Views Of Happiness Research Articles

Happiness and Transcendence: Heavenly or Earthly—Augustine and Bonhoeffer

This article explores two views of happiness in Christianity. According to one view, happiness is heavenly, something that is attained only in eternal life. In the other view, happiness can be experienced on earth. Augustine (354–430) advocated the first view, in which life on earth is viewed as full of misery. The conception of happiness as earthly is articulated by Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945) in his Letters and Papers from Prison. This article clarifies both views by pointing to the use of different types of content regarding transcendence. The focus is on the comparison between the two views and their impact on daily life.

Filsafat Kebahagiaan Guru Perspektif al-Ghazali: Studi Kasus di TPQ Jama’atul Huda Kampung Sidamukti Kecamatan Pangalengan Kabupaten Bandung

Spiritualism sees happiness as something immaterial. Associated with the strength of faith in humans, especially for Muslims. This condition can be found in the TPQ Jama'atul Huda Pangalengan, even though the teacher's condition is lacking in material, but they still teach sincerely. The purpose of this study was to determine the views of teacher happiness and al-Ghazali's perspective on teacher happiness. This type of research is quantitative with descriptive phenomenological methods and the philosophy of teacher happiness for a case study at TPQ Jama'atul Huda, Sidamukti village, Pangalengan district, Bandung district. Al-Ghazali's view of happiness is when a person gets a soul, body, from outside and offers it. Happiness is not solely about material things, but happiness when we can have noble morals.

Szczęście w poglądach Komeńskiego i koncepcjach psychologii pozytywnej – poszukiwanie analogii

Unflagging interest of the pedagogical thought of John Amos Comenius results from the universalism of his assumptions. A significant part of his views is reflected in the contempo-rary pedagogical concepts, and their topicality results from the humanism permeating his considerations of education. Thanks to it, it can be concluded that Comenius' views laid the foundations for the humanistic orientation of pedagogy, taking shape at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The aim of the article is to present John Amos Comenius’ views of happi-ness and to relate them to the assumptions of the currently developed psychological and peda-gogical research on happiness.

Compression of Indian and western historical view of happines

From many decades we all are curious in finding meaning, different ways to attained and different methods to increase happiness The psychological and philosophical pursuit of happiness began in China, India and Greece nearly 2,500 years ago with Confucius, Buddha, Socrates, and Aristotle. In this paper different historical views of happiness in western world, eastern worlds and Morden psychological views about happiness explained with the help of this paper we can find remarkable resemblances between the insights of these thinkers and the modern “Science of Happiness.”

Language and happiness: Cultural epistemologies and ideological conflicts in Finnish online discourses on the causes of happiness

This article approaches “happiness” as a discursive construct. We examine different understandings of happiness as socially transmitted, linguistically formulated epistemological models by which humans reflexively evaluate and rationalize their experiences and identities. Our data consists of a set of Finnish online discourses that discuss the causes of happiness. We examine media platforms that mass-mediate popular discourses of happiness to individuals and allow individuals to voice their “indigenous” understandings. We analyze the linguistic, interactional, and interdiscursive characteristics of such views of happiness and show how they emerge and circulate in society disseminating mutually competing epistemologies of happiness. We also aim to show how the cross-cultural and culture-internal variation of these models becomes linked to ideological conflicts and politics of identity. On the one hand, our examples echo the kinds of individualistic, depoliticized views of happiness that have been seen as characteristic of modern media. On the other hand, they show that smaller-scale, local views of happiness tend to be more varied and attract explicit identity-political debates.

Homeless Adolescents’ Perceptions of Positive Development: A Comparative Study

While some recent research has addressed homeless youth from a strengths-based approach, comparative studies of homeless and non-homeless youth from a strengths perspective are few; research that includes youth’s views on positive youth development are also limited. Addressing these gaps and using an inductive approach, adolescents’ views on positive development and their strengths were solicited. This study investigated the qualitative differences in views on doing well, strengths and positive development from two youth samples: youth who were homeless and resident youth involved in a 4-H program. Thirty-eight adolescents participated in focus groups, including five groups from a homeless shelter and five groups from a 4-H program. Content analysis of the narrative responses was conducted. Differences between homeless and 4-H adolescents were found in the areas of happiness, family support, identity, personal strengths, and risk avoidance. Homeless youth revealed adaptation to limiting ecologies (e.g., non-supportive parents) as they sought out other supportive relationships instead and adjusted their views of happiness. Homeless adolescents demonstrated more internal self-awareness compared to 4-H adolescents. By recognizing and capitalizing on the unique perspectives and strengths of adolescents from divergent environments, positive youth development and strengths-based programs and theory can more effectively benefit youth from diverse backgrounds. Understanding youth’s views that have normative and non-normative experiences (i.e., non-homeless and homeless) helps further expand the boundaries of developmental models and address how to promote thriving in youth from various contexts.

What happiness science can learn from John Stuart Mill

Many researchers studying subjective wellbeing (SWB) understand SWB as a concept that is close to Bentham’s notion of happiness. This conception of happiness is philosophically controversial, because it treats pleasure as a homogenous experience. I analyze an important deviation from Bentham in John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarianism and its relevance for SWB research: qualitative differences in pleasurable experiences. I argue that in cases where lives involving qualitatively different experiences are compared, Mill’s qualitative perspective is incompatible with an important assumption in the SWB literature: that happiness can be meaningfully rated by people on a scale. I illustrate the problem by means of the question of whether becoming a parent makes people happier. I analyze whether the problem can be avoided on alternative views of happiness, but argue that on all plausible accounts of happiness, the problem persists. I conclude that the problem it poses for self-reported happiness is genuine and should be acknowledged by SWB researchers. I end by discussing the ways in which this conclusion can help the study of happiness move forward.

