The Pursuit of Happiness

The Problem of PursuitJohn Stuart Mill, Autobiography

The Paradox of Hedonism—the person who is constantly aiming at happiness tends to find it harder to achieve.

The Problem of PredictingDaniel Gilbert, Stumbling on Happiness

Jonathan Haidt, The Happiness Hypothesis

To pursue happiness, we have to predict what will makes us happy, but we’re not very good at that. Why not?

1. Habituation—We get used to new things, so they make

less of a difference than we think they will.

1. “Set point”—we have an inborn happiness-level that doesn’t change much, so we overestimate the impact of new circumstances.

The Problem of Predicting

3. Present skews predictions—for example: shopping on an empty stomach, comparing products in store.

4. Failure to understand emotional immune system—we’re not aware of ways we will adapt to tragedy if it happens. (Lance Armstrong: “cancer was the best thing that ever happened to me”)

5. Failure to take into account the big picture—if you lose your spouse, it will not be the only thing going on in your life.

6. ETC.

What Makes Us Happy?Some inner factors – Optimism

Martin Seligman, Authentic Happiness

Optimism TestTest at Authentic Happiness Website

What is the basic idea underlying the test?Optimism and pessimism are rooted in styles of explaining

why things happen.

What Makes Us Happy?Some inner factors - Optimism

TERMS

Good Events (I did great on the exam)Bad Events (I got a very low grade)

Permanent conditions (I am very intelligent, I am not very intelligent)Temporary Conditions (I studied, I didn’t study)

Pervasive conditions (things go well for me, things don’t go well for me)Local Conditions (philosophy teachers “get” me, they don’t “get” me)

What Makes Us Happy?Some inner factors - Optimism

What Makes Us Happy?Some inner factors - Optimism

Good Events (I did great on the exam)Bad Events (I got a very low grade)

Permanent conditions (I am very intelligent, I am not very intelligent)Temporary Conditions (I studied, I didn’t study)

Pervasive conditions (things go well for me, don’t go well for me)Local Conditions (philosophy teachers “get” me, they don’t “get” me)

This is a pessimisticpessimistic explanatory style because it make a person think good events are less likely and bad events are more likely in the future.

Good Events (I did great on the exam)Bad Events (I got a very low grade)

Permanent conditions (I am very intelligent, I am not very intelligent)Temporary Conditions (I studied, I didn’t study)

Pervasive conditions (things go well for me, don’t go well for me)Local Conditions (philosophy teachers “get” me, they don’t “get” me)

This is a pessimisticpessimistic explanatory style because it make a person think good events are less likely and bad events are more likely in the future.

What Makes Us Happy?Some inner factors - Optimism

• How cultivating optimism is like plugging into the experience machine

• How being pessimistic is like being plugged into a negative experience machine

• Is it best to be realistic?

What Makes Us Happy?Some inner factors – Gratitude

Gratitude TestTest at Authentic Happiness Website

Gratitude and the Experience Machine

Martin Seligman, Authentic Happiness

What Makes Us Happy?Some outer factors - Money

Richard Layard, Happiness: Lessons from a New Science

Does Higher Income Increase Happiness?

What Makes Us Happy?Some outer factors - Children

Mihaly Cziksentmihalyi, Finding FlowDaniel Gilbert, Stumbling on Happiness

Graph on p. 243 of GilbertDoes Having Children Make You Happy?

Reading List (BBC Website)