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Is happiness the natural condition for people?

posted 12 years ago by fast_fierce_and_funny
8 replies | jump to latest

Are people naturally happy if left on their own and it is the world surrounding them that makes them unhappy? Is unhappiness a condition that is imposed from the outside?

Or is happiness a condition that people have to create for themselves from the world? Is it a state of being that has to be striven for in spite of the world, something that people won't have unless they make a deliberate effort to extract it, somehow, from everyday existence?

Your thoughts?

[–] jonathan-m-stone 11 years ago

I hesitate to write it here, but there is a quote from Wittgenstein which I remember:

"I don't know why we are here, but I'm pretty sure that it is not in order to enjoy ourselves."

But he was a fairly grumpy bloke...

I have no idea where it comes from, but some people are naturally happier than others. There is a study which investigated happiness levels of people and it found that naturally happy people after a devastating event (paralysis etc) had a period of unhappiness, but then reverted (on the whole) to their previous state. Similarly for unhappy people after a wonderful event (lottery win etc).

That being said, I don't think it explored where the original happiness/sadness came from.

[–] SueBee55 11 years ago

I think that even in an ideal world with no wars and where nobody is cruel or unkind there would still be unhappy people. It's internal, if you have depression or bipolar disorder or another mental illness, it's invariably endogenous, i.e. not caused by external circumstances. Of course, poverty and ill treatment can cause unhappiness too but I firmly believe the majority of it comes from inside us.

[–] caressque 11 years ago

I'd say being content is our "natural" state. It's the state we all strive for, anyway.

[–] rooprect 10 years ago

Great question. I think happiness is the natural state of all living things in the absence of strife. Observe any animal who is not starving or afraid of predators and they seem "happy" (examples: dogs & cats & other domesticated animals who have no immediate threats to their survival).

Humans are no different, except that the "threats to our survival" are much more widespread. We're not limited to starvation and predators, but our threats now include our job security, the IRS, or even the general feeling that human society is screwed up. All these "environmental" factors make us uneasy and/or unhappy, and it's very hard, if not impossible, to escape them.

So I guess I'd go with your 1st thought: people are naturally happy, and it's the world surrounding them that makes them unhappy. I've noticed in myself & in others that when people are isolated from the human world (like living in a remote cabin or sailboat or whatnot) people are happy even though they may not have luxury. In other words, the bare essentials of survival are enough as long as the threats of the world are eliminated.

At a very instinctual level, I think all living organisms are "happy" just to be alive. The opposite being: almost all organisms are "unhappy" at the thought of NOT being alive (death).

[–] jessiecpt 9 years ago

Maybe THIS is why I want to get getting further and further off the grid. I was living in Westchester County which is a suburb of NYC and moved to Orange County. Then I wanted to get even more remote so I moved to West Michigan. Now I am feeling like even this has too many people and busy-ness. I don't want ANY neighbors and I don't want to live near any city. I recently visited the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and it was so remote. No grocery stores for an hour and a half. Barely passable roads, ghost towns of abandoned copper mills. It was my idea of heaven. We can buy a house on Lake MI or Lake Superior for dirt cheap and we plan on doing it in two years when my daughter graduates. I can't wait. I really find being around anything but nature to be stifling to me, more and more. It doesn't disturb me though. Nature makes me happy. People don't. No biggie.

[–] BugisStreetAnnie 9 years ago

I recently visited the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and it was so remote. No grocery stores for an hour and a half. Barely passable roads, ghost towns of abandoned copper mills. It was my idea of heaven.

That's interesting, even though I've never been there I was pen friends with someone who lives in Calumet, Michigan (Upper Peninsula) for a number of years. This person never really said too much about the area though. It seems a little too isolated for me.

"He had Four-on-the-Floor and I was ready to Clutch"🌈

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] sonoftom 9 years ago

Well any emotion that you feel would have to be natural or you wouldn't ever feel it. Same with sadness,anger,jealousy,joy,kindness,rage both negative and positive emotions are natural

I am the son of a man named Tom.