Dear Readers,
Welcome to another edition of Happiness & the Meaning of Life. You can catch up on previous volumes here: Being and Becoming, Saying ‘Yes’ to Life, and How to Flourish—Like Aristotle.
As a reminder, we are starting a new book this week for Reading & the Good Life; if you’re available on a Friday (at Noon EST), feel free to join us!
Be wise and be well,
J.W.
Happiness & the Meaning of Life
Happiness & the Meaning of Life is a philosophical study of the art (and science) of living well. The course explores the writing and philosophy of Aristotle, Seneca, the Buddha, Epicurus, William James, and many others. Expect to learn perennial lessons (and practices) to help you flourish in the modern day.
“It is impossible to live the pleasant life without also living sensibly, nobly, and justly, and it is impossible to live sensibly, nobly, and justly without living pleasantly.”
— Epicurus, Principle Doctrines
What should I do, how should I live, and whom should I become? Many of us ask such questions, and modern life being what it is, we don’t have to go far to find answers. Wisdom is now so cheap and abundant that it floods over us.
These are the opening lines of the book The Happiness Hypothesis by the writer and psychologist Jonathan Haidt. It is a book about ancient ideas and modern research on well-being.
According to Haidt (and several others), one of the essential ideas in positive psychology (a field we will discuss later) is the happiness formula (H=S+C+V). The level of happiness that you actually experience (H) is determined by your biological set point (S) plus the conditions of your life (C) plus voluntary activities (V). The field of positive psychology uses the scientific method to determine exactly what conditions and voluntary activities can bring your happiness up to the top of your potential range.
As it turns out, figures like the Buddha and Epictetus stressed the importance of focusing our efforts on what is up to us (voluntary activities) over two thousand years ago. The Buddha prescribed the ‘eightfold noble path’ (including meditation and mindfulness), and the Stoic philosopher Epictetus urged practices to cultivate indifference (apatheia) to externals.
Today’s meditation briefly introduces conditions and voluntary activities proven to increase well-being.
A Theory of Well-Being (PERMA)
When Dr. Martin Seligman was president of the American Psychological Association in 1998, one of his presidential initiatives was building a field called Positive Psychology. Traditionally, says Seligman, a significant focus of psychology has been to relieve human suffering. Since World War II, great strides have been made in the understanding and treatment of mental health disorders. Relieving suffering, however, is not the same as flourishing. The skills that build flourishing are different from the skills that alleviate suffering. Removing the disabling conditions is not the same as creating the enabling conditions that make life most worth living.
In his book Flourishing: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being, Dr. Seligman’s theory of well-being outlines five building blocks that enable flourishing – Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment (hence PERMA). However, Seligman explains there are many different routes to a flourishing life. People will derive well-being from each of these five building blocks to varying degrees. A good life for one person is not necessarily a good life for another.
Positive Emotion
This route to well-being is hedonic–increasing positive emotion. Within limits, we can increase our positive emotions about the past (e.g., by cultivating gratitude and forgiveness), our positive emotions about the present (e.g., by savoring physical pleasures and mindfulness), and our positive emotions about the future (e.g., by building hope and optimism). Unlike other well-being practices, this route is limited by how much an individual can experience positive emotions. In other words, the experience of positive emotion is partly heritable, and each individual’s emotions tend to fluctuate within a range.
Engagement
Seligman writes that engagement is an experience in which someone fully deploys their skills, strengths, and attention for a challenging task. Likewise, according to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, this produces an experience called “flow” that is so gratifying that people are willing to do it for its own sake rather than for what they will get out of it. The activity is its own reward.
Relationships
Relationships are fundamental to well-being. The experiences that contribute to well-being are often amplified through our relationships. Connections to others can give life purpose and meaning. Seneca put it this way in a letter to Lucilius, “No one can live happily who has regard to himself alone and transforms everything into a question of his own utility; you must live for your neighbor if you would live for yourself.” Research backs up Seneca’s words of advice – doing acts of kindness for others increases well-being.
Meaning
A sense of meaning and purpose can be derived from belonging to and serving something bigger than yourself. Various societal institutions, such as family, religion, science, politics, work organizations, justice, the community, and social causes, enable a sense of meaning. Similarly, Haidt explains that happiness is not something that you can find, acquire, or achieve directly. You have to get the conditions right.
Just as plants need sun, water, and good soil to thrive, people need love, work, and a connection to something larger. It is worth striving to build the right relationships between yourself and others, between yourself and your work, and between yourself and something larger than yourself. If you do, a sense of purpose and meaning will emerge.
Accomplishment
People pursue achievement, competence, success, and mastery for their own sake in various domains, including the workplace, sports, games, and hobbies. People pursue accomplishment even when it does not necessarily lead to positive emotion, meaning, or relationships. Like each of the five building blocks, they are sought for their own sake, not as a means to an end.
Final Thoughts
What does a life of greater well-being look like for you?
How can you start thinking about meaning and happiness, not as destinations but as directions?
