Happiness: Narratives From Dana and Chris
The discussion in this paper provides two perspectives on the topic of happiness. Two interviews were conducted on two women, Dana, 33 years old, and Chris, 30 years old. The close proximity of their ages was deliberate, as the author-interviewer would like to have a good comparison of how the two women in their early 30s think about happiness in general, and based on what they have experienced in life. Dana and Chris have contrasting personalities, the former being more serious and contemplate and the latter, as cheerful and tends to be funny around people. The discussions that follow provide a summary of the interviews conducted, sharing their views about happiness.
Happiness according to Dana
Dana is a 33-year-old nurse who is actively involved in community development work. Dana is a friend of the author-interviewer's brother, and gladly allowed permission to have an interview with her about…...
mlaReferences
Easterlin, R. (2003). "Explaining happiness." National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 100, No. 19.
Veenhoven, R. (1991). "Is happiness relative?" Social Indicators Research, Vol. 24.
Kahneman & Schwarz (2009) confirm that the link between advanced income and happiness is fantasy. The two researchers further ascertained that inheriting a lot of money or earning as anticipated does not make one happy. This is because once one is in possession of huge sum of money; one does not necessarily spend it to make him/her happy.
The third hypothesis point out that education and income increases the level of happiness in a person's life. Studies carried between 1965 and 1994 confirmed that education and income level are causes and correlates of happiness. Education and occupation correlate with subjective well-being.
Methods
The research method for quantitative approach will be based on questions and hypotheses that are subject to rigorous testing under controlled conditions. This paradigm is strappingly linked with a quantitative research instrument, which include the highly structured questionnaires and statistical analysis. Quantitative research assists the researcher in affirming the number…...
mlaReference List
Bruni, L., & Porta, P. (2007). Handbook on the economics of happiness. Texas: Edward Elgar
Publishing.
Cooper, D. R & Schindler, P.S. 2006, Business research methods. London: McGraw-Hill
Cornelis, J. (2010). Happiness, economics and public policy: A Critique. Journal Happiness
Happiness is perhaps the most illusive, but most sought after mental state in life. Like all human experiences, happiness is also a very subjective state; different things make different people happy. This is why it is so difficult to say what happiness is, and why there has been so much disagreement among philosophers, who have nonetheless not been deterred from attempting to describe this elusive emotion. oth Plato and Aristotle have attempted to describe happiness in exact terms. They have broken down into steps the way to true happiness, and described the nature of happiness as they viewed it. It should be kept in mind however that, as mentioned above, any human emotion is highly subjective. Plato and Aristotle were just two men, and they lived centuries in the past. Doubtlessly their judgement would have been influenced by the time and society in which they lived. To demonstrate this, Plato…...
mlaBibliography
Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics. Trans. J.A.K. Thomson. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1965.
Plato. The Republic. Trans. A.D. Lindsay. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1954.
Happiness
Interviews on Happiness
Happiness is a complex topic, with often divergent meanings for different people. This paper explores how two people of vastly different backgrounds view and define happiness. One of the interviewees is a female colleague who works as a nurse for a medical surgical unit; the other is my mother, a 72-year-old mother of three who has been married for 45 years. Although the interviews were slightly different for the two, each contained several basic questions relating to happiness, including what happiness means to them now, when they were most and least happy, what happiness meant to them as a child, and the possibility of whether their definition of happiness might change in the future.
Both interviews began with the difficult question of what happiness means to each of the individuals now. It was difficult to interview my mother since while I am fairly certain that she is happy, I…...
Nature tells us the biologically we are seeking that endorphin rush from these particular acts, and others. But happiness is more than pleasure, is it not? Perhaps what we call happiness is a learned behavior; a nurturing condition brought about by cultural and observational learning from the social orders. You will be happy if you get the right job, the right mate, the right house and car. It is possible that we follow these guidelines but as individuals we often discover that these can be things that do not really make us happy, in fact they may eventually have the opposite effect.
Follow your bliss involves an innate knowledge that can go beyond the stereotypes of society and go towards the archetypes of Jung's collective unconsciousness. Some can experience this directly, some have to go through the stages that society presents in order to get back to their inner vision…...
Happiness Hypothesis
I approached Jonathan Haidt's book The Happiness Hypothesis with the same sort of hubris that I tend to exhibit when someone asks me if I like a work of art. I am quite confident that I can point to art that I like, while being less consistently able to tell why I like or don't like a work of art. Similarly, I have been quite confident of my ability to describe what appears to make me happy and, further, I believe that I have rather unerringly sought what seems to make me happy. But a reading of Haidt's book made the ground shift under my life tenets much the same as wet beach sand gives way -- where standing still for any length of time, I find that little pools of water have mysteriously appeared under my toes and heels. Where did the solid footing of the hard wet…...
