# happiness



## aigle491

what makes you happy???

What is happiness


----------



## Lamante

A full day of Paintball


----------



## basurero

Lamante said:
			
		

> A full day of Paintball


 
 I agree whole-heartedly.


----------



## Lems

Gee, Aigle! This is a good question!

I spent most of my rather unhappy teens looking for the answer to the question: what is happiness? I realize amateur philosophers may spend a whole life looking for it, too. When I was a young adult I was fortunate to have an insight that *happiness is made of good moments*, and synthesize: “Felicidade é uma maneira de viajar, não uma estação a que chegar”. In Brazilian Portuguese, my mother tongue, it forms a rhyme but in English it doesn’t: “Happiness is a way of traveling, not a station to arrive”.

Last Christmas I was very happy when my daughter, who lives in Boston, came home for a whole month with us. I’m happy when I play with my cute puppy. I’m happy when I give Sciences classes to students who are back to school after 10, 20 or 30 years, to complete their education. I’m happy when I play well a tennis match (by my standards), I’m happy right now writing this post, and so on, and so forth…

Thanks for the chance to write about it. Sorry for extending it this much…

Lems
____________________________________
"Blood flows down one leg and up the other." 
From an answer in a Science exam


----------



## Benjy

i think happiness is simply living according to principles you know to be right. everyone has a concience, whether they choose to listen to it or not is another question ;p all the guenuinely happy people i  have ever met are peaple that have always struck as the kind who are always ready to help you when you down. i suppose altruistic people might be a good way of saying, people who are just the opposite of selfish :s


----------



## DDT

Lamante said:
			
		

> A full day of Paintball



I adore paintball, but that's fun, not happiness to me!

I may be banal, but what really makes me happy is to share something with the ones I love...hard to say, that might be the fun of a leisure activity, the joy of good news, the beauty of a landscape or the pain of a difficult moment...I'm aware of the fact that we're basically alone on earth etc etc but I really cannot think of happiness on my own...to share is the essence of life (and of happiness itself) to me!

And I agree with Lems, "Happiness is a way of travelling, not a station to arrive", maybe that's a scale of values...

DDT


----------



## vachecow

DDT said:
			
		

> I adore paintball, but that's fun, not happiness to me!


I am happy when I see cows.....they seem so care free.......and DDT brings up a good point about the difference between fun and happiness


----------



## basurero

Happiness and fun go hand in hand - when you are having fun you are usually happy and when you are happy you are usually having fun.


----------



## vachecow

Yes, but I think that sometimes happiness can imply something different.....(and when I figure out how to explain it, I'll post again)


----------



## dave

For me, I think total happiness is when there is nothing you would rather be doing than what you are doing right now.


----------



## Artrella

dave said:
			
		

> For me, I think total happiness is when there is nothing you would rather be doing than what you are doing right now.






Yes,* the best definition*!!! Great Dave!!!! I like it!!!


----------



## amenrah0303

Happiness is relative... and for me happiness means being contented on what you have today, because if there is contentment then it would be easy to say that there is peace of mind that will lead to Happiness.


----------



## Lancel0t

Happiness is the result of an action or and event that has a very good impact on you.


----------



## Back2School

As Leo Tolstoy said "If you want to be happy, be!"

I think happiness is a by-product. For me little moments of life build up as happiness. 
-Watching moon from my bedroom window and slipping in slumber slowly after a hard day
-Watching a sunrise after a party out with friends over a saturday.
-Flowers
-Watching cricket with friends/family.
-When the car stops to let me cross a busy road.
-Watching someone helping a special child.
-Crying over a sleepless in seattle movie
-singing when i am cooking
etc etc..


----------



## abc

Who and what make me happy?

Loved ones, friends, books, coffee, food....

What is Happiness?

It's Hope's significant other.


----------



## vachecow

abc said:
			
		

> It's Hope's significant other.


Did you make that up?


----------



## aigle491

I think he did


----------



## Danielle

Happiness is very hard to describe, but here is my little interpretation:
The plane lands, you are walking towards the bagage claim area, and you see your friends waiting right there for you. At that moment the feeling (mine anyway) can be called happiness


----------



## Danielle

Lems said:
			
		

> [...]  “Happiness is a way of traveling, not a station to arrive” [...]


 
I am going to write this on the cover of my agenda, so I'm reminded each day  
Thanks, Lems it is a very good guideline!


