ktmeng/mec huggingface dataset:
Topic: happiness

The novel instead ends with Levin’s new state of awareness and acceptance of the self, instead of Anna’s rejection of it. He says to conclude the story: “my life now, my whole life, regardless of all that may happen to me… is not only not meaningless, as it was before, but has the unquestionable meaning of the good which is in my power to put into it”. Levin grasps his ability to live life with purpose, and he now knows that he cannot expect good things to come his way, but must seek them out himself.
Topic: happiness

By ending the novel with the story of the character who ends up happy implies that Tolstoy wanted to show the reader that Levin was right all along and Anna was wrong. The moral that can be deduced is that if someone tries to fulfill themselves solely with earthly pleasures, they will end up broken, while finding satisfaction in spirituality and emotional healthiness will keep them strong. It is necessary not to rely on others to create happiness, because people will let each other down, but if an individual’s spirit is strong and resilient, they can recover from life’s disappointments.
Topic: happiness

Consumerist is a social and economic order that encourages the purchase of goods and services in ever greater amounts. In the American consumption, people do not know how much is enough, do we really need all we buy? Or we just buy it because everyone else has it? Does it make us any happier? In the article “The New Politics of Consumption: Why Americans Want So Much More That They Need” Juliet Schor shares with us her point of view about American Consumption.
Topic: happiness

Much of what we purchase is not essential for our survival or even basic human comfort but is based on impulse, a momentary desire, and there is a hidden price that we, and future generations will pay for it too. The American economy’s ultimate purpose is to produce more consumer goods, not better health care, education, housing, transportation, but to provide more stuff to consumers. First, in Schor’s article she says, “The average American now finds it harder to achieve a satisfying standard of living than 25 years ago” (411).
Topic: happiness

Nowadays people have to work longer hours than 25 year ago, to be able to pay all their desires. Having more and newer things each year has become not just something we want but something we need. The idea of more, ever increasing wealth has become the center of our identity, and this looks like an addiction. For example, my aunt Maria works 5 days a week to be able to pay all her bills and sometimes does overtime. She might have a lot of new and cool things, but she doesn’t even have time to enjoy all these things because she has to be working just to pay all she has.
Topic: happiness

My aunt has a salary of $9. 25 per hour and getting a check of $740 biweekly which she have to use to pay her car $200, plus her phone $85, personal stuff $150, and the list keep going. I have worked 40 hours a week, going to classes full-time with little satisfaction. Without working that long, I am less stressed, and I prefer to learn how to spend less money, than spending more, and live stressed all the time. People should take more responsibility for themselves and their families and think outside of the box when it comes to life.
Topic: happiness

Working less hours and buying fewer products is a good way to start. Also, Schor says, “The competitive consumption, the idea that spending is in large part driven by a comparative or competitive process in which individuals try to keep up with the norms of the social group with which they identify as a reference group” (412). People try to be in the same level that everyone else; if they see that somebody bought something, they will try to have that, just because that person has it. An example is the iPhones people are obsessed with them.
Topic: happiness

The first iPhone was the 3G, then 3GS, 4, 4S, and the 5 that is the last one that just came out. All of these iPhones do almost the same functions; they just changed the size, and some other little things. People spend a lot of money buying the iPhones; the prices are between $300 and $500. The point is that people want to keep up with the newest things, just because other people will have it. For example, my cousin Heysus who is 23 years old, have been buying all the iPhones, because all his friends have them, and whenever came a new iPhone, he ordered it immediately to keep up with what his friends have.
Topic: happiness

Another point is that people with less income, tend to watch more TV, in Schor’s article says, “Low income children are more likely to be exposed to commercials at school, as well as home” (413). Television and marketing are a big influence of how people spend their money. We watched an example of it in the movie of Super-Size Me, of how the companies spend a lot of their money on marketing, because they know that people is going to buy their products. We need to make people conscious about the problem that we all have as a society.
Topic: happiness

Without our consumer impulse to buy the newest, coolest things on the market, there would be no market. People should think more about what they buy, and should not do unnecessary purchases I think that some people keep worrying more about what they can buy, and how they can have better and newest things instead of be worrying about how they can live happier, and less stressed. An individual does not necessarily have to live as a rich person to be happy. The thought of shorter hours working is a wealth of opportunity and adventure that no Disneyland or Las Vegas vacation can offer.
Topic: happiness

It is actually stress-free and can help us to have time to more valuable parts of our life, like having more time to spend with our family and friends. Finally, as a student that works and studies at the same time, I have to be a smart consumer. I ask myself what I need and what I really don’t. Why do I need a car? Is it necessary to have a laptop when we have a library full of computers? We all need to learn that how to spend our money in a better way, and know that we do not need to have the newest and coolest things that the market offer us to be happy.
Topic: happiness

