Happiness: Difference between revisions

From Milliongenerations
Jump to navigation Jump to search
(→‎Institutions: link to introduction on world database of happiness, avoid copyright issues in description on J Happiness Studies)
Line 28: Line 28:


=== Institutions ===
=== Institutions ===
* [http://worlddatabaseofhappiness.eur.nl/ World Database of Happiness] - database of research on happiness / life satisfaction
* [http://worlddatabaseofhappiness.eur.nl/ World Database of Happiness] - database of research on happiness / life satisfaction (click on "Philosophy" for an introduction: ''"Happiness is a highly valued matter. Most people agree..."'')
* [http://www.isqols.org/ International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies]
* [http://www.isqols.org/ International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies]
* [http://ipip.ori.org Lewis Goldberg - International Personality Item Pool] A website on personality assessment, in particular on measuring the Big 5
* [http://ipip.ori.org Lewis Goldberg - International Personality Item Pool] A website on personality assessment, in particular on measuring the Big 5
* [http://www.intentionalhappiness.com Robert Biswas-Diener - Intentional Happiness] A website on positive psychology coaching
* [http://www.intentionalhappiness.com Robert Biswas-Diener - Intentional Happiness] A website on positive psychology coaching
* [http://www.springer.com/social+sciences/well-being/journal/10902 Journal of Happiness Studies] a peer reviewed journal providing "an Interdisciplinary Forum on Subjective Well-Being" - Coverage includes both cognitive evaluations of life such as life-satisfaction, and affective enjoyment of life, such as mood level. In addition to contributions on appraisal of life-as-a-whole, the journal accepts papers on such life domains as job-satisfaction, and such life-aspects as the perceived meaning of life. The Journal of Happiness Studies provides a forum for two main traditions in happiness research: 1) speculative reflection on the good life, and 2) empirical investigation of subjective well-being. Contributions span a broad range of disciplines: alpha-sciences, philosophy in particular; beta-sciences, especially health related quality-of-life research; and gamma-sciences, including not only psychology and sociology but also economics. The journal addresses the conceptualization, measurement, prevalence, explanation, evaluation, imagination and study of happiness. Table of Contents online: http://www.springerlink.com/content/1389-4978
* [http://www.springer.com/social+sciences/well-being/journal/10902 Journal of Happiness Studies] a peer reviewed journal providing ''"an Interdisciplinary Forum on Subjective Well-Being" - "Coverage includes both cognitive evaluations of life such as life-satisfaction, and affective enjoyment of life, such as mood level"''. Table of Contents online: http://www.springerlink.com/content/1389-4978

Revision as of 22:55, 3 July 2010

How can there be most happiness?

Happiness, usually interpreted as subjective well being / emotional well being or alternatively life satisfaction/ life evaluation, is an elaborate subject with many aspects, a long history and is the subject of much research and publications (see below). A lot of the researchers are organized in the International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies. The long standing debate about the influence of wealth on happiness seems to depend on the definition: according to a recent study relative wealth affects life evaluation, but has little effect on emotional well being. Aggregate happiness can probably rise in proportion to the number of people and the time they live (probably not linearly), while the relative status in the society would scale much less so. Status, however, would be expected to be selected for in competitive reproduction while happiness in excess might be selected against, as it could reduce motivation to secure conditions on life, which makes us likely to have an inherent motivation to seek status and less easily to feel happy.


Existence of individuals who can experience is a necessary precondition for happiness.

Creating conditions for as many individuals as possible to exist on earth therefore goes a long way towards maximizing happiness. That does not yet require to make assumptions on how each individual achieves happiness. It would seem to be a motive shared across different cultures and beliefs.

Happiness has value. My own and others' happiness. Let us value happiness and try to create the most of it. The amount of happiness increases as long as there are self-aware beings alive. Let us help to find ways for civilizations to continue. The better these civilizations are at helping the individuals be happy and the less distress they cause, the better of course. To determine that, however, requires assumptions on how such civilizations function or how they should be organized, which even in the present is a rather contested subject with many aspects. No matter how civilizations function, to contribute to creating the most happiness, they must allow life to continue. Therefore the focus of milliongenerations.org is on the ability of continuation, by looking what follows from the assumption that there is at least one civilization on planet earth in a billion years that evolved from currently existing human civilization(s).

Links

References / Researchers / Authors

Institutions