POST 1: ON HAPPINESS

Date: Fri, 2 Jul 2004 03:42:28

what makes me happy?

a smile.

that may sound really naive and if one were to call that an over-idealization, maybe it is. but from my perspective on life, this real world is as real as it can get; so why not add a little dream and imagination to it? after all, one's happiness is unique; it's only "happiness" to that one specific person. one person might consider money as being happiness, that having an overabundant amount of money makes one happy. another person might consider love as being happines, that being loved is enough to make one happy. whatever your definition of happiness is, i believe that there's one thing that is certain: your happiness is unique, and it is only true for yourself.

so why a smile?

when you're happy, what do you do? you smile. as much as some people take pleasure over someone else's pain, i take pleasure over someone else's happiness. i used to be superficial; i thought having the most sophisticated computer would make me happy, it didn't. i thought having numerous friends would make me happy, it didn't. i thought a cool, expensive car would make me happy, it didn't. i thought having a girlfriend would make me happy, it didn't. not that being superficial is wrong; if you find happiness in superficial things, then good for you. but i didn't. i've looked, but i couldn't. something was still lacking, so i looked again.

then i realized, that without a smile, nothing is worth it. what's the point of having plenty of money but never seeing a smile on my family's face? what's the point of getting good grades if it only causes your friends to envy you? what's the point of success if you're smiling alone? a smile on the face of the people close to me is what i define as happiness. i don't mind having to sacrifice something of my own, as long as i can see some smiles. i would not mind sacrificing what i have, to keep the smile on the faces of the people close to me. and these are no mere words, i speak based on personal experience. a smile gives me enough reason for me to go on with life. a smile alleviates my anxiety and allows me to be content with what i have. a smile defines my happiness.

aristotle's ethical theory is rather complicated. his investigation begins with the analysis of what kind of good that people desire and defines that whatever the good is, it has to be final, that is "never for the sake of something else," (p.24, 5) and self-sufficient, that is "when isolated makes life desirable and lacking in nothing." (p.25, 5) from these, he concludes that happiness is the final good that everyone desires. aristotle then proceeds to define the nature of happiness; to do this, he starts by examining the function of man, and from there concludes that it has to be an "activity of soul in accordance with virtue." (p.25, 6) but what is virtue, really? aristotle's discussion on the nature of virtue then leads to a conclusion on two different types of virtue: moral and intellectual. moral virtue, according to aristotle, is concerned with making a choice where "there is no excess or deficiency." (p.29, 10) then in his discussion on intellectual virtue, aristotle claims that in making a choice, one needs both reason and intellect. essentially, reasons are needed for one to achieve happiness. without reasoning, one cannot make the best choice that will lead to the greatest virtue. since happiness has to be "in accordance with virtue," reasoning is required, and thus, happiness can only be achieved through a "contemplative" life; carefully using reasoning to make a decision to achive the highest virtue.

happiness as an "activity of the soul in accordance with virtue," can somewhat be applied to my take on happiness. what makes me happy, is a smile on someone else's face. a smile is an activity of the soul, for a soul is filled with emotions, and when one is overwhelmed by emotions, a smile can only be real, or non-existent at all. under normal conditions, it may be easy for one to fake a smile, but when emotions take over, one cannot fake a smile. let's say, that one beloved family member passed away. sadness and grief will take over, making it harder for one to smile. in this way, a smile can be seen as an acitvity of the soul.
now, is it in accordance with virtue? perhaps not. what aristotle implies when he said "in accordance with virtue" is the use of reasoning to make correct decisions that will lead to the greatest virtue, because activities that accords with the greatest virtue, bring the most pleasure, and thus happiness. a smile as a source of happiness is already hard to explain with reasoning, let alone being the highest of virtues. if aristotle's take on happiness is one that uses reasoning as a foundation, then from aristotle's view, my happiness is not happiness.

aristotle agrees earlier in his "nichomachean ethics" that what everyone desires the most is happiness, and says that "but with regard to what happiness is they differ." (p.24, 4) here it seems that aristotle readily admits that happiness is unique to everyone, that one's definition of happiness differs from another, and yet he goes on to generalize the definition of happiness so that it finally applies to everyone. while it is true that, in order to establish a theory, it has to be applicable in general, aristotle should have just stopped at the conclusion that the good that everyone desires, the good that is final and self-sufficient, is happiness. aristotle's argument that the use of reasoning to obtain the highest virtue and eventually the perfect happiness, is just not valid to some. in his argument that pleasantness of an activity is "a function of their goodness, and not vice versa," aristotle fails to consider that there are some people who excel at some things, yet loathe doing it. since to aristotle, virtue refers to "the excellence of a thing and hence the disposition to perform effectively its function," (p.21-2, intro) a person who excels in his functions is considered "virtuous." however, consider a carpenter who excels in carpentry, and has been doing carpentry for the past twenty years. now this carpenter enjoys painting more, although he is not good at it. will it be happiness to this carpenter if he keeps being a carpenter? will it not be more pleasant for the carpenter himself if he paints? if it is more pleasant, will it not bring more happiness? aristotle mistakenly assumes that when one excels at something, then one enjoys what one is doing. while this is mostly true in people, there are some exceptions to which aristotle's reasoning does not apply.

like how a smile gives me happiness.

smile is definitely not the highest virtue, and there is no need to excel in smile. but a smile brings me happiness, believe it or not. seeing a smile on people's face tells me that they are content, that they are satisfied, that they have no desires or wants unfulfilled, and all that makes gives me happiness, simply because they, too, are happy.