This is one book which I have just finished reading. I don’t normally read biography, but came across the story while doing some random search on wikipedia (where one link can lead to another). I really got very interested in the true story of this young man who ended up dying in Alaska. I went to buy the book at Kinokuniya. In 1992, a young man by the name of Christopher McCandless from a well-to-do family in the US abandoned everything he possessed after graduating with honours from University.
Topic: happiness

Finally, he hitchhiked to Alaska with little food (only 5 pounds of rice) and equipment as he wanted to be in total isolation from human contact and go into the wild, in his words “to live off the land” – eating the animals he hunted and plants grown there. He actually managed to survive for more than 100 days in Alaska with this way until a series of unfortunate accidents that caused him to die slowly (and painfully) of starvation on an abandoned bus.
Topic: happiness

But then his ultimate aim was to really live in the wild with only nature (and nothing else, human relationships was worthless to him) and commitment was the last thing on his mind. This story left a very deep impression in me, not just because of the tragic circumstances surrounding it, but I could identify with Christopher McCandless in that at his age, I was also sort of like him. Well, I might not have given up all my wealth (I admit, my family wasn’t as well-to-do as his) and go all the way out into the wild, but I did have certain anger or unhappiness about the way my life turned out and wanted to live a different sort of life.
Topic: happiness

That was why at that time my results sort of fumbled (as I was half-hearted about the whole studying affair – to me, studying what I had no interest in was an “insult to my integrity”. ). I also wanted to get away from my family (which was one of the catalysts which caused Christopher McCandless to make such a decision, he was very upset by certain things he found out about his parents), so for a period of time I was staying in the hostel. During that time, I really planned to eventually leave my family once I have the financial means and stay outside.
Topic: happiness

In fact, after I graduated from university, I went to Malacca for a few days all by myself to enjoy the isolation. Ha ha, until now, my parents weren’t aware this was what I did – and I can’t yet find the courage to inform them. (This is probably a secret I will bring to my grave). Okay, this was probably not so much of an adventure, but I did derive certain excitement out of this trip. Imagine me on a free and easy trip carrying just the map and walking around (and people who know me know I’ve a very, very poor sense of direction). I would not say I managed to find my sense of purpose in life during that very short trip.
Topic: happiness

In fact, it was years after I graduate before I realised what was really important in my life. For Christopher McCandless, towards the end of his life, realised that “happiness only real when shared” which is what he wrote on his journal. When he finally got the isolation he yearned for in Alaska, somehow, he must have finally realised the importance of human relationships and that real happiness lies with being able to spend time with the one you care. Of course, the sad part is it came too late too as he was trapped in the wilderness which he had yearned for previously.
Topic: happiness

Given time, I believe he would eventually return to his family and friends. For me, after years of working (and probably maturity over the years), I also realised the importance of treasuring the time with my familiy and friends. You do not have to go to the extreme (in my case, escape from my family) to change the state of your life. In fact, all that matters is your perception. I have to be responsible in what I do as it is not just about me, but whatever I do have repercussions on my loved ones too. I had probably hurt the people around me as much as they have hurt me.
Topic: happiness

I remember there was one saying I read somewhere – people may not love you the way you want them to, but that doesn’t mean they don’t love you. Recently, I did have the urge to go backpacking alone somewhere (of course, with the intention of not letting my parents know), but I admit I did have second thoughts after reading the book, ha ha! But don’t think that will last for long, as by nature, I do like to “wander around” – I can’t be trapped for too long. In the end, I guess Christopher McCandless did manage to find peace with himself. His final note written on his journal was “I HAVE HAD A HAPPY LIFE AND THANK THE LORD.
Topic: happiness

GOODBYE AND MAY GOD BLESS ALL! ” Although he didn’t manage to go back to his loved ones, he appreciated all the love bestowed upon him by them. I would like to think that he did not leave this world with any regret. Currently, I am reading another book by Jon Krakauer about his experience during the 1996 Mount Everest climb. Another tragic tale of how harsh nature can be. I might want to catch the movie version of “Into The Wild” directed by Sean Penn. Not sure if the film will evoke the same emotions in me (sometimes film adaptations can be disappointing).
Topic: happiness

This chapter, titled Feeling Free, is all about freedom and humans need to feel it. Ziyad Marar begins the chapter comparing happiness to freedom, saying how “[freedoms] current expression has a relatively recent and local” (Marar 39), which is similar to his view on happiness. Marar goes on saying how people have been striving for freedom, but claims more freedom brings bad consequences. People are blinded by mass media, the consumer society, management gurus, therapists and Hollywood who all relentlessly preach about freedom and self-expression.
Topic: happiness

