experience them. Tree falling in forest, etc.
posted by BorgLove at 6:22 PM on January 4, 2006
posted by BorgLove at 6:22 PM on January 4, 2006
No, it can be answered definitely: happiness exists. Happy people exist, too.
posted by davidmsc at 6:31 PM on January 4, 2006
posted by davidmsc at 6:31 PM on January 4, 2006
I read this as a question about 'general state of mind' vs. 'current state of mind', and if that's the question, I think it's quite true—one doesn't need to be constantly spirited and ecstatic, but rather, just content with moments of joy thrown in, to claim happiness...
posted by Firas at 6:32 PM on January 4, 2006
posted by Firas at 6:32 PM on January 4, 2006
A general state of happiness can sometimes just be an absence of negative things -- like worries, anxieties, responsibilities -- rather than a positive thing in itself.
posted by chrismear at 6:40 PM on January 4, 2006
posted by chrismear at 6:40 PM on January 4, 2006
Firas:
Technically, that would make it untrue - since there are people for which their general state of mind is happy, and the statement in question was a blanket statement, so it would be shown to be false by the mere existance of those people.
Some people live in a state of chronic depression apparently caused by chemical (im)balance in their heads. I suspect that the same chemistry can be abnormal in a way that produces the opposite - a chronicly anti-depressed person - near constantly happy.
I am not a doctor, but it's the best explanation I have for myself, so I'm happy to say, there is happiness, not just moments of happiness :-)
posted by -harlequin- at 6:45 PM on January 4, 2006
Technically, that would make it untrue - since there are people for which their general state of mind is happy, and the statement in question was a blanket statement, so it would be shown to be false by the mere existance of those people.
Some people live in a state of chronic depression apparently caused by chemical (im)balance in their heads. I suspect that the same chemistry can be abnormal in a way that produces the opposite - a chronicly anti-depressed person - near constantly happy.
I am not a doctor, but it's the best explanation I have for myself, so I'm happy to say, there is happiness, not just moments of happiness :-)
posted by -harlequin- at 6:45 PM on January 4, 2006
this question will get deleted. Also, it doesn't make any sense because you haven't defined the terms properly.
Define what you mean by "happiness" and "moments of happiness".
The way I define it, moments of happiness are moments when you're happy, and thus could not exist without happiness.
posted by delmoi at 6:46 PM on January 4, 2006
Define what you mean by "happiness" and "moments of happiness".
The way I define it, moments of happiness are moments when you're happy, and thus could not exist without happiness.
posted by delmoi at 6:46 PM on January 4, 2006
There is no happiness, only moments of happiness.
This makes me sad.
But there is no sadness, only moments of sadness.
So now I'm happy.
But there is no happines, only...
Shit!
Admit it, you posted this while high and it seemed profound. :)
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:53 PM on January 4, 2006
This makes me sad.
But there is no sadness, only moments of sadness.
So now I'm happy.
But there is no happines, only...
Shit!
Admit it, you posted this while high and it seemed profound. :)
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:53 PM on January 4, 2006
There can't be happiness without sadness. Happiness is relative. You can not know true happiness without knowing true sadness. Thus, happiness cannot be continuous forever, else you would not be "happy". You need a basis for comparison (having felt sad before) to determine if you are truly "happy".
posted by banished at 6:54 PM on January 4, 2006
posted by banished at 6:54 PM on January 4, 2006
perhaps the adaption-level principle is a part of what makes happiness momentary.
posted by jimw at 6:59 PM on January 4, 2006
posted by jimw at 6:59 PM on January 4, 2006
The good news:
This is also true of crappiness.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 7:02 PM on January 4, 2006
This is also true of crappiness.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 7:02 PM on January 4, 2006
banished:
"There can't be happiness without sadness."
I don't agree. Knowing what happiness is, or being able to recognize whether you are in that state, is not necessary for feeling or enjoying the state. That stuff is just cognition and self-analysis.
Analogy: while you certainly wouldn't appreciate an absence of pain until you first experienced pain, that doesn't mean the absense of pain didn't really exist, or that you didn't benefit from it.
posted by -harlequin- at 7:13 PM on January 4, 2006
"There can't be happiness without sadness."
I don't agree. Knowing what happiness is, or being able to recognize whether you are in that state, is not necessary for feeling or enjoying the state. That stuff is just cognition and self-analysis.
Analogy: while you certainly wouldn't appreciate an absence of pain until you first experienced pain, that doesn't mean the absense of pain didn't really exist, or that you didn't benefit from it.
posted by -harlequin- at 7:13 PM on January 4, 2006
Oops, need to complete the analogy:
...nor would it mean that you suddenly didn't benefit from living pain-free if it eventually turned out that you never did experience pain.
posted by -harlequin- at 7:15 PM on January 4, 2006
...nor would it mean that you suddenly didn't benefit from living pain-free if it eventually turned out that you never did experience pain.
posted by -harlequin- at 7:15 PM on January 4, 2006
Response by poster: My goal was to see how others view the concept of happiness. Can it truly be a prolonged state of being, or can it only be experienced fleetingly? Is sustained happiness really just "peace?" Food for thought, if you will. The question was vague by design.
posted by davebush at 7:22 PM on January 4, 2006
posted by davebush at 7:22 PM on January 4, 2006
"so I'm happy to say, there is happiness, not just moments of happiness :-)"
Where "not just" means "in addition to".
posted by -harlequin- at 7:22 PM on January 4, 2006
Agree? No. There can be and is sustained happiness.
There! Best answer.
posted by unixrat at 7:41 PM on January 4, 2006
There! Best answer.
posted by unixrat at 7:41 PM on January 4, 2006
Agreed. It is in our nature as human beings to strive. Happiness and contentment by nature lead to complacency, which is not particularly adaptive.
posted by killdevil at 7:44 PM on January 4, 2006
posted by killdevil at 7:44 PM on January 4, 2006
Happiness is just a state of mind and a function of expectations. If you were given only bread to eat as a meal tonight, that might make you depressed - but if you haven't eaten for a week it would make you ecstatic. Try to live your life as if you are starving and you'll find more happiness than you know what to do with.
posted by any major dude at 7:46 PM on January 4, 2006
posted by any major dude at 7:46 PM on January 4, 2006
Disagree. The fact that even when I'm exceptionally hungry I can forget about the pangs does not mean there is no continuing state of hunger. There is, until I'm fed or die.
In the terms of yr question:
1. There is hunger, consisting of moments of hunger
2. Hunger is a combination of mental and physical states
3. So is happiness.
Therefore Happiness is like hunger.
So: There is happiness, consisting of moments of happiness.
posted by bonaldi at 7:51 PM on January 4, 2006
In the terms of yr question:
1. There is hunger, consisting of moments of hunger
2. Hunger is a combination of mental and physical states
3. So is happiness.
Therefore Happiness is like hunger.
So: There is happiness, consisting of moments of happiness.
posted by bonaldi at 7:51 PM on January 4, 2006
This thread is closed to new comments.
You may be interested in Buddhism.
posted by kcm at 5:53 PM on January 4, 2006