----------



## abc

Vache, 

Aigle thinks I did, but I'm not sure I did.  I might have heard it from someone or read it from a book.


----------



## vachecow

I liked it.....I'll probably use it sometime!!


----------



## Cath.S.

Hello people, all your definitions are very good, which shows that you all experience happiness.
For me happiness is loving what I am doing, whatever it is. There is a saying in French
"Si tu ne peux pas avoir ce que tu aimes, aime ce que tu as"
(If you cannot get what you love, love what you've got).
Every time I act according to this philosophy, I am happy.
I am also happy whenever I learn something new. Nature also makes me especially happy, I can sit down by a river and watch water flowing and be very happy!


----------



## vachecow

I suppose that that is kind of like the old adage "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!"


----------



## Cath.S.

> I suppose that that is kind of like the old adage "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!"


Yes! I am so glad you gave me the English equivalent! You made my day (well, my night actually, since it is quite late here in France)
Thank you so much Vachecow!


----------



## vachecow

You're welcome....
You really are/were up late....
it would be interesting to know what other countries/languages have a saying like this....


----------



## Artrella

*Happiness is hearing a voice that says " I love you ", softly, gently, secretly   ...*


----------



## Back2School

“Don't worry. Be happy.”  
— Meher Baba, Indian spiritual leader (1894-1969), quote popularized in a song by Bobby McFerrin, 20th-century American songwriter and performer


----------



## Tormenta

vachecow121 said:
			
		

> You're welcome....
> You really are/were up late....
> it would be interesting to know what other countries/languages have a saying like this....



Of similar spirit:

" Cuando la vida te patea el trasero, solo te está empujando hacia adelante"


----------



## vachecow

He is happiest, be he king or peasant, who finds peace in his home  
           -Johann von Goethe


----------



## Avalon

i've read a passage once, can't remember if it's a famous person who said it, but i think this is very true:  happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have.


----------



## Artrella

*1*. Felicidad en general, es un estado de satisfacción debido a la propia situación en el mundo. 

Por esta relación de satisfacción, la noción de Felicidad se diferencia de la de Beatitud, que es el ideal de una satisfacción independiente de la relación del hombre con el mundo, y por lo tanto, restringida a la vida contemplativa o religiosa. El concepto de felicidad es humano y mundano. Nació en la antigua Grecia, cuando* Tales de Mileto*, afirmó que es sabio "quien tiene un cuerpo sano, fortuna y un alma bien educada", de lo cual desprendo que es feliz quien es sabio, en lo cual no estoy de acuerdo y puedo poner una multitud de ejemplos donde personas que tienen las cualidades que Tales señala, no son felices. 

*2*. Felicidad es la medida del placer y la proporción de la vida. O sea como el mantenerse alejado de todo defecto y de todo exceso. 

Esta definición de* Demócrito * no es satisfactoria y puede decirse lo mismo que de la de Tales. 

*3*. La Felicidad es el sistema de los placeres. Solo el placer es el bien porque solamente él es deseado por sí mismo y, por lo tanto, es el fin en sí. El fin es el placer particular, la Felicidad es el sistema de los placeres. 

Definición de *Aristipo* que, como veremos, tomaran posteriores filósofos. 

*Platón * negó que la Felicidad consistiera en el placer y, en cambio, la consideró relacionada con la virtud. *Hegugesias * negó la posibilidad de la Felicidad por el hecho de que los placeres son muy raros y efímeros. Tiendo a estar de acuerdo con ambos. 

*4.* Para Platón el concepto de Felicidad es semejante al de Tales: son felices los que poseen bondad y belleza. 

*5*. *Aristóteles* dijo que las personas Felices deben poseer tres especies de bienes: externos, del cuerpo y del alma. 

Esta definición se complica con la de beatitud y hace más difícil el logro de una felicidad. 

Resumiendo hasta aquí, podemos decir que a partir de Aristóteles hasta la edad media el concepto de Felicidad se podía resumir en dos corrientes, la que consideraba la satisfacción de los placeres como la felicidad y la que postulaba que para lograr la Felicidad debería incluirse la virtud y la sabiduría. 

A partir del movimiento filosófico llamado Humanismo, se volvió a la idea de los epicúreos de que los placeres eran el fundamento de la Felicidad y doy otra serie de definiciones de Felicidad: 

1. Para *Locke*, la Felicidad en su grado máximo es el más grande placer de que seamos capaces y la desgracia el dolor mayor. 

