Thread: ... and the Pursuit of Happiness

Since the dawn of time humanity has been hounded by and sought an answer to the age old question, "why are we here". Cultures the world over have come up with answer after answer, but how is one to know, to truly know whether the traditional response is right or not. We are usually instructed, usually indoctrinated at a young age not to question the answer we are given, but to live it and we are told that through such action we will see that the answer is true. Buddhists for example (and other's I am sure) contend that the reason we are here on Earth is to seek, find or create happiness. The Dalai Lama adds rhetorically, "What other reason could there be"? It is a wise answer and just the sort that a pupil could follow blindly believing he is fulfilling his Earthly purpose.

Researchers from The University of British Columbia and Harvard have discovered that happiness does not necessarily reside where you think it does. Apparently, making your self happy doesn't work nearly as well as simply helping others. I recently saw a program (on the CBC I think it was, but can't recall the details) where they took five individuals and got them to fulfill both parts of the study. They tested them for stamina and brain stimulus before the study, then again after instructing them to go and do something nice for themselves, and then again after being instructed to help others. All five subjects showed no improvement after their selfish pampering, but all five also made a marked improvement following their personal act of charity.

Happiness comes, not as a result of making yourself happy, but as a result of being good to others.

X

Originally Posted by xman

Happiness comes, not as a result of making yourself happy, but as a result of being good to others.

X

Sounds rather Christian to me X! Better be careful or you might turn into one of us "bitter clingers"!

Originally Posted by JMS

Sounds rather Christian to me X! Better be careful or you might turn into one of us "bitter clingers"!

The faithful always try to claim sole possession of our good Humanist values and who could blame 'em?

Originally Posted by xman

The faithful always try to claim sole possession of our good Humanist values and who could blame 'em?

Your not saying that you aren't faithful to your good humanist values are you?

Well I don't know. It is a bit chicken or egg in my book. I think true happiness comes from within. And if you are truly happy and content in your own skin, you are more likely to want to help others than if you are miserable and discontented with yourself.

I think if more people were good to themselves (as in treated themselves right), we would see a much happier and healthier society as a whole.

James.

Originally Posted by JMS

Sounds rather Christian to me X! Better be careful or you might turn into one of us "bitter clingers"!

Or on the other hand Mark it fits with scientist and outspoken atheist Richard Dawkins' theory of the Selfish Gene. Viz, there's no such thing as altruism -- acts of kindness are only as a result of us expecting a return on them sometime in the future and for getting on a higher rung on the social ladder. All specifically to improve our chances of passing on our genes. If I'm kind and good to others then it's likely to improve my standing within my peers, attract a mate, and pass those genes on.

The book can be accessed here, but strangely the one chapter that really tackles this "Chapter 12: Nice Guys Finish First" is the onyl one disabled from view in Google Books.

Disclaimer: I'm not Richard Dawkins.

Originally Posted by xman

Happiness comes, not as a result of making yourself happy, but as a result of being good to others.

I guess I would argue that doing good to others is a way to make yourself happy...

i think there are a lot more people that believe in Karma then will admit it. i think it is Buddhist that believe that you carry Karma with you from one life to the next, ie you do something bad now your gonna get it in the next life. the theory(please correct me if i'm wrong here) is that in each life you learn certain lesson that your soul carries to the next life, until eventually you become enlightened after having learned all lessons and pass on to the next stage. it was always a really interesting thing to think about. i don't really know if i believe it but just thinking about it that way makes me realize how insignificant some events are and how special others are.

Originally Posted by xman

Happiness comes, not as a result of making yourself happy, but as a result of being good to others.

Originally Posted by majurey

Or on the other hand Mark it fits with scientist and outspoken atheist Richard Dawkins' theory of the Selfish Gene. Viz, there's no such thing as altruism -- acts of kindness are only as a result of us expecting a return on them sometime in the future and for getting on a higher rung on the social ladder. All specifically to improve our chances of passing on our genes. If I'm kind and good to others then it's likely to improve my standing within my peers, attract a mate, and pass those genes on.

All this is nothing new. I completely agree with Dawkins' theory, but it has been around before his 1976 book. The way I think of it is that we are conditioned from birth to realize the positive (to ourselves) things that come out of helping others. When have you ever heard someone say it isn't a well thought of thing to help an old woman cross the street? You haven't. So next time you see an old woman and help her cross the street, you know that it will be a "good deed" in everyone's book, so you do it in fact for yourself. I could go much further into it, but I think you get the point.

In closing, I put no weight on what researchers from UBC and Harvard found in a study regarding intangibles. These things will never have an answer that everyone agrees on. I doubt they'd let Dawkins have a say in their study.

Originally Posted by Jimbo

I think if more people were good to themselves (as in treated themselves right), we would see a much happier and healthier society as a whole.

You may think what you like, but the evidence suggests that you are entirely wrong.

X