He ends the first section by stating that people need to “celebrate freedom without denying its corrosive qualities; even to admire those very qualities” (Marar 43). Since freedom is a something humans naturally strive for, and the main driving force in modern civilization, it has a strong impact on most things that humans do (Marar). The next two sections talk about how humans find freedom in the wild and in self-creation. Society is a form of conformity, which “loses you time and blurs the impression of your character” (Marar 46) and it is human nature to not be held down by conformity.
Topic: happiness

Marar goes on to relate freedom to sex, death, and the ‘search for strange’. “Perversion, obsessions, the apparent mutability of the most mundane objects into the stuff of erotic fantasy, all remind us that the realm of eroticism is dominated by the need to walk on the wild side. ” (Marar 53). Sex is something that, like freedom, is something humans instantly strive for, and like freedom is restricted through civilization trying to make us conform to the social norm. Humans seek freedom in sex, it is a time when our inner most instincts come out. This freedom comes in two forms, the freedom to and the freedom from.
Topic: happiness

We all have the freedom to discover, create, and fantasize, but only some are free from structures, schemes, codes, and above all other people. Freedom of people opposes the claim that humans need to feel justified, since justification is all about other people. The section ends by stating how death is the ultimate form of death, and agrees with Freud and his though of the death instincts and how all human life is striving towards death, for it is the final escape to freedom (Marar). The last section of the chapter is about the freedom from language, or the perspective of others.
Topic: happiness

He uses the holidays as an example, the way we remember them though pictures and stories. Through retelling we move away from the personal aspect the memory has, it seems “to create a concept to flee from language” (Marar 57). To pursue this freedom, to the point when you are uninterpretable to others, is when people start to see you as crazy or insane. This is where the paradox lies, for we seek freedom and justification but to be free is to stop caring for the justification of others. On the other hand with justification of others you are giving up your freedoms (Marar).
Topic: happiness

Through Fagin, Oliver is made to work for Bill Sikes. Oliver is shot helping Sikes to burgle the house of a Mrs Maylie, Sikes escapes but Oliver is cared for by Rose and Mrs Maylie. Bill Sikes is another major bully within the novel, Oliver Twist. Nancy who is his mistress is also a victim of Sikes. Bill Sikes character is brutal, aggressive and violent. One major event when we see Sikes as a brutal bully is when he murders Nancy.
Topic: happiness

As Sikes arrives at his house ‘Without one pause, or moments’ consideration; without once turning his head to the right or left, or raising his eyes to the sky, or lowering them to the ground, but looking straight before him with savage resolution his teeth so lightly compressed that the strained jaw seemed starting through his skin, the robber held on his headlong course, nor muttered a word, nor relaxed a muscle until he reached his own door.
Topic: happiness

’ This makes the reader want to know what is about to happen. Dickens highlights bullying by using commands ‘Get up, Get up’ this is a command, which suggests aggression and violence. The word ‘murderer’ is used which suggests he has already killed Nancy, but Sikes again,’ seized a heavy club and struck her down’. Sikes striking Nancy with a club seems to be unnecessary as she is already dead. This is the climax of Sikes bullying he has resorted to murdering.
Topic: happiness

Bill refers to Nancy as a ‘She Devil’. In her dying moments she shows her innocent side by praying, by ‘on her knees and ‘as high towards heaven as her feeble strength.’ The reader gets a sense of goodness against evilness. The reader again sympathises with Nancy as she is murdered while Dickens emphasises Sikes evil ways. Bill Sikes runs away from the scene of the crime which shows that ultimately he is a coward, and his conscience finally dawns on him. After Nancy’s death Dickens uses superlatives to show the reader how cruel Sikes crime is, he uses powerful words like ‘worst’, ‘foulest’ and ‘most cruel’. Bullying is again highlighted throughout this section. Here though, Dickens has highlighted a different type of bullying. It is immediate bullying that is used. Sikes performed a nasty and brutal murder.
Topic: happiness

Dickens uses a metaphor of the weather to contrast the murder, it is an ironic contrast though, as sun brings new life but it can not bring Nancy back to life. ‘The sun, the bright sun’ shows Bill Sikes truly as a vicious bully. Towards the end of the novel both Bill Sikes and Fagin die, while Oliver finds happiness and security. The book makes the reader aware of Victorian society, the sheer terror of the workhouse and bullying within that society. Charles Dickens uses a range of techniques to present the bullies within the novel. He uses a wide range of language, sarcasm and irony throughout. Charles Dickens emphasises many types of bullying and throughout his novel highlights episodes of violence and bullying which most of Victorian society accepted.
Topic: happiness

* If only the total happiness counts, imagine these two situations: [A] 80% population live very well and are very happy because the other 20% are their slaves. [B] There are no slaves and everyone is happy but not as happy as the 80% in situation A. The total and average happiness in both situations is the same, therefore to a utilitarian there is no difference between the two, and both are equally morally right, but slavery is considered wrong.
Topic: happiness