2. *Leibniz* define la Felicidad como un placer duradero, lo que no podría suceder sin un progreso continuo hacia nuevos placeres. 

No se necesita ser filósofo para darnos cuenta de lo dañino que han resultado estas definiciones. 

3. Con *Hume,* la Felicidad como sistema de placeres adquiere un significado social pues la define como el placer que se puede difundir, el placer del mayor número y se convierte en la base del movimiento reformador inglés del siglo diecinueve. 

Basado en esta definición el investigador* Leary * propuso el uso del LSD para drogar ciudades enteras en E.U. 

4. *Kant* considera imposible poner a la Felicidad como fundamento de la vida moral y la definió como la condición de un ser racional en el mundo, al cual, en el total curso de su vida, todo le resulta conforme con su deseo y voluntad. 

Kant demostró que tal noción es empíricamente imposible o sea irrealizable. 

5. Como concepto de satisfacción absoluta y total, *Hegel* define la Felicidad como el ideal de un estado o condición inalcanzable, excepto en un mundo sobrenatural y por intervención de un principio omnipotente. 

6. Acentuando el carácter social, *James y Stuart Mill * se inspiraron en la definición de Felicidad que dice que la máxima Felicidad posible es la del mayor número de personas. Aquí no se encuentra un concepto riguroso de felicidad. Al depender de las condiciones y circunstancias objetivas además que de las actitudes del hombre, no puede pertenecer al hombre en su singularidad, sino al hombre en cuanto miembro de un mundo social. Relacionan la Felicidad con el placer y distinguen un placer de otro, admitiendo la identificación sólo en el ámbito de esos placeres que son socialmente compartibles. 

Entonces podría decir que Leary tenia razón y como veremos, derecho a drogar ciudades enteras, porque la Constitución Norteamericana incluye entre los derechos naturales inalienables del hombre "la búsqueda de la felicidad, basándose en que el principio de la máxima Felicidad ha inspirado el pensamiento filosófico, social y político y ha sido por mucho tiempo la base del liberalismo de cuño anglosajón. 

7. Por último,* Bertrand Russell * agrega como algo nuevo a la noción tradicional de Felicidad, una condición que considera indispensable: la multiplicidad de los intereses, de las relaciones del hombre con las cosas y con los otros hombres, y por lo tanto la eliminación del "egocentrismo", del enclaustramiento en sí mismos y en las propias pasiones. 

Al parecer los filósofos, al no poder utilizar la noción de Felicidad como principio de la vida moral, se han desinteresado, por lo general, de la noción misma. 



*fuente*


----------



## Jonegy

Felicidade e  -----

Flamengo 0 - 5 Vasco


----------



## monay

aigle491 said:
			
		

> what makes you happy???
> 
> What is happiness


 
happiness is a state of being... wherein no one cannot buy or cannot get from you. it is a positive attitude of how to face life.


----------



## Merlin

aigle491 said:
			
		

> what makes you happy??? What is happiness


 Having a chance to live makes me happy.   And to make me happier, God gave me a loving family, a beautiful wife, and my 3 month old baby in her womb. Happiness is the state of well being and contentment in your life. You may not have the riches in the world but you can be happy if you make the most of what you have.


----------



## nahash

aigle491 said:
			
		

> what makes you happy???
> 
> What is happiness


 
Having a beautiful NEW DAY after dark night  is happiness for me,all blessings from God,having a nice family and friends.Happiness is the state of well being which cannot buy nor measure,contentment from within.


----------



## Ahlex

FOR ME HAPPINESS IS WHEN YOU SHARE IT WITH SOMEONE SPECIAL IT COULD BE YOUR FAMILIES,FRIEND YOUR GIRLFRIENDS OR BOYFRIENDS OR ANY BODY CLOSE TO YOUR HEART..... 

BUT I JUST WANNA ASKED ANY ONE IF WE LONG FOR REAL HAPPINESS IN LIFE WHY IS THAT SOMETIMES ITS HARD FOR US TO FIND, WE STILL HAVE TO EXPERIENCED SO MUCH PAIN AND SUFFERINGS BEFORE WE EXPERIENCE HAPPINESS...... IS THIS SAYINGS REALLY TRUE? 