Happiness -- its true value and the right means of achieving it -- has been pondered by many people including Plato and Socrates, Stoics, church fathers and Aristotelians. Philosophers have had different arguments including that happiness is a matter of: faith, passion, reason, pleasure and/or contentment, mind and/or body. Some of them have also argued that happiness is a way of being or feeling.
ho is happy?
ho are the people who are happy? Does being happy depend on one's age, race or sex? Does wealth contribute to happiness? Does happiness come from a particular trait or job, friends, age or income-level? ith a spiritual dimension? ith an active faith or with close supportive relationships? (Myers, 56)
Happy people are usually those who feel that they are in control of their lives. Those with little or no control over their lives such as citizens of undemocratic countries, very poor people, nursing home patients…...
mlaWorks cited
Luscombe, B. Do We Need $75,000 a Year to Be Happy? (Sep. 06, 2010)
Myers, D.G. The Funds, Friends, and Faith of Happy People, American Psychological Association, Vol 55, No. 1, (2000); 56-67. DOI: 10.1037//0003-066X.55,1.56
WALLIS, C. The New Science of happiness, Time Magazine, (2005).
" This could not even be termed a desire to do good, as then it would be fulfilling someone's desire to do a good deed, and would therefore have a selfish motive. Kant is one of the very few that attempted to divorce happiness from morality; even though lying to the mass murderer would save many lives, Kant believed that lying was wrong, and therefore one could not lie even in such a situation and remain moral. Unhappy or dead, yes, but definitely not moral.
Both men attempt to justify their ethical systems, not surprisingly, with completey contradictory suppositions. Kant supposes that there is such a thing as universal morality, which can be recognized by all and therefore adhered to in all situations. Mill believed that no such universal morality existed, but rather that society was based on a general consensus of treating everyone with mutual respect and liberty, creating a…...
According to utilitarian ethical theory, a lie would be very moral indeed if it increased someone's happiness without creating detriment to anyone -- telling a child that their unintelligible crayon markings is a great picture of a house, for instance, boosts their self-esteem and helps them to feel loved, and no one in the art world suffers for this white lie.
Utilitarianism also provides a solution to conflicting duties that Kant's theory not only ignores, but actually renders impossible. Given a choice between stealing or starving, Kant's theory would state that the only moral choice would be to starve, as stealing is always an immoral act. According to utilitarianism, however, as long as the person being stolen from would not starve from the loss, the act of not stealing would actually be immoral; the consequences of the theft would be to stop someone from starving, whereas the consequences of not…...
Happiness Means to Others
Happiness seems on the surface like an easy thing to explain and describe. Certainly there are things that make everyone happy, like the return of a loved one from a prolonged absence, or winning a prize that includes substantial amounts of money and other things of value. But there are major differences in how people from different cultures and different geographic locations view happiness.
The first person interviewed for this assignment is Phillip. He is a retired police officer who has moved to this community to enjoy retirement. He lives nearby but we are not close friends at all; we wave at each other when we pass by mornings and evenings. e're neighbors and we respect each other but that's as deep as the relationship goes.
Interview with Phil, a neighbor across the street
Question: "Phil I'm doing a survey on how people view the concept of happiness. hat…...
mlaWorks Cited
Janaro, R.P., and Altshuler, T.C. (2012). The art of being human: The humanities as a technique for living. (Kaplan University 3rd custom ed.). New York: Pearson Education.
org 2010). Such direct contact is definitely preferable to the distribution of anti-union literature; the ability an willingness to actually discuss issues with employees rather than simply providing them with printed statements that cannot be engaged in a dialogue shows an empathy and a desire to address issues that pamphlets and fliers cannot put forth (ABC.org 2010). Such actions would also undermine the solidarity of labor, causing larger problems for management (Jain 1979). Using these conversations to counter exaggerated claims made by the union, and even more importantly to make it clear why certain changes are necessary, and why certain other desires of the employees cannot be reasonably met, will increase the likelihood that an agreement between labor and management can be reached without the need for unionization and union representation in the relationship at Happy Trails (ABC.org 2010).
In conclusion, it is recommended that management and supervisors all be adequately…...
mlaReferences
ABC.org. (2010). "Tips for responding to union organization." Associated builders and contractors, inc. Accessed 9 June 2010. http://www.msabc.net/free%20choice%20act/EFCA_Toolkit/02_Talk%20to%20Your%20Employees/07_Tips%20for%20Responding%20to%20Union%20Organizing.pdf
Jain, H. (1979). "Union and Management Response to Quality of Working Life Projects." Management research news 2(2), pp. 16-7.