Happiness: Meaning and Determinants Among Young Adults of the Igbos of Eastern Nigeria

The present study explored the constituents of lay conceptions of happiness and its determinants among young adults of the Igbos of Eastern Nigeria. Participants were asked to define happiness and outline the things they think make people happy. Analyses of the responses revealed that participants defined happiness with words reflecting both affect and cognitive evaluation of life. Positive affect words dominated the definitions followed by words reflecting cognitive evaluation of life. Interestingly, participants were more likely to define happiness with focus on the self than with focus on the other, which is contrary to seeming suggestions in literature that non-Western societies view happiness from communalistic perspectives. Significant gender differences occurred in line with findings that females are more likely to express interdependent views of happiness while males usually take individualistic route. Participation, affection, and leisure needs topped participants’ descriptions of the things that make people happy. Interesting relationships emerged among the variables with some contradicting and others confirming previous findings. Implications and limitations of findings were discussed. Suggestions for further studies were also made.

Happiness in the United Arab Emirates: conceptualisations of happiness among Emirati and other Arab students

How happiness is defined depends on who is asked. The prevailing views of happiness currently found in the literature tend to be Western and individualistic and shape what is viewed as normative. In this descriptive exploratory study, based in the United Arab Emirates, Emirati and other Arab expatriate students were asked to define happiness and describe how it is viewed by their cultures. Both groups defined happiness as a collective state generated through relationships with family and social groups, rather than through the self. It was also defined as an emotion and approach to life and involved religion and goal setting. Emiratis noted the presence of good governance as a contributor to happiness while other Arabs noted its absence. The findings enrich the current understanding of happiness and provide a preliminary view of what other cultures may consider to be happiness.

A Sociology for Happiness: Beyond Western versus Non-Western Perspectives

The present paper presents a theoretical and empirical perspective of sociology for happiness -which goes beyond western versus non western perspective. Two basic views of happiness, active and passive, are derived speculatively; from each of which two further types, modest and expansionistic, are elaborated. Empirical analysis of the data suggests that the Japanese people have different types of views of happiness. A Boolean approach is also used to find that there are two different ways to become happy in rich and poor countries as suggested by macro data from the World Value Survey and Human Development Index. We conclude that an E-dictionary or encyclo paedia of sociology, called Socio-paedia, for collecting local know ledge on happiness and the ways to achieve happiness is needed to reach global and universal knowledge.

Happiness, Rationality, Autonomy and the Good Life

The paper starts with a general discussion of the concepts of happiness and the good life. I argue that there is a conceptual core of happiness which has to do with one’s life as a whole. I discuss affective and attitude or life satisfaction views of happiness and indicate problems faced by those views. I introduce my own view, the life plan view, which sees happiness as the ongoing realizing of global desires of the person. I argue that on such a view one’s life could be happy without a high level of rationality or a high level of autonomy; such rationality and autonomy are not built into the concept of happiness. So while happiness is a final value, and good for the person, it is not the only final value. Rationality and autonomy are also final values and, where they exist, are good as ends for the person, part of the good life.

Understanding Happiness: A Look into the Chinese Folk Psychology

This qualitative study using a folk psychology approach explored what Chinese people think about happiness. One hundred and forty-two undergraduate students wrote free-format essays in response to a simple open-ended question, “What is happiness?” Using thematic analysis, four main themes were found. (1) Happiness can be defined in terms of (a) a mental state of satisfaction and contentment; (b) positive feelings/emotions; (c) a harmonious homeostasis; (d) achievement and hope; and (e) freedom from ill-being. (2) Happiness is a harmonious state of existence, under the following conditions: (a) the individual is satisfied or content; (b) the individual is the agent of his own happiness; (c) spiritual enrichment is emphasized more than material satisfaction; and (d) the individual maintains a positive outlook for the future. (3) The relationship between happiness and unhappiness is dialectical. These two distinct entities are locked in a never-ending relationship of interdependence: each depends on the other for contrast and meaning. Moreover, this relationship between the two opposites is also dynamic and constantly changing. (4) Happiness can be achieved, provided that one has the following abilities: (a) the wisdom of discovery; (b) the wisdom of contentment and gratitude; (c) the wisdom of giving; and (d)the wisdom of self-cultivation. These themes were discussed in the contexts of Chinese philosophical and folk views of happiness.

Simmel on Happiness

The article gives an overview of Simmel's thought on happiness between the 1890s and 1918. The focus is on the effects of Simmel's general orientation towards the Lebensphilosophie, especially via his reception of Nietzsche. Throughout his writings Simmel displays a distance against traditional views of happiness as an aim of action. Within the framework of Lebensphilosophie happiness becomes a quality of ‘essentially lived’ life (or, following Nietzsche, ‘heightened’ life). As a consequence, Simmel's concept of happiness tends to emphasize connotations of felicity, and can therefore be interpreted as a modern, secularized variant of traditional ‘beatitudo’.