BEFORE WE GAIN, WE SHOULD STILL PASS SO MUCH PAIN  

BECAUSE IN MY 24 YEARS IN LIFE... I HAVE EXPERIENCED MUCH PAIN,SADNESS AND SUFFERINGS BEFORE I FIND TRUE HAPPINESS ......JUST SHARING MY THOUGHTS AND EXPERIENCED...  


YOU'RE WELCOME TO GIVE COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS


----------



## astrid_gorky

i am most happy when i make other people happy ..seriously!


----------



## Merlin

Ahlex said:
			
		

> WHY IS THAT SOMETIMES ITS HARD FOR US TO FIND, WE STILL HAVE TO EXPERIENCE SO MUCH PAIN AND SUFFERINGS BEFORE WE EXPERIENCE HAPPINESS...... IS THIS SAYINGS REALLY TRUE?
> BECAUSE IN MY 24 YEARS IN LIFE... I HAVE EXPERIENCED MUCH PAIN,SADNESS AND SUFFERINGS BEFORE I FIND TRUE HAPPINESS


 I believe it's true that we have to go through pain and suffering to be happy. I think everybody would agree that if we want something, we have to work for it. No pain, no gain. It feels good to look back at the things you've gone through when you finally got what you wanted. If we worked hard and achieve something, we feel happy. Happiness can be achieved in many ways. God has his own way of making us happy. Simple things can make us happy. Smile  it's a good start to be happy....


----------



## Honeylhanz

> Originally Posted by aigle491
> what makes you happy???
> 
> What is happiness


when i see my family in *good condition*, not suffering from anything.


			
				Ahlex said:
			
		

> BUT I JUST WANNA ASKED ANY ONE IF WE LONG FOR REAL HAPPINESS IN LIFE WHY IS THAT SOMETIMES ITS HARD FOR US TO FIND, WE STILL HAVE TO EXPERIENCED SO MUCH PAIN AND SUFFERINGS BEFORE WE EXPERIENCE HAPPINESS...... IS THIS SAYINGS REALLY TRUE?
> 
> BEFORE WE GAIN, WE SHOULD STILL PASS SO MUCH PAIN
> 
> BECAUSE IN MY 24 YEARS IN LIFE... I HAVE EXPERIENCED MUCH PAIN,SADNESS AND SUFFERINGS BEFORE I FIND TRUE HAPPINESS ......JUST SHARING MY THOUGHTS AND EXPERIENCED...
> 
> 
> YOU'RE WELCOME TO GIVE COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS


I agree with you Ahlex. We have the same experience for 24 years. Before i found my true happiness i experienced and suffered too much pain. My parents died and my sister is missing up to now. It really hurts. However, when i got married and was blessed with one beautiful daughter, that was when i experienced the *TRUE HAPPINESS*. The happiness that nobody can steal. 
All these things happened because *GOD* has a *good plan* for us.
*I am now contented with my life and very much happy.*
Because *GOD* gave this happiness to me.


----------



## Swettenham

aigle491 said:
			
		

> what makes you happy???
> 
> What is happiness


Wonderful questions like this!


----------



## Swettenham

And Karina ...  She makes me smile every morning...  Why do such beautiful people concern themselves with fools like me??


----------



## Vanda

Jonegy said:
			
		

> Felicidade e  -----
> 
> Flamengo 0 - 5 Vasco



Jonegy isto nao é felicidade para um ingles. É felicidade para um carioca


----------



## rob.returns

HAPPiness = live like Christ(with GOD), simple, humble, friends, families.


----------



## mari.kit

my happiness is when i got to do all the things i want to do.. and of course, being w/ my family that i miss soooo much!!!


----------



## Mitcheck

As for me happiness means contentment and finding fulfillment in sharing one's life to others. I am very happy when I can be of service to others, most especially to my family. I really have this lighter feeling whenever I can see them satisfied with the things that I've done.


----------



## Ahlex

To Honey And To Merlin  My Fellow Kababayan's 


Thank's  For Your Comments And Suggestions ...yes I Know That I Should Pass Different Trials And Difficulties In Life Before I Experience Happiness.... 

But Now I Am More Than  Happy Because I Have This Special Someone Who Gives Me This Inspiration And Of Cours It Gives Me Happiness... 
Hehehehe.....happy Its So Nice To Be Happy......