Likewise, Peter Singer, famous utilitarian writer, in his defence of IVF refers to the desire for a child as being a very basic desire. If there is such a desire then there does seem to be a strong argument in favour of developing techniques to overcome infertility. Such an argument might be based on the utilitarian principle of `maximising happiness’. This theory claims that where there is a moral choice to make the right thing to do is the action which is likely to produce the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people.
Topic: happiness

It is a problem that can only be truly understood at human level. Those that have never suffered infertility will not know the true pain of being unable to conceive. Since successful IVF treatment will bring an enormous amount of happiness these theorists are in agreement with such treatments. In the case of an infertile couple the utilitarian will look at the options available and strive towards to goal of conception. To quote Laura Bush, “For those who deeply want children and are denied them, those missing babies hover like silent ephemeral shadows over their lives.”
Topic: happiness

Moving on to situation ethics, this theory is in favour of reproductive technology if it is the most loving course of action in the particular situation. It is not absolutist. This theory says that individual situations are different. This theory believes that there is only one underlying principle: you do whatever is the most loving thing to do in a situation. Ethical rules are secondary. In the circumstances of an infertile couple you take the line of action which will be the most loving thing for a couple in their unique circumstances.
Topic: happiness

There are many circumstances in which the use of reproductive technology would be the most loving course of action, such as when a same sex couple wish to experience parenthood. Techniques such as IVF using donor sperm/eggs can bring the joy of a child when they cannot conceive one naturally. Another more controversial scenario when a couple may benefit from reproductive technology would be when they desire a certain sex of child. Reproductive technology can accommodate consumerist type choices such as this. Using technologies to determine a child’s gender before it is born could be considered loving because in certain countries, such as India and China, boys are more desired and therefore the child and family will have a higher quality of life overall.
Topic: happiness

Finally, natural law is an ethical theory that is typically opposed to reproductive technology, because it is interfering with natural conception. However, there are some Christians who believe that natural law can be reconciled with reproductive technologies. If God has said that the final end of sex is procreation, then the use of technology is instrumental to the pursuit of the natural ends, which have already been stipulated in doctrine. Thus, for example, IVF treatment allows us to pursue the natural end of reproduction through technological processes. After all, the Bible never directly mentions reproductive technologies. Nonetheless, this is still a minority view amongst proponents of natural law.
Topic: happiness

Protestant churches tend to take a more lenient view. For example, the Free Presbyterian Church accepts IVF provided that the couple are married, spare embryos are not created and no donors are used. Both the Methodist Church and the Church of England are quite positive about all forms of IVF and even permit research on spare embryos up to 14 days old because it can be of great help to doctors researching genetic diseases, although embryos should not be created solely for this purpose.
Topic: happiness

While attending the Charterhouse school, he met Richard Steele, a man who became a great friend of Addison’s. In 1687, he moved on to enter Queen’s College, Oxford along with his friend Richard Steele (Biography of Joseph Addison 1). In college, he set himself apart by his scholarship and his shyness. After showing exceptional skill in Latin verse, he won the election for a position as a Demy (a scholar) to Magdalen College in 1689. He was a fellow there from 1697 to 1711, meaning that although he had graduated, he stayed on to work with some of the other graduates and professors in the pursuit of mutual knowledge (Joseph Addison 1). Addison lost no time after his graduation, immediately publishing a book on the lives and works of several of the great English poets. This book, along with a commemorative poem on the Battle of Blenheim, caught the attention of a few very influential people.
Topic: happiness

In Addison they saw a writer whose works could be potentially used in service to the crown (Biography of Joseph Addison 1). Through Lord Keeper Somers, an influential Whig statesman, and Charles Montague, later known as the earl of Halifax, Addison obtained a royal pension. This pension allowed him to travel abroad while studying politics and continuing to write essays (Joseph Addison (1672-1719) 1). His travels lasted from 1699 to 1704. During these five years abroad, Joseph Addison made the acquaintance of several English diplomats and European men of letters, one of which Addison himself had studied to become (Joseph Addison (1672-1719) 1). He started out in France and continued on to Italy, the place that was inspiration for his essay “Remarks on Several Parts of Italy” (1705) and the rhymed epistle “A Letter from Italy” (1704).
Topic: happiness

Below, a brief excerpt from Addison’s essay “Remarks on Several Parts of Italy” (1705) boasts of his luminous writing style and trademark lively personality while writing: THERE is certainly no Place in the World where a Man may Travel with greater Pleasure and Ad|vantage than in Italy. One finds something more particu|lar in the Face of the Country, and more astonishing in the Works of Nature, than can be met with in any other Part of Europe. It is the great School of Musick and Painting, and contains in it all the noblest Productions of Statuary and Architecture both Ancient and Mo|dern. It abounds with Cabinets of Curiosities, and vast Collections of all Kinds of Antiquities. No o|ther Country in the World has such a Variety of Governments, that are so different in their Constitu|tions, and so refined in their Po|liticks (1). When writing, Joseph Addison’s shy, unassuming personality hides away to release a much brighter and more amiable side of him. From there, his travels continued to Switzerland, where he came to an abrupt, albeit temporary, stand-still (Biography of Joseph Addison 1).
Topic: happiness