This is a service industry, so anything that can be done to provide better service is valuable. The shop will basically be able to see the customer's entire history when the customer calls in, and this allows for quick reference and being able to really be attentive to the customer's needs. In addition, the scheduling feature will help the shop become more efficient and generate more revenue as well. Further, new customer contacts can be stored in the database, and immediately the marketing program can be initiated.
Risks
Cost is a big risk. CRM programs are often not cheap. If the company doesn't use it aggressively to both increase efficiency and increase marketing efforts, then there is definitely the risk that the software will not pay for itself. Otherwise, there are really not that many risks. Security and privacy are minor risks, but the system is typically password protected and basic…...
Happy Employees
Please answer the questions about making employees number one. How prevalent do you find this to be?
This is an important strategy that is utilized by employers to retain and attract the best talent. Evidence of this can be seen with data from a study conducted by World at Work. They are an independent pollster which examines total rewards programs. What they found is that 86% of firms were using some kind employee benefits initiative to motive everyone. In most cases, they average employer had between four and six of these programs. (Schrader, 2004) ("Trends in Employee ecognition," 2012)
How prevalent do you find this to be?
This is very prevalent among employers. The reason why is because they are experiencing a shortage of skilled employees in different areas. The only way that they can keep them is to offer some kind of benefits package that will address their basic needs and…...
mlaReferences
Trends in Employee Recognition. (2012). World at Work. Retrieved from:
http://www.worldatwork.org/waw/adimLink?id=51194
Schrader, M. (2004). An Overview of Recent Trends. Costal Business Journal. Retrieved from: http://www.coastal.edu/business/cbj/pdfs/articles/Schraeder-IncentivePay.pdf
First, because Vaillant was ultimately unable to answer his research question, Shenk's article reveals the complexity of psychological research and cautions future psychologists against looking for simplistic answers. Second, it highlights some parts of psychology that are considered woefully out-of-date, which serves as a caution that even the most cutting-edge theories may be found to lack support. Third, it describes a successful longitudinal study, in contrast to most psychological studies that focus on college-age students. The fourth reason the study should be included is simply because it is interesting; the study followed the lives of some men that went on to become the most powerful men of their day, and is the only psychological study to investigate men like that in-depth. The final reason the study should be included in the curriculum is that it serves as a great reminder that bias informs every part of how a researcher…...
mlaReferences
Shenk, J. (2009). What makes us happy? The Atlantic Online. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/print/200906/happiness
In contrast, the stoic philosopher Epictetus focused upon changing one's mindset to accept the ways of the world, rather than striving to change the world to achieve happiness. Epictetus' tone is far different than Plato's. Rather than focusing upon changing the structure of society, in his Enchiridion the Stoic philosopher instead focused upon bending the mind to accept whatever life may bring. Epictetus would no doubt say to Plato that creating an ideal society is virtually impossible to achieve in reality. Instead of the philosopher himself yearning after an ideal that cannot be created, it is far better to focus on how to live in the here and now.
One similarity which Epictetus shares with Plato is the fact that both are highly distrustful of common notions of happiness being equated with pleasure. Pleasure is seen as transient and ephemeral. Being happy cannot be equated with gaining material wealth or accomplishing…...
The disparity of wealth can be seen in just about every aspect of life, but is very obvious in healthcare, education, and where a person lives. People tend to get angry when they are the \"have-nots\" and they perceive other people as having much more than them. They often feel that those who have more are not deserving of what they have, or that they have not worked for it. It is easy to tie wealth disparity into the novel Pride and Prejudice because of the disparity between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth. During the time the book was set, it....
Negative Effects of Homework Essay Titles
While it is impossible to escape the similarities between the French Revolution and American Revolution and there is no question that the American Revolution helped inspire the French Revolution, there are a number of important differences between the French and American revolution.
Location was an important difference. America was a colony that was revolting against a ruling government that was separated from it by a large distance, while the French Revolution occurred in France and was aimed at the monarchy in that country.
Social class played a much more important role in the French Revolution than the American Revolution. ....
Romeo and Juliet is one of the best-known of all of Shakespeare’s plays. The tale of star-crossed lovers has made the names Romeo and Juliet synonymous with hopeless love stories, though their questionable decision-making and shallow view of love has prevented many from completely embracing their story as a romance. What is clear is that while the stories in the character all play lip service to the idea of family, community, and clan loyalties, they all act in their own self-interest in an effort to pursue their own happiness. Focusing on that would be a....
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