----------



## Ahlex

Merlin said:
			
		

> I believe it's true that we have to go through pain and suffering to be happy. I think everybody would agree that if we want something, we have to work for it. No pain, no gain. It feels good to look back at the things you've gone through when you finally got what you wanted. If we worked hard and achieve something, we feel happy. Happiness can be achieved in many ways. God has his own way of making us happy. Simple things can make us happy. Smile  it's a good start to be happy....


 

hi MERLIN!THANKS FOR THE OPINION ABOUT HAPPINES,DON'T WORRY I'LL START MY DAY WITH A SMILE I THINK YOUR RIGHT SIMPLE THINGS CAN MAKE US SMILE....HEHEHEH


----------



## Fernando

I will compute my happiness.

Be H (F) the amount of happiness of Fernando in a given time 't'

The measurement unit should be universally and objectively known (orgasms, maybe?)

H (F) = Performance / Expectations

Hence, you have two ways of maximizing the numbers of orga..., I mean, the happiness:

1) Increasing performance
2) Decreasing expectations


----------



## meili

De acuerdo con Fernando.


> 1) Increasing performance
> 2) Decreasing expectations


And, happiness is a state of mind, I say.


----------



## Jonegy

Olá Vanda Mineirinha

sendo Vascaino desde 1970 - sei q e a felicidade -  rsrsrs

e vc  -  Cruzeiro ou Atlético ??

Abção


----------



## shiba inu

it´s possible the happiness without getting fun? 
it´s possible the happiness been in peaceful and don`t do it nothing?
nowadays happiness is not to be needed and been restless?
why when we get more happiness we need more to be happy.
why if we have less things than others we are not peaceful?
is the happiness something good?


----------



## La Geny

happiness for me is watching my family and friends eating what i prepare for them to eat especially when they say YOU CAN ALREADY GET MARRIED.i feel so fulfilled as a person and its motivating me to do  other things better not just improving cooking skills.


----------



## weesiokbee

Happiness? It's vague. Probably, happiness is what you make out of life. Still vague?
Well, perhaps happiness is when you'e in love.


----------



## James Styczinski

I think happiness is a state of being of glee or joy where things that usually bother you(such as a conscience) are not so bothersome to you anymore. In a long span of time of course. 
James


----------



## me82

Happiness for me is when i feel loved by those i love... there are a few persons who can make me feel high for days when they tell me sweet words, compliments, etc... or just show they care about me as much as i do about them... Happiness is also when i don't worry, when i know that the persons i love are alive, healthy and ok. And it is when i have hope about something i wish to come true... hope is important.

i don't see anything else that can make me really happy.


----------



## Bobzinha

*Hi everybody,*

*I'm happy when I'm listening to jazz, learning something new, reading,when I'm with my family and friends!!! When my kitty sleeps with me, or when it's raining and I don't have to wake up early. *


----------



## LanceKitty

I am truly happy when I'm chatting with my sisters way past midnight in a coffee house with a tall glass of Oreo Frappuccino.  A heartfelt smile also comes out when I see cats... just watching them can make me feel at peace with the world.


----------



## Vanda

Jonegy said:
			
		

> Olá Vanda Mineirinha
> 
> sendo Vascaino desde 1970 - sei q e a felicidade - rsrsrs
> 
> e vc - Cruzeiro ou Atlético ??
> 
> Abção


 
Jonegy
Na minha cidade - hometown- sou Botafogo. aqui em Belô sou
Cruzeiro. Digo que sou, mas nao sou nada. I don't like soccer.


----------



## annettehola

I am happy when I meet good people. I am happy when I see a smile. I am happy when I can help other people. I am happy when it rains. I am happy when I can put words to my happiness. I am happy when my friends want to see me and spend their time with me. I am happy when I feel loved. I am happy when people I love get happy because of something I did. I am happy for no reason at all. I am happy when a child smiles to me. I am happy when people I love say and show they have the same feelings for me. I am happy when I don't fear. I am happy when I am inside with a hot stove and it is freezing outside. Situations make me happy if they are calm and good and loving.


----------



## Everness

In my constant attempt to cheer up people, I'll just say that I fully agree with Schopenhauer: happiness is impossible. 

