Essay and outline

Pursuit of Meaning and Happiness

Chuanling Ma

Prof.Bolis

2/24/2019

Daniel Gilbert`s argument about false super-replicator beliefs about happiness and the examples of money and children.

“Just as we pass along our genes in an effort to create people whose faces look like ours, so do we pass along our beliefs in an effort to create people whose minds think like ours.” Anytime we tell people something, we attempt to change the way they think and their point of view about the world and try to bring their view closer to ours so that they can resemble. If a particular belief has some properties that allow it to be transmitted, then this belief is held by many people in their minds. If one tells a person how to perform a certain task or to solve a certain problem, the one who has been taught is likely to pass the knowledge to their friends since it will be of help to them in things they are supposed to do. Accuratebeliefs are easily transmitted from one mind to another because they give a person power.

On the other hand, inaccurate beliefs are more readily transmitted to another person. These beliefs just like bad genes that compensate for costs by promoting their own means of transmission can and do become super-replicators.Inaccurate beliefs as well can prevail in the belief transmission if they somehow facilitate their means of transmission. Therefore, if any belief whether true or false that increases communication among people, has a good chance of being transmitted over and over again. Psychologists an economists concluded that “Wealth increases human happiness when it lifts people out of poverty and into the middle class but that it does little to increase happiness thereafter. “People who earn more than other are happier compared to those who earn less. Those who live in poor nations are much less happy than those who live in moderately wealthy nations. People never get enough money; they keep working and toiling to get more. However, production of wealth and working to get money does not make people happy but instead serves the needs of the economy.

People also believe that having children will make them happy. When people get imaginations of how they will have descendants in the future or the ones they have currently, they tend to see images in their minds of babies smiling in their cots, children running up and down in the home compound and their children having successful lives whereby they go to college, have a great career and even get married. Parents think well of parenthood, They see it as fun and love their responsibilities for example changing of diapers, ensuring children complete their assignments. This makes them happy and they view parent good as a tool of happiness and that’s why many jump into becoming parents. Parents view their children as a source of joy. However in a research done, it shows that parents are less happy when taking care of their children than when they are watching, doing exercise or resting. Parents are hard to take care of therefore parents put a lot of hard work. Culture is the one that makes people view children as a source of happiness and hence this belief is passed on to otherpeople. The belief that money and children bring happiness might be true or not but it does not mean we quit jobs and families.

There is more to life than being happy:

“There is more to life than being happy.” This is according to Emily Esfahani Smith`s article who gives a view of the happy life vs. the meaningful life according to Victor Frankl.Viktor with his wife and parents were arrested and taken to Nazi concentration camp where some perished including his wife. He concluded that the difference between those who had died and those who survived was the meaning, insight that came early in life. He saw that those who found meaning even in the most horrendous circumstances were far more resilient to suffering than those who did not. Frankl wrote that everything can be taken from a man but not his human freedoms like to choose one`s attitude in any given set of circumstances and to choose one`s own way.Frankl explains that people do not always live because of happiness but because of what is expected of them in life. Their purpose matters for example even though one has lost hope of living, they should not give up but instead look at life positively like they are expected to complete a certain book, that should be a reason for them not to end their life. Happiness without meaning characterizes shallow and self-absorbed life.

How the pursuit of meaning as opposed to happiness offer another perspective on the evidence that Gilbert presents about money and children-and the pursuit of happiness in general:

The pursuit of meaning, as opposed to happiness offer another perspective on the evidence that Gilbert presents about money and children-and the pursuit of happiness. Having purpose in life increases overall well-being and life satisfaction, improves mental and physical life, enhancesresiliency, enhances self-esteem and decreases chances of depression. Happiness in life is not only viewed toward people`s attitudes towards variables like stress, spending patterns and having children. Leading a happy life is associated with one being a taker while leading a meaningful life corresponds with being a giver. Those people that are happy, are in good health, have enough money and are able to get whatever they want. Not having enough money decreases happiness. Pursuit of happiness is a associated with selfish behavior while pursuit of meaning is what makes human beings uniquely human because they put away their selfish interests for the sake of other people. Therefore, there is more to good life than the pursuit of happiness.

Conclusion

Reading these articles has influenced my thinking about the pursuit of happiness and the pursuit of meaning in my life. I have learnt and concluded that, a person should not only be concerned about how much they want their life to be happy but also be concerned of other people. One can be in the pursuit of happiness but in the process hurt other people. In one way or another, one should consider the happiness and needs of the rest. This is whereby pursuit of meaning comes in. One should look at their purpose in life, through this; one can see the importance of life. This however does not mean that one stops looking for happiness. My best lesson from these articles is that there is more to life than being happy.