Perpetuating Happiness
In continuation of our discussion on humanity’s goals, we will spend a lot of time on the subject of happiness. Why? Because much of what humanity pursues, and should continue to pursue, boils down to seeking happiness.
However, I think it is important to first extract what the essence of happiness is, how we can obtain it, and why/if it is a worthy goal. That is the focus of this article.
The Nature of Happiness
Look, I am clearly not as wise as the Dalai Lama, but let me start by giving you my two cents on what I believe, and do not believe, to be the essence of happiness.
First, I believe happiness to be long-lasting by nature. By this, I mean that is a state of mind that can abide for long periods of time because it is not dependent on external situations which constantly fluctuate. We cannot control the outside world, and it is futile to think that we can. Through training, however, we can alter our state of mind.
Some of the long-lasting attributes of this state of mind include peace, joy, contentment, and fulfillment. It can also entail a sense of gratitude, being optimistic, finding beauty in the world, and reaching one’s potential.
In contrast, there are many things that are fleeting in nature that many people wrongly associate with happiness. These can include lust, gluttony, ease, greed, and pleasure. It is not to say that these things aren’t enjoyable, but they are not long-lasting in nature and often come at the expense of others or our own mental fortitude.
It should also be noted that happiness is not simply the lack of pain or sorrow. I do not believe that we humans, in our current biological forms, can experience happiness without some level of sorrow. It’s the fish in water problem: Does a fish really know what water is like or even realize that it lives in water? Put simply, you can’t know the sweet without the bitter. There is opposition in all things.
So, when turning my mind to the future and what a fantastic version of it would entail, I imagine both happiness and pain. Learning not to touch a hot pan is a painful process. Gaining knowledge is a painful process. Relationships are a painful process. That being said, I also imagine a world with decreasing suffering, especially avoidable or unnecessary suffering. Clearly the pain caused by hunger, avoidable accidents, and the abuse of others should slowly dissipate from humanity.
But if we say that happiness is one of our top goals, right up there with survival, then shouldn’t we use all technical means to make ourselves constantly happy? For example, a direct injection of dopamine at regular intervals or maybe reprogramming the brain itself into making us think we are happy all the time?
I had mentioned that humans are currently incapable of feeling happiness without having some level of pain in life. Something to give contrast, something to make us know what happiness even is. But if we could figure out how to make ourselves genuinely, constantly happy, without ever needing to suffer, then maybe that is a good thing. I don’t know, but it is an interesting philosophical debate, and given the pace of technological advancement both in medicine and brain computer interfaces, we are not too far off from needing to make a decision here.
What Makes Us Happy?
Since we are not at that point yet, there are a few fundamental things that drive happiness for humans. These include prosperity, health, sustainability, freedom, equality/altruism, and exploration/progression (view this article to see my reasons for each of these). Over the next few months, I will be writing more articles on each of these subjects, diving deep into why it should be a goal of ours and how it will bring us happiness.
It is also worth noting why I put “perpetuating” in the title of the document. The reason is that maximizing happiness isn’t enough if it comes at the expense of others or is only had by the privileged few. It is about causing happiness to perpetuate society, bringing the greatest amount of good to the greatest amount of people. Hence, equality and altruism are on the above list.
Exploration also fits in this piece about perpetuating. As we spread throughout the solar system and galaxy, we will be able to perpetuate the number of conscious beings who can also experience happiness. And as long as we do this in a sustainable way, being mindful of our resources, this is a beautiful and worthy task.
Is Happiness a Worthy Goal?
I think it is worth asking whether happiness is a worthy goal. More specifically, whether happiness is the most worthy goal, right up there with survival. For many, the answer is a resounding yes, but at first glance there seems to be many examples that negate this that are worth examing.
What it really boils down to is what we humans value. Value is a very broad and interesting topic as it covers morals, ethics, religion, and social psychology. Each culture has its own set of values that have been shaped by collective stories, experiences, and environmental pressures. These values are formed into a value system and ideologies are ranked against each other in terms of importance.
The movie “Equals” is a perfect, though dystopian, example of what I am trying to get at. In their society, happiness is not valued. In fact, it is discouraged, along with all other forms of emotion. Space exploration, however, is highly valued and is the focus of most of their lives.
I have never seen it to the extreme where happiness is discouraged, but let’s examine two examples of humans valuing other ideologies above happiness, and then we will discuss:
- Looking to the past, many people valued sacrifice for others above all else. Whether it was one sacrificing themself for their country or a mother working tirelessly so that her child could live a better life, people have often valued others over themselves.
- We also see many cultures, past and present, where honor is valued above all else. For example, bringing honor to a family name or “saving face” is deemed more important than one’s own happiness.
For the first example, I believe this boils down to survival and happiness in a roundabout way. These are actions done out of love for others, only looking to increase the other person’s survival and happiness. When done out of love, increasing the happiness of others also makes us happy. It is regrettable that people are put in these circumstances to begin with, and these sorts of situations should dissipate from society, but it is clear that they are still optimizing for survival and happiness, even if it is not their own.
Upon further examination, the second example also seems to come down to survival and happiness. In some cultures, having a “good” family name opens up opportunities. These include better education, networking, jobs, and even spouses (ie being able to pass down your genes). Thus, in a roundabout way, the cultural pressure of family honor and saving face is also about survival and happiness. In an abundant society that gives opportunity equally though, this might start to dissipate.
Thus, it seems to me that much of human history has been spent focusing on survival to the point that individual happiness has not been at the forefront of peoples’ minds until the last hundred or so years. Being very lucky to be born into the circumstances I have, I have never worried about my own survival and have only been focused on optimizing the happiness of myself and others. As society gets more prosperous and equitable with time, individual survival will hardly cross anyone’s mind. Once that baseline is covered, all people can focus on happiness, both on an individual and societal level.
With enough time, however, we will reach the point where even happiness does not cross peoples’ minds. There will be such an abundance of it that it is not worried about or optimized much more. Once we reach that point, what is our next goal? Is there any value greater than happiness? Or maybe once happiness has been fulfilled, we will find other worthy goals beyond our own happiness? I guess we will find out when we get to that point.
Conclusion
Happiness, along with survival, should be one of humanity’s top goals. Throughout human history, we have searched for these things and are only now starting to obtain them in full, though we still have a lot of work to do. And who knows, maybe once happiness is taken care we will find greater goals and purpose in the Universe that we are not currently able to comprehend.
