Originally Written: 04/09/2016
Transcribed and edited: 05/24/2020
Most, if not all of us have a stake in understanding happiness. I can say that I only gave it some thought as I was navigating my time in undergrad. This idea is actually one of the earliest journal entries I made to myself. I was going through a bit of moment because I failed to meet a series of goals I wanted to accomplish as I was leaving my university. Such as it was, I can say I was not exactly in a happy state of mind around the time this entry came into existence. Without further ado, I will introduce my concept of where happiness lies for people.
Visual Summary and Introduction
A series of assumptions are made in the formulation of this idea that you should be aware of. First, in this view, happiness has a hierarchical order to the various types of happiness determined by their strength and their relative difficulty to achieve. Someone can find themselves at different stages of happiness at any time during their lives. However, going down the pyramid often means that a higher step in the pyramid was lost or in inaccessible to the person at the time based on the idea that people are always out to maximize their happiness. The next sections will cover the pyramid from highest to lowest.
The Overarching Life Goal
This source of happiness comes from a self-directed mission in life. To those that spend much time reflecting on their values, ambitions, and philosophies; this source I still difficult to get. The hallmark of this source is that there is typically one or a small amount of overarching life themes for the person. In many cases, these will be religious, as the desire to serve a deity is an otherworldly endeavor and can be considered as pursuing something greater than humanity itself. However, the overarching life goal can also be secular as well. Examples of this kind of happiness are seen in religious sages, or those who pursue the highest devotion of their faith. This includes religious figures, clergy, and devout laypersons active in their congregation. On the secular side, the examples vary and may include idealist political figures, philanthropists, and medical professionals.
Religion
In earlier times in human history, this method of happiness wasn’t as hard to achieve as it is now. Currently, roughly 40% of the American population would consider themselves religious. Moreover, my observation is that many of the 40% would not be what I consider “true devotees”. They instead belong to two other classes of religious service attenders. The first group are those I would call insurance policy takers. They do the bare minimum for religious devotion. In Christianity, these would be people who attend church on Christmas and Easter. To this group, religion functions as a life insurance policy for the unknown of the afterlife. The second group are those who I call ritualists. These are typically those who attend religious services on a regular basis due to circumstances not necessarily in their control. In many cases, they are not completely devoted to their religion as well. For example, a child who is born to religious parents will often be a ritualist throughout their childhood. Adults may also be ritualists if they grew up religious or have a significant other who is religious. However, to obtain to happiness from religion, one should probably be a true devotee to it. As mentioned in the overarching life goal paragraph, serving an other-worldly entity can take the place of the overarching life goal. The devotion to it is what makes this derivation of happiness difficult to achieve. The markers of devotion to one’s religion include active volunteering for the service, active daily participation in religious practices, and an assurance in one’s beliefs in the principles of their chosen religion. In many cases, an observer can tell the genuine-ness of a person’s belief in religion through their speech, actions, and habits.
Occupation
For those who have no self-determined life goals, or have a devotion to a religion to derive their happiness, their occupation can serve as a place to derive happiness. In a country such as the United States where some of the philosophical foundations of the nation come from the protestant work ethic, work forms a very important component in our lives. We know this because in many places in the country, one of the first questions people ask when meeting someone new is “what do you do?” Well, if you’re good at what you do, or if you have a lot of pride in what you do, then you’ll be likely to find happiness in the every day work of what you do. I should mention that this derivation of happiness is more likely to occur among professions that require extensive training. I say this because, to an extent, the process of becoming a trained professional involves integrating the profession itself into your sense of self. To give a better picture, if you meet someone who is a cashier at a restaurant what they do they will likely say, “I work as a cashier at X restaurant.” If you ask the same question to an architect the response is likely to be, “I’m an architect at X firm.” Other professions that fall in this category include; doctors, engineers, athletes, lawyers, skilled tradesmen, teachers, etc.
Relational Intimacy
As we move down this pyramid, we find ourselves near the bottom. So, what is relational intimacy, and why is it so low on the pyramid? Relational intimacy is the term I use to describe your significant interpersonal relationships. This would include things such as parents, children, significant others, spouses, and close friends. The reason that it ranks so low is that most people are born to parents, most people fill have close friends that they can trust, and most people will get married at least once in their lifetime. With that being said, deriving happiness from it is not as hard as some people make it out to be. But what why would I rank this sense of happiness as a weaker one? I make the case that relationships come and go. If you derive your happiness from your family, they can also pass away unexpectedly. If you derive your happiness from your marriage, divorce rates for certain conditions can be up to 50% in the United States. If you derive your happiness from your close friends, there’s always the risk your relationship could end due to myriad of factors that either of you can face. Simply put, relationships can end anytime without warning, which is why it’s a weak source of happiness.
Materialistic Hedonism
At the bottom of this pyramid is materialistic hedonism. I think the Notorious B.I.G said this topic best, “money, hoes, and clothes.” I consider materialistic hedonism to be lowest derivation for happiness for the following reasons. First, it is the easiest to achieve compared to all the other in this list. An expensive item for purchase is easily achievable with a savings plan and a stable job. Second, all material items depreciate and deteriorate over time. The most immediate example of depreciating assets are cars, which usually lose thousands of dollars in value for simply being driven off the dealership. Third, accidents happen and belongings can be lost at any time without warning. For example, I remember the last time I was incredibly excited over a brand-new HTC One I purchased in 2016. I killed it in less than 2 months because it slipped out of my pocket while in the bathroom. Lastly, deriving your happiness from materialism implies that there’s no other substance left in your life. According to the pyramid, there are no relationships, occupation, religion, or personal life missions that anchor your happiness. This isn’t a good position to be in, generally speaking.
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