Member-only story
The Challenge to Define Happiness
“Happiness is not a state like Vermont,” said Abraham Maslow. Or maybe it is but sometimes we’re stuck in New Jersey.
Happiness is an inescapably weighty yet nebulous concept whose meaning varies by individual and has even changed across time with cultural evolution and societal shifts. That’s not a definition. It’s a set of facts that help illustrate how ambiguous and elusive any definition is.
In my recently begun year-long exploration of the nature of happiness, what contributes to it, and the human desire to achieve it, a definition of the term seems useful, if not vital. So as a starting point, I’ve gathered some scientific thoughts and lay definitions to form a basis to begin at least starting to prepare to cogitate on the question.
(This article does not offer a definitive answer, nor does it touch on how or whether happiness can be achieved. We have a year to work on all that.)
Long & Short of It
Psychologists are the first to admit the word “happiness” is ambiguous. They prefer terms like “subjective well-being,” or “life satisfaction.” Those are no doubt important research terms, but they’re synonyms, not definitions.
Meanwhile, my big 10-pound analog Random House dictionary offers a definition of happiness that is at once overly succinct and ridiculously broad: good fortune; pleasure; contentment; joy. As meanings go, that’s the very definition of ambiguous.
One oft-cited modern definition comes from Sonja Lyubomirsky, a psychology researcher and author of “The How of Happiness.” She says happiness is “the experience of joy, contentment, or positive well-being, combined with a sense that one’s life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile.”
That’s pretty darn good, but a little longish for my taste and not so memorable.
“Happiness is a state of activity,” Aristotle said. I really like that. I know people who seem happy as long as they are busy. And those six words somehow pack in much to ponder. But Aristotle just couldn’t stop there. He had to complexify the hell out of it: “Happiness is the meaning and purpose of life, the whole aim and the end of human existence.”