His travels were interrupted by some rather unfortunate news. While in Geneva during the March of 1702 he learned of the death of King William III, which resulted in his financial backers, Somers and Montague (the earl of Halifax), losing their positions (Joseph Addison (1672-1719) 1). This loss of income, however, did not prevent him from continuing his adventures abroad. He spent the next two years wondering through Austria, the German states, and the Netherlands before finding his way back into England in 1704 (Biography of Joseph Addison 1). Following his return to England, Joseph Addison was made (thanks in part to the publication of his poem The Campaign) the Under-Secretary of State. He kept this position for two years before becoming secretary and the keeper of records for the lord-lieutenant of Ireland (Joseph Addison (1672-1719) 1). In 1711, a change in the ministry lost him yet another government position, and he turned his eyes yet again towards writing as a means of occupation (Joseph Addison 1).
Topic: happiness

With renewed vigor he once again took to writing essays, this time doing the work for his old friend Steele’s paper, the Tatler. Joseph Addison contributed 42 works to the Tatler, which ran for about two years. Following the discontinuation of the Tatler in January of 1711, Joseph Addison and Richard Steele began publishing the periodical The Spectator (Joseph Addison (1672-1719) 1). One of his first essays published in The Spectator, “West Minister Abbey” is a beautiful example of the characteristic ease and elegance prose of his lifetime. Many of his essays during this time were a call to arms for the people of England, calling for them to rise to “higher levels of living and thinking” and aiming to awaken in them a passion to restore their great nation to its old glory.
Topic: happiness

The essay is gloomy, reflecting Addison’s own reflections on death and acknowledging it as the great provider of equity, for as he so eloquently states: Upon this, I began to consider with myself what innumerable multitudes of people lay confused together under the pavement of that ancient cathedral … how beauty, strength, and youth, with old age, weakness, and deformity, lay undistinguished in the same promiscuous heap of matter (2-3). The Spectator was published daily, and it grew to great popularity among the people of England. The Spectator’s political quips and insights into life and the state of their nation lent it a great deal of influence over the people of that time. Of the 555 or so essays featured in the periodical, Addison composed 274 (Biography of Joseph Addison 1). The Spectator lasted 3.5 years and was one of the few bright spots in Joseph Addison’s rather uneventful life, which was filled with personal disappointments (Joseph Addison (1672-1719) 1). One such disappointment was his marriage to the Dowager Countess of Warwick.
Topic: happiness

They were wed in 1716, and with his bride came a step-son who he had previously tutored. However, all was not bliss in the life of the newlyweds. His wife was said to be arrogant and unsatisfiable; constantly belittling him and pointing out his every short coming (Biography of Joseph Addison 1).. To make matters worse, he lost his position in Parliament due to his painfully overbearing shyness. He died a year later on June 17, 1719 (Joseph Addison (1672-1719) 1). Ironically, Joseph Addison wrote an essay titled “Defence and Happiness of Married Life” in 1712, four years before his unhappy marriage to the Dowager Countess. In this essay, he writes through the persona of Philogamus in support of marriage, listing the many advantages and enjoyments a married man may experience.
Topic: happiness

After taking a look at his life and then rereading “Defence and Happiness of Married Life” (1712) one finds it quite ironic to realize that one of the greatest joys of marriage as put-forth is one that he himself was denied in his own marriage: You must have observed, in your Speculations on Human Nature, that nothing is more gratifying to the Mind of Man than Power or Dominion; and this I think my self amply possessed of, as I am the Father of a Family. I am perpetually taken up in giving out Orders, in prescribing Duties, in hearing Parties, in Administering Justice, and in distributing Rewards and Punishments.
Topic: happiness

To speak in the Language of the Centurion, I say unto one, go, and he goeth; and to another, come and he cometh; and to my Servant, do this, and he doeth it. In short, Sir, I look upon my Family as a Patriarchal Sovereignty, in which I am my self both King and Priest (1). Joseph Addison took anything life happened to throw at him and managed to twist it into a delightful essay or haunting poem. Though his life was filled with disappointments, both in his personal life and in his political career, Addison managed to produce numerous essays and poems as well as a book and to top it all off, he co-produced three separate periodicals along with his friend Richard Steele. His writing hints at the contextual influences all around him.
Topic: happiness

