These days progress and
development are measured in terms of Gross National Product (GNP).
But, when this increases, the level of happiness stays the same.
Note that people in extreme poverty get happier as they get richer
but only up to the level where basic needs are met. Wealth above that
level does not bring more happiness. This is known as the Happiness
Paradox. Many hardnosed books have been written on the topic in the
last 20 years. Of these I have read and greatly enjoyed:
- Abraham Maslow (1962) “Towards a psychology of being”
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (1992, 2002) “Flow - the classic work on how to achieve happiness”.
- Martin Seligman (2001) Flourish – a new understanding of happiness and well-being – and how to achieve them”.
- Jonathan Haidt (2006) “The Happiness Hypothesis – putting ancient wisdom and philosophy to the test of modern science”.
- Daniel Kahneman (2011) “Thinking, Fast and Slow”.
- Richard Layard (2005, 2011) “Happiness – Lessons from a new science”.
- Leo Bormans (Ed) (2012) “The World Book of Happiness”.
- Thaler, Richard H; Sunstein, Cass R (2012). Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness”.
Maslow identified a
hierarchy of needs ranging from the basics of food, clothing and
shelter, through belongingness and security, and onwards to peak
experiences and self actualisation.
Seligman noted that
traditional psychology aimed to help its clients move from subnormal
to normal. He thus invented positive psychology which aims to help
its clients move from normal to supernormal. He wrote an influential
book about how to flourish and promote well being. It is a
multidimensional process that is best approached on a
multidisciplinary basis
The feeling of
happiness has its biochemical and electrical correlates. Large
gaggles of Neurologists are working on the details. The good news is
neuroplasticity – by taking thought we can change our brains.
Human beings are social
animals. We evolved to belong to a family, group, nation state,
planet. Happiness is other people – at work, rest and play.
Existing circumstances might not be all that good and there might be
need for changes; cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) now has oodles
of tricks up its sleeves that can help out.
But we should not bite
off more than we can chew. The serenity prayer offers a rule of
thumb:
O God,
give us the serenity to accept what cannot be changed,
The
courage to change what can be changed,
and the
wisdom to know the one from the other
Note for the hardnosed:
the poetic notion of “O God, give us ...” suggests an
anthropomorphic and metaphorical view of agency. A less poetic
rendering of the notion would be, “May the unconscious churn in my
mindbrain, with support from CBT (and/or mindfulness meditation)
(and/or psychotropic medication), generate ...”.
There are two types of
changes - in mind (internal) and in material circumstances
(external). The latter include socio-cultural aspects of politics and
economics including religion and the environment. And they scale
along a continuum ranging from self, through family, community,
nation and globe.
There is now an
emerging alternative to the simplistic GNP. It is called Gross
National Happiness (GNH) and is the basis of national planning in
Bhutan and Nepal. It is also a topic of increasingly serious academic
concern. For example the New Economics Foundation (NEF) has been
developing a Measure of Domestic Progress (MDP).
Richard Layard's 2011
book (see above) covers most of the issues and was part inspiration
for the website www.actionforhappiness.org
which contains a lot of useful materials.
My subjective take on
the topic is that happiness is a means to the end of achieving peace
of mind which manifests as unattachment and serenity. A more
holistic,intellectual and multidisciplinary approach will help with
this but the real engine is direct experience of being non-egoic and
mindful - of flowing and flourishing
Hurry for happiness.
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