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3671/is_200404/ai_n9394193


----------



## annettehola

Look, Everness. You must read Schopenhauer's "The World as Will and Representation" again. Schopenhauer himself said so. (He wrote this in his own preface):"My book must be read at least 4 or 5 times to be understood. I do not believe Schopenhauer said and meant that Happiness is impossible. I believe he said that an eternal state of Happiness in the life of a human is unattainable. It is not the same as to say that Happiness is not possible. But I think it comes close to saying that Happiness cannot be captured and held. Schopenhauer was also (and very much, I believe) a poet in his heart. I suppose you know, that Schopenhauer was very inspired by Eastern philosophy and religion. In a later piece of writing ("On Goodness," I think it's called), he wrote:"Tat twam asi." This is Hindu, and it means:"This living thing art thou." This, for me, is the supreme expression of Love Eternal. It is like saying:I see you. You have a soul and a heart like I do. For this reason we are brothers/ sisters. Nobody who did not believe in Love and therefore Happiness would never, ever have written that.
This is my opinion.
Annette


----------



## Everness

Annette,

I start my day reading Schopenhauer. It's sobering. I also agree with your point that one must read his books once and again. This is a paragraph that I find particularly inspiring. (The book is in the public domain.)

_In a world like this, where there is no kind of stability, no possibility of anything lasting, but where everything is thrown into a restless whirlpool of change, where everything hurries on, flies, and is maintained in the balance by a continual advancing and moving, it is impossible to imagine happiness. It cannot dwell where, as Plato says, continual Becoming and never Being is all that takes place. First of all, no man is happy; he strives his whole life long after imaginary happiness, which he seldom attains, and if he does, then it is only to be disillusioned; and as a rule he is shipwrecked in the end and enters the harbour dismasted. Then it is all the same whether he has been happy or unhappy in a life which was made up of a merely ever-changing present and is now at an end._

http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/s/schopenhauer/arthur/essays/chapter6.html


----------



## Beautiful Princess

hi.. all..
I believe and agree that happiness is based on disposition on the position, it's internally based not external. It's how you look up on things, not how things is working on for you.  Happiness is a gift, you must accept to receive it. It's a state or feelings of pride, joy, contentment, love and the like or a combination of one or all of this feelings. Lastly, I believe it varies on each person receiving or experiencing it, depending on how they express, explain or realize the feelings of happiness within them.


----------



## Maria Juanita

endorfinas....


----------



## mystique

for me happiness is following your heart and being satisfied on what you are doing. And touching someone's heart makes me happy as well


----------



## Beautiful Princess

Happiness.. Glück.. Felicidad(e).. Bonheur.. Felicità...

Is a joy that comes from one's heart... mind... and soul...


----------



## Markus

Happiness is being useful to someone.


----------



## Benjy

Markus said:
			
		

> Happiness is being useful to someone.



hum.. 
so that would be a rather teleolgical way of looking at happiness. usefulness as the end goal of life. which pre-suposes happiness as one's goal. this paragraph is becoming more and more boring with every passing word.

how i hate philosophy.


----------



## cuchuflete

Benjy said:
			
		

> hum..
> so that would be a rather teleolgical way of looking at happiness. usefulness as the end goal of life. which pre-suposes happiness as one's goal. this paragraph is becoming more and more boring with every passing word.
> 
> how i hate philosophy.



And, as you engage in philosophizing, one must therefore conclude that you define happiness as hating that which you do, however useful it may be to others.....

"A subject for a great poet would be God's *boredom* after the seventh day of creation." -- Friedrich Nietzsche

"I don't believe in an afterlife, so I don't have to spend my whole life fearing hell, or fearing heaven even more. For whatever the tortures of hell, I think the *boredom* of heaven would be even worse."-- Isaac Asimov quotes


----------



## annettehola

No doubt it's boring both in Heaven and in Paradise. With this I agree.
I do NOT agree with Benjy. And I ask him/her: If you hate philosophy so profoundly why, then, do you engage in written conversation about it? I, for my part, hate speculative, abstract and systematic philosophy (Kant, Hegel, epistomology and what not) and this is because I cannot understand it. But Schopenhauer is wonderful to me. I sincerely recommend his writings. He included his heart in his writing. For he wrote about life.
Annette


----------



## annettehola

By the way, I would also like to recommend Montaigne. Read his essays. It is of the same kind. It has beauty and it has truth.
Annette


----------



## Benjy

my name is ben, i'm a he  apart from fridays when i dress up and go by the name of tracy.