The cognitive component of SWB involves making judgments of one’s life: either satisfaction with life as a whole, or satisfaction with life domains such as work, family, leisure, health, and finances (Prince, & Prince 2001; Diener et al., 1999). It can be viewed as how you think about your life (in contrast to the affective component: how you feel about your life). In this study, the cognitive component means the way the elderly perceive, think and assess their life and their beliefs and attitude toward life, world and God.
Topic: happiness

Campbell (1976) suggested that individuals judge their objective situation in each of various life domains according to standards of comparison based on aspiration, expectations, feelings of what would be just, reference group comparisons, personal needs, and personal values. Domain-satisfaction provides useful information about with which aspects of life an individual may be happy or unhappy, but cannot be summed to give an overall impression of life satisfaction. This would mean that it is necessary to assess overall satisfaction with life, as well as life domains (Susan Hird, 2003).
Topic: happiness

An idea that has long captivated writers is that how we perceive and think about the world determines our SWB. In the area of SWB, researchers find that one can dampen or amplify one’s emotions by what one thinks, and thereby experience more or less intense emotions (Larsen, Diener, & Croponzano, 1987). This approach relies on the standards of the individual to determine what is the good life and the personal choices the person make at the moment (Diener, 1984).
Topic: happiness

Support for this proposition comes from findings showing that on average religious people are happier than nonreligious people (e. g. , Ellison, 1983; Myers, 1992, cited in Diener et al. , 1997). The study explored how the elderly think about their life or what thought processes, beliefs and attitudes predominantly helped the elderly to experience a sense of well-being at this point of their lives. Affective Components (Affect Balance) It is the second component or construct of SWB, which corresponds to what we generally understand as happiness.
Topic: happiness

According to (Prince, & Prince 2001) affect is thought of as how happy or unhappy you are. It results from a balance between positive affect and negative affect (Christopher, 1999). As it has been already indicated, when we appraise how much we appreciate the life we live, we estimate our typical affective experience to assess how well we feel generally, which is referred to here in the study as affective component. In summary, the affective component can be thought of as how you feel about your life (Susan Hird, 2003).
Topic: happiness

Suh & Diener (1997) observed that feeling pleasant emotions most of the time and infrequently experiencing unpleasant emotions, even if the pleasant emotions are only mild, is sufficient for high reports of happiness. Although people report being above neutral in mood the majority of the time (Diener & Diener, 1995), intense positive moments are rare even among the happiest individuals. Instead happy people report mild-to-moderate pleasant emotions most of the time when alone or with others and when working or at leisure.
Topic: happiness

One thing is clear, that people need to understand that intense experiences are not the corer stone of a happy life (Diener, 2000). Mood and emotions are called ‘affect’, and there is contradictory evidence as to whether ‘pleasant affect’ and ‘unpleasant affect’ form two independent factors and should be measured separately, or whether they are interdependent (Diener et al. , 1999). The amount of difference between momentary pleasant and unpleasant affect is still debated, but the separability of long-term affective dimensions is less controversial.
Topic: happiness

Diener and Emmons (1984) found that unpleasant and pleasant affect become increasingly separate as the time frame is increased (Diener et al. , 1999). In the case of the institutionalized elderly, the study examined the affective component in general, mainly how they felt generally about their lives that helped them experiencing a sense of well-being in their lives. As indicated by Christopher (1999), it is this second aspect of SWB that corresponds to what we generally understand as happiness and it results from a balance between positive affect and negative affect.
Topic: happiness

According to Mill (1998 ), individuality remains in direct opposition to finish submission of one’s interests and goals to the desires and custom-mades of society. While it is essential to follow societal norms, individuality needs to be preserved seeing that affecting does not lead to developments the method uniqueness does. Therefore, leaders are individuals that increase to change something that is undesirably dealing with society at any provided time. Considered that leaders are thorough mavericks, and they work to increase the joy of society, uniqueness and joy must be linked.
Topic: happiness

However, uniqueness is often thought to be linked with the self-centered pursuit of individual desires instead of societal interests. After all, if everyone on our world ended up being an out and out independent, there would be no use of societal standards that link people as social animals. Societal control would be likewise unnecessary in that occasion, seeing that every child, teen, male and woman would firmly insist on doing as he or she pleases without understanding the effects– which may consist of harm done unto others.
Topic: happiness

Even if a private were to forget his or her uniqueness– or his or her appreciable personality– for a while as she or he spends many of the time with other individuals; the experiences of “feeling great” and “not feeling bad” would stay as individual experiences (“The Meaning of Joy to Live By”). Moreover, it is possible that a person that has forgotten his/her individuality for a long time would feel extra great or feel bad about something associated to the people he or she connects with. Hence, the individual’s sensations would function as a reminder of his or her individuality.
Topic: happiness

