Human Beings and Happiness Essay - 1540 Words

Happiness is a major concern for human beings, and it comes as no surprise that history has yielded many explorations as to what happiness is, and how it can be achieved. These explorations of happiness can be traced back to the philosophical inquiries of classical times, to today’s psychological studies on happiness. While happiness itself is generally difficult to precisely define, the operational definition of happiness relates to what is known as subjective well-being (SWB). In psychological studies, it has been determined that individuals are best suited to assess their own happiness, hence the primacy of SWB. This is in contrast with previous notions of happiness that tie happiness to virtue or any other objective notion of†¦show more content†¦The identification of SWB also meant the identification of the factors that lead to happiness, namely wealth, social relationships, religion and personality, although more factors do exist as more research is done on happ iness. In the interest of this paper, wealth is the factor that is to be explored in terms of its relationship to happiness. Richard Easterlin, in his work â€Å"Does Money Buy Happiness† investigated the relationship between wealth and happiness. There is the common conception that money cannot buy happiness, but Easterlin’s research reveals a strong correlation between happiness and wealth. Utilizing surveys done across the world, Easterlin was able to conclude that an increase in wealth correlates to an increase in happiness: â€Å"This positive relation between happiness and income appears in every single one of the 30 national population surveys studied.† Specifically, Easterlin cites the December 1970 survey of the population, which revealed that those of low income, meaning $3000 or less annual income, only yielded a fourth saying that their SWB is very happy. In contrast, more than twice of the percentage gave the same response for those who have incomes of $15000 or more. This pattern is repeated in other surveys around the world. It does not matter whether the countries are C ommunist or not, or if the countries areShow MoreRelatedThe Well Being Aristotle And Human Happiness1000 Words   |  4 PagesOur Well-Being: Aristotle and Human Happiness What is the purpose of a human being? â€Å"Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence† (Nicomachean Ethics). When one thinks about happiness, these words said by Aristotle allow us to understand its significance. Through Aristotle’s teachings, he made it clear that the point of life is to be happy. Aristotle uses the word happiness as having to do with a person’s life as a whole, and not as the constant desireRead MoreAquinas View On Happiness1271 Words   |  6 PagesAquinas makes numerous claims regarding happiness. Specifically, Aquinas uses the term â€Å"happiness† in a sense of objective fulfillment, rather than subjective well-being. 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