Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Notes on happiness

1.    Happiness is the enjoyment of pleasant sensation objects of wants, needs, or desires bring.
2.    Resources are usually needed to secure objects of wants, needs, or desires.
2.1  There are, of course, pleasurable things that could be secured almost effortlessly and without spending any form of currency. Some of such things are memories of good things or happy thoughts.
3.    Some resources, at times, need to be sacrificed to secure happiness or sustain the enjoyment of objects of wants, needs, or desires.
4.    Could we possibly feel pleasure and be not happy at the same time?
4.1  For me, smoking is pleasureable, but if I'll do it it again, I'm sure that my guilt shall be so overwhelming that I'd hate myself for doing it again. I'd find smoking pleasurable and hateful at the same time. But since the latter is more powerful, I can't, on the whole, be happy despite the pleasure smoking will bring.
4.21 I think, it's not wrong to say that happiness is an instance of enjoyment of pleasure.
4.22 Pleasure is a desirable sensation brought about by one's contact with a certain object.
4.23 But then again, I can't enjoy the supposed pleasure massage brings if I'll have one inside a lion's cage.
5.   Not all things that make us happy are things that we seek. We may not have previous consciousness of the pleasure certain unknown things can bring. Such things could be new discoveries, friendly strangers, exotic food, etc.
6.   Happiness, as a context-free idea, is neutral.
6.1 But happiness derived from hurting animals or humans is both reprehensible and morally unacceptable.
7.   Sources of pleasure and happiness, if enjoyed excessively, could become toxic like alcoholic beverages.
7.1 If you doubt this point, try spending every second of your life with your girlfriend or boyfriend or with any loved one. 
7.2 So, even if blogging makes you happy, it's unwise to spend your entire waking moment blogging. There, too, are other important things that one must do aside from writing his/her thoughts on the Internet.

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