People pursue their individual interests and goals to maximize their happiness.  Some people are more adamant than the others about doing as they please.  For others, their individual interests and goals must be the same as societal interests and goals.  Such people believe that they would maximize their happiness by conforming to the society’s ideals.  All the same, there is no way to tell whether the first as opposed to the second group of people is right.  After all, people that are adamant about doing as they please may ultimately come up with innovations that society has never had the chance to enjoy.  Likewise, the people who feel happy by accepting societal interests and goals as their individual interests and goals are trying to maximize the happiness of society too.
Topic: happiness

Most probably they would also hurt themselves.  Thus, the necessary relationship between happiness and individuality demands a balance and a respect.  The individualist must take a balanced approach to pursuing his or her interests and goals to maximize happiness – bearing in mind that his or her pursuit of happiness should not turn into pain for anybody.  Respect of society is crucial for individualism to bear its fruit.  Hence, the essential relationship between happiness and individuality must be handled with care.
Topic: happiness

John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarian Philosophy came to be known as the greatest happiness principle. It begs the question; what is happiness? Mill thought that the purpose is life is for the experience of pleasure and freedom from pain and that every action must be measured against this paradigm. Yet just like any other perspectives, Mill’s utilitarianism encounters criticism, one of which focuses on the meaning and realization of happiness. Mill however, conscious of the critique implied in his foundation of morality that humans are higher beings than animals or any other species, therefore have higher faculties and appetites.
Topic: happiness

He contests ergo that such incapacity for the nobler feelings is due to the nature of the latter, like a tender plant that is easily killed by hostile influences especially among the young people when the environment is not favorable to keeping that higher capacity in existence. This idea is perhaps a noble addition to the claims of utilitarianism: “…the happiness which forms the utilitarian standard of what is right in conduct is not the agent’s own happiness but that of all concerned…”
Topic: happiness

This makes the values of utilitarianism compatible to other religious norms which states, “To do as you would be done by” and “To love your neighbor as yourself”. Hence, an important policy suggestion emerges in the fulfillment of utilitarian morality code; that laws and social structures must institute ways to make the interest of every individual one and the same as that of the whole; and that the association of one person to the happiness of the others must be realized through the utilization of the power which education and opinion embody.
Topic: happiness

In the end, a few lessons have been learnt from Mill; the notion of the universal happiness; the possibility of harmony of interests; and then necessity of policies for the success of his scheme. The same flow of arguments run in Mill’s speech in 1868 in favor of capital punishment. To him, the punishment by death is most desirable for a person who committed heinous crimes such as murder unless there is a probability that the action was undertaken due to factors outside of the character of the individual.
Topic: happiness

He also looks into the essence of conviction in the community relevant to his, “practical power depends far less on what it is than on what it seems”. He counters the amendment of capital punishment and the transition to lifetime imprisonment as he believes the former is more effective in the light of preventing the innocent from indulging in similar crimes. What seems to the public a dreadful death accrued in capital punishment is for Mill less important than the implementation of his penal justice which seeks to “deter by suffering from inflicting suffering”.
Topic: happiness

Stovall’s symbolical and inspirational novel presented the character of a spoiled young man named Jason Stevens who, never in his life, experienced life’s challenges until the death of his great uncle – the wealthy patriarch Howard “Red” Stevens (Stovall). Jason is as greedy as the rest of the Stevens clan thus the reading of the last will and testament of the deceased patriarch was purposely done by lawyer-friend Theodore Hamilton in a way that Jason will be left responsible to accomplish the earnest hope of Red to work and search for the ultimate gift. The fact that there is nothing special about Jason, being the great nephew of Red, made the latter pick him from among the entire Stevens family and entrust him with a one billion dollar trust fund.
Topic: happiness

Red’s designed plan for Jason has proven its worth as the life and fate of a previously irresponsible man, who anticipated that he will easily collects and spends his billions of inheritance, was changed by a year-long challenge. As the singled-out and “the last vestige of hope in the Stevens family,” (Stovall 22) Jason was perceived by Red as the one who can ignite and turn something into a flaming pursuit for the true meaning of the gifts of life (Stovall 22). The patriarch’s efforts were not lost as Jason in the end, was reformed and shared the several gifts of life which he discovered and experienced. Lastly, Jason eventually realized that the ultimate gift is the gift of love and happiness which only the Creator can provide and which can only be achieved when shared with others.
Topic: happiness

Stovall’s “The Ultimate Gift” is a concrete manifestation that problems in life can be reasons or grounds for people to rejoice. In fact, life crisis can be taken as an opportunity or may actually be a gift only in disguise. This is what the story of Jason has manifested. The challenging realities enabled Jason to learn his lessons in life and eventually get his ultimate gift – a gift which is intangible and that even a one billion dollar worth of trust fund cannot encompass.
Topic: happiness