as to your question: slightly off topic.. if you want to answer what i am going to say you might want to consider opening a thread on the merits of philosophy, or how different cultures approach philosophical problems.

i for one lump both systematic rationalism and lovely flowery opinions in the same basket. philosophy as a means of answering the big questions is as about as useful as a chocolate teapot. as intellectual fun and games.. why not? but take the quote that everness posted. its nice writing, no doubt.. i wish i had talent like that but in the end it answers nothing, and serves no purpose other than to make people go ahh... or perhaps come to some life changing conclusion on the basis of someone elses subjective opinion. fantastic. 



			
				annettehola said:
			
		

> No doubt it's boring both in Heaven and in Paradise. With this I agree.
> I do NOT agree with Benjy. And I ask him/her: If you hate philosophy so profoundly why, then, do you engage in written conversation about it? I, for my part, hate speculative, abstract and systematic philosophy (Kant, Hegel, epistomology and what not) and this is because I cannot understand it. But Schopenhauer is wonderful to me. I sincerely recommend his writings. He included his heart in his writing. For he wrote about life.
> Annette


----------



## annettehola

"It answers nothing," "it serves no purpose.." No, it is not a practical device to solve problems one might be troubled with along material or practical lines, philosophy is not. It is and should be a voice that speaks to your heart and your soul and your head (but that's the least of it, in my opinion). Schopenhauer has helped me more than anybody or anything when I have been through hard times. And so have Montaigne. And Kierkegaard. I always return to these philosophers whom I esteem highly, very highly. You and me might not agree. I can respect your opinion. You can respect mine, if you try and if you drop mockery.
Annette


----------



## Benjy

http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=58565

if you want to talk about philosophy. if you want to talk about hapiness.. carry right on.


----------



## cuchuflete

Happiness for some people has relatively little philosophical content:


> Michelle Duggar just delivered her 16th child, and she's already thinking about doing it again.


http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory?id=1208701

Doing it again?

How much happiness can one person bear?


----------



## Everness

Benjy said:
			
		

> hum..
> so that would be a rather teleolgical way of looking at happiness. usefulness as the end goal of life. which pre-suposes happiness as one's goal. this paragraph is becoming more and more *boring * with every passing word.
> 
> how i hate philosophy.



Boring? Boredom is a key issue in Schopenhauer. 

_What makes a man hard-hearted is this, that each man has, or fancies he has, sufficient in his own troubles to bear. This is why people placed in happier circumstances than they have been used to are sympathetic and charitable. But people who have always been placed in happy circumstances are often the reverse; they have become so estranged to suffering that they have no longer any sympathy with it; and hence it happens that the poor sometimes show themselves more benevolent than the rich.

On the other hand, what makes a man so very curious, as may be seen in the way he will spy into other people’s affairs, is boredom, a condition which is diametrically opposed to suffering;—though envy also often helps in creating curiosity._

http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/s/schopenhauer/arthur/essays/chapter6.html

Benjy, would you rather be bored or suffer? That's the question!


----------



## Markus

Benjy said:
			
		

> so that would be a rather teleolgical way of looking at happiness.



I suppose so. I am most happy in life when I am being productive. The only thing that feels better than working really hard for something and accomplishing it is when your accomplishment is then appreciated and utilised by others. As an example, as a computer programmer, it makes me just giddy when I finally get to see people using a piece of software that I have worked hard on. It's not even so much important to me that I am acknowledged as it as it is that people make use of it.

Living for yourself produces only short-term benefits. Ego can be very tempting and feel very empowering. For example a stripper who gets off on being able to seduce people. But in the end it makes for a weaker, more temporary, less happy, more self-conscious, less confident, afraid individual.


----------



## Swettenham

Everness said:
			
		

> In my constant attempt to cheer up people, I'll just say that I fully agree with Schopenhauer: happiness is impossible.
> 
> http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3671/is_200404/ai_n9394193


As far as I understand Schopenhauer, he believes that happiness is the fulfillment of desires.  I disagree.  You can be unfufilled and happy, as long as you can laugh about it!


