{"id":6993,"date":"2022-03-05T17:29:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-05T17:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drdavidharley.com\/?p=6993"},"modified":"2022-03-05T17:29:02","modified_gmt":"2022-03-05T17:29:02","slug":"on-happiness-part-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drdavidharley.com\/?p=6993","title":{"rendered":"On Happiness:\u00a0 Part One\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within the context of schooling and parenting, the issue of whether children are happy or not frequently arises.\u00a0 It seems obvious that happiness is a preferred state of being — but is it.\u00a0 If we were happy all of the time what would that mean.\u00a0 Indeed, what is happiness? Whereas this might appear to be a simple question, it caught me off-guard in that upon reflection a simple answer is evasive.\u00a0 What does it mean to be \u201chappy\u201d?\u00a0 Is happiness a state of being or a momentary sensation? I asked myself \u201cAm I happy?\u201d and then reflected that if I had to think about it, perhaps I wasn\u2019t.\u00a0 I may be happy with the results of a test or happy with a purchase or happy to wake up and not be greeted with a snowstorm.\u00a0 But by and large the term \u201chappy\u201d seems to apply to specific instances rather than to a state of being.\u00a0 Perhaps then \u201chappy\u201d is like a dot and \u201chappiness\u201d is like a series of more or less connected dots.\u00a0 But do all of the dots need to be connected and if there is a lapse, did we cease to be \u201chappy\u201d?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n

Perhaps taking too many philosophy courses has resulted in my seeing problems with language where none exist.\u00a0 That being said, excursions into the ambiguous can result in a clearer perception of what is meant implicitly in everyday language. Or at the very least indicate that we should perhaps employ more care in the application of the language we use. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am happy with the negative result on my covid rapid test this morning but am I happy with my life and what would that mean?\u00a0 Perhaps it all depends on when you ask me or, perhaps the question is largely meaningless other than to designate an aggregate of connected points in time subjectively defining the number required to satisfy the statement in the positive or negative.\u00a0\u00a0 As such, it seems that happiness is not a state of being but more accurately states of being.\u00a0 More accurately, happiness is a present phenomenon and as such has an existence as fleeting as the moment in time we presently inhabit. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is \u2018happiness\u2019 equitable with \u2018contented\u2019 as in \u2018upon reflection, I am happy with my life\u2019 or is this simply a misuse of the word or is it that at this precise point in time when asked I am indeed feeling happy and because I am presently feeling happy, I am therefore feeling happy with my life.\u00a0 Is happy with my life as I feel it to be in this moment equatable with being happy with my life as a generalized statement.\u00a0 Would it be possible to be happy unless we were sometimes unhappy, and could the word have meaning unless defined by its opposite?\u00a0 If we were unhappy most of the time would the rare periods where we were happy be necessarily more intense.\u00a0 If we were happy most of the time would the feeling be dulled?\u00a0 What is the meaning of \u2018happy\u2019, \u2018happier\u2019 and \u2018happiest\u2019 when you are either happy or you are not?\u00a0 Can you be more happy any more than a statement can be more true?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Language can either be a blunt-edged instrument or a surgeon\u2019s scalpel.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Within the context of schooling and parenting, the issue of whether children are happy or not frequently arises.\u00a0 It seems obvious that happiness is a preferred state of being — but is it.\u00a0 If we were happy all of the time what would that mean.\u00a0 Indeed, what is happiness? Whereas this might appear to be […]<\/p>\n

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