The decision of benefactor Red to set aside a special gift for Jason, which the latter can only achieve upon completion of a challenge, was worthwhile. This is because Jason was not only faced with the realities of life but learned life lessons as well and finally got the ultimate gift. Due to the patriarch’s wisdom and love, he did not make Jason an instant billionaire and instead brought out the best in him being the only remaining remnant of hope for the Stevens clan (Nuzzo).
Topic: happiness

During the journey, Jason encountered problems which challenged his beliefs. The obstacles, however, enabled Jason to grow and mature while at the same time discovered the true meaning and significant of a well-lived existence in this world. The readers may find the recorded messages and directives as too engineered. Fortunately for Red, the plan had its purpose while for Jason, it served as a worthwhile tool for his personal awakening and eventual realization of the sweetness of achieving the ultimate gift.
Topic: happiness

A critical analysis of the Stovall book explains the reason behind how the public is swept away in the personal journey of Jason. This is because the readers, like Jason, are directed towards the pursuit and achievement of life’s ultimate gifts. The book, through Jason’s journey, is like a manifestation of life realities, challenges, lessons where in the end lies or offers an irresistible gift. In fact, the Stovall novel did not present major surprises or some mysteries. This is because simple realities are usually the most reflective and at all times worth remembering (Nuzzo).
Topic: happiness

The tale unconsciously presented the existence of God and His gifts because it established the principle that life is the ultimate gift from the Creator. However, Stovall wrote the book in such a way that it did not manifest any form of spiritual doctrine or dogma. This is because the book’s realities, lessons and gifts are general in nature. Additionally, the core values and messages of life are relevant to persons of any spiritual affiliation and even to those with no religious association (Nuzzo).
Topic: happiness

It is natural for parents to become protective of their kids after all, it is their duty to see to it that their children are safe at all times. Children are not really that aware of how much danger exists outside, or even inside, their homes. Their lives revolve around school, family, and friends, and they rarely notice the real things that are happening around them. No one can blame these kids because they are at the stage where peer pressure and doing good in school matters most but this is the reason why parents closely monitor their children’s activities.
Topic: happiness

Criminals lurk in the shadows waiting for their next innocent victims, teenagers have that much angst that they go around on shooting sprees, and deadly diseases can be contracted anywhere. No parent would want to see their children suffer or go through such negative situations, which is why a lot of them are being too overly protective. These are not only the threats that parents worry about but they also think about the influence of media and technology in their children’s development, as well as the food and eating lifestyles that are suitable for their children.
Topic: happiness

However, being protective is entirely different from being too cautious to the point of depriving the children of simple things like chocolate chip cookies because the parent is afraid that the cookie contains too much fat and may be unhealthy for their kid. As the author stated, “you can’t go around afraid of everything. It’s too exhausting! No matter how careful you are, bad stuff happens. And it’s seldom the end of the world” (Spencer, 2007). Not only is being afraid of everything tiring but it also does not set a good example to the young people.
Topic: happiness

They would be led to believe that they should prioritize their fears instead of facing the world head on. They would not be able to experience their childhood because their parents are too afraid of letting them out of the house to ride a bike or to play with a friend. They would grow up missing out on the normal childhood activities and would become fearful of everything and everyone. Parents cannot protect their kids from everything. They should know the difference between wanting their child to be safe at all times and being overly protective.
Topic: happiness

They have to let their children live their own lives and see what happens because fearing the world takes too much effort and decreases the chances of making mistakes, hence, less lessons learned. Letting these kids be makes a difference in how they see and do things. They learn more when they have more freedom and not limited on the things that surrounds them. When kids do not experience life and the reality it can bring, they would not know how to improve themselves and grow as a person.
Topic: happiness

First of all, it is believed that one must suffer unhappiness to truly know and appreciate happiness. However, that concept is incompatible with a utopia, as the point of a utopia is to be without sadness, pain and suffering. In that respect, the World State is a utopia. Secondly, the concept of knowing unhappiness to know happiness is what we have in our society. Let me ask you: are you truly happy? Maybe you are, but what if I told you that that was not true happiness.
Topic: happiness

What if I told you everything you experienced and know about being happy was just an illusion? Could you comprehend such a thing? The citizens of the World State have lived their whole lives with Soma, promiscuous sex, feelies, and mini golf, that is all they know. To them, what they have is true happiness because they have never experienced anything else. They cannot even comprehend a greater happiness because all the necessary elements such as love, hate and accomplishment have been removed.
Topic: happiness

Happiness in the World State can be compared to Soma, as they get all the pleasures of the world without any side effects such as pain and sadness While they do not know the negatives of life to appreciate their happiness, they are still happy, to what they think is the highest degree. Thirdly, everyone in the World State is conditioned to have all the same wants. As a result of their conditioning, everyone is made to want all the same things, and in the World State, everyone gets what they want.