----------



## annettehola

True, Cuchuflete. We cannot bear our own Happiness. And we cannot bear that of others. Maybe, though, that lady had nothing better to do in order to give her own life content than to fornicate and to fornicate and to fornicate. She maybe felt that was her way to achieve happiness: to give it form in the shape of child after child after child after....We cannot judge her, and we should not, for we do not know her entire life-story. There is always a reason of some kind behind what people do. I have learned this from experience. Schopenhauer does, in my opinion, not say that happiness is the fulfilment of desires. He says, I think, that PLEASURE is the fulfilment of desires. PAIN, he says, is the opposite: We feel pain when we cannot fulfill our desires as we feel pleasure when we can. He speaks about Life as an Energy and gives it the name: The Will. Life, then, is blind Will. It will, but does not see. He asks: Who makes the little chicken in the egg? He answers: The chicken itself. One day it breaks out of the shell, and there is Life. This miracle is blind energy, it is Life. Many things are bound to happen to the one that broke out of his shell. To avoid pain is to live a pleasant life. To go into pain to see it and to feel it, is - this is my opinion - to make oneself a stronger and more real person. Happiness is a word for a fleeting instant of emotional profoundness. We cannot keep it. We must learn to go into things to learn how to leave them again. I feel, I can't express it better.
Enough for now. 
Strength and love to all.
Annette


----------



## Benjy

it is quite curious that he places boredom as being diametrically opposed to suffering. i just got out of linear algebra lecture where both seemed to exist in the same time and space 



			
				Everness said:
			
		

> Boring? Boredom is a key issue in Schopenhauer.
> 
> _What makes a man hard-hearted is this, that each man has, or fancies he has, sufficient in his own troubles to bear. This is why people placed in happier circumstances than they have been used to are sympathetic and charitable. But people who have always been placed in happy circumstances are often the reverse; they have become so estranged to suffering that they have no longer any sympathy with it; and hence it happens that the poor sometimes show themselves more benevolent than the rich.
> 
> On the other hand, what makes a man so very curious, as may be seen in the way he will spy into other people�s affairs, is boredom, a condition which is diametrically opposed to suffering;�though envy also often helps in creating curiosity._
> 
> http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/s/schopenhauer/arthur/essays/chapter6.html
> 
> Benjy, would you rather be bored or suffer? That's the question!


----------



## liwanag

Eating chocolates makes me happy,i know it's shallow but what can i do...oh how i love it!!!


----------



## timpeac

A warm gun.


----------



## jess oh seven

laughing with my friends


----------



## Maria Juanita

liwanag said:
			
		

> Eating chocolates makes me happy,i know it's shallow but what can i do...oh how i love it!!!



Finally a person who has common sense...


----------



## Maria Juanita

timpeac said:
			
		

> A warm gun.



by the way... I didn't know there were beatles fans here, eather Michael Moore detractors...   

saludillos...


----------



## panjandrum

timpeac said:
			
		

> A warm gun.


Ah, a Beatles reference.  I thought it was a typo...


----------



## annettehola

A warm gun? That's not really adding anything new to this thread. It's as old as Beatles' White Album, if I'm not wrong. And so, what is a warm gun? There has been many interpretations down the times. I personally tend to believe those that think it is somehow in a manner, in a way related to sex. A warm gun, then, would be a penis after or before coition. Oh, but I could be so wrong. 
Timpeac, you suggested it. What did you think of, doing so?
Annette


----------



## Maria Juanita

I'm not Timpeac but sure I can say that Beatles song was all about drugs...Someone correct me if I'm wrong...


----------



## clipper

Don´t know if the Beatles were singing about drugs or not but if that is the message of the song (as it is in many other songs) is taking drugs to be happy wrong ?

Some people only need chocolate, some a whisky to be happy, for others a cigarette gives a feeling of happiness...... what about a spliff ?

I have just given up smoking and while I do feel "happy" about it, I´m not convinced that I am a happier person, I´m just "pleased" because I know I should be, if that makes any sense at all......


----------



## Maria Juanita

It's a METAPHOR about shooting up heroin. It doesn't have any moral message. In fact, most of the songs rarely have morals; songs are not fables, it's all about music and feelings.

Saludillos...


----------



## Raven_claw007

The fact that I'm still alive really makes me happy. I still can make those dreams and undertakings materialized. I still can take part of my country's daily struggle even on my own little ways. And knowing that you still have time to correct those mistakes committed gives me hope and happiness to still continue searching for the right path and success in life. 

Long live everyone.


----------



## zebedee

Happiness is when a thread which has gone completely off-topic, been answered beyond all possible addition and has even spawned another better version of itself is finally put to rest by a caring Mod.


----------

