Sara Ahmed, the author of The Promise of Happiness, offers a new perspective on happiness. Unlike many others, she does not attempt to define happiness, nor describe the ways to achieve it. Instead, she examines happiness through the lenses of several different moral theories including utilitarianism and deontology. Through this careful examination, she is led to the conclusion that happiness varies from person to person and there is no clear identifiable source that is applicable to everyone. Despite this, society already has some predetermined sources of happiness and ideas about achieving it. The author argues that in today’s society, it seems as though happiness is becoming consumable because of these predetermined ideas. Ahmed talks about
…show more content…
In today’s society, there is this fixation on purchasable, outward sources of happiness such as drugs, books, and therapy. This is accompanied by our unattainable expectations of them. Similar to the author, I believe that this move to consumable happiness is impeding us from finding happiness. I have seen it happen; I watched someone I know through therapy with high expectations. These expectations were unfulfilled and instead, he developed a taste for drugs after being prescribed medication from the psychiatrist. This only amplified his depression, caused great strife among his family and made it difficult for him to function. Watching this happen has had a profound impact on my view of the pursuit of happiness. While therapy and prescription medication have merit and can be very helpful, it begins to fail when people have unattainable …show more content…
In today’s society we are constantly looking for instant gratification and turning to self help books, therapy, or drugs to find some happiness. Recognize that for every source of consumable happiness, there is someone waiting on the other end to receive profit. Of course there is nothing wrong with wanting to make a decent living, but some of these sellers will take advantage of people’s desperate hopes of being happy. Therefore, it is important to be privy to this detail and skeptical when these sources demand steep prices for little return. Furthermore, while books, therapy, and antidepressants have merit, it is important to understand that consuming these is not a guarantee for happiness, for happiness is not easily achieved and takes a great deal of time, energy, and effort. Sources of happiness vary from person to person, but generally, forming strong bonds with others, finding a purpose in life, and practicing virtues such as acceptance and generosity are forms of happiness. These are inward, involve self improvement and require a great deal of time, patience, and introspection; spending money will be useless in achieving them. Everyone has problems and no one can find happiness in every aspect of their life. However, if people change their mindset and see these consumable sources of happiness for what they are - small stepping stones - then perhaps our pursuit of happiness will lose
In today’s society, there is this fixation on purchasable, outward sources of happiness such as drugs, books, and therapy. This is accompanied by our unattainable expectations of them. Similar to the author, I believe that this move to consumable happiness is impeding us from finding happiness. I have seen it happen; I watched someone I know through therapy with high expectations. These expectations were unfulfilled and instead, he developed a taste for drugs after being prescribed medication from the psychiatrist. This only amplified his depression, caused great strife among his family and made it difficult for him to function. Watching this happen has had a profound impact on my view of the pursuit of happiness. While therapy and prescription medication have merit and can be very helpful, it begins to fail when people have unattainable …show more content…
In today’s society we are constantly looking for instant gratification and turning to self help books, therapy, or drugs to find some happiness. Recognize that for every source of consumable happiness, there is someone waiting on the other end to receive profit. Of course there is nothing wrong with wanting to make a decent living, but some of these sellers will take advantage of people’s desperate hopes of being happy. Therefore, it is important to be privy to this detail and skeptical when these sources demand steep prices for little return. Furthermore, while books, therapy, and antidepressants have merit, it is important to understand that consuming these is not a guarantee for happiness, for happiness is not easily achieved and takes a great deal of time, energy, and effort. Sources of happiness vary from person to person, but generally, forming strong bonds with others, finding a purpose in life, and practicing virtues such as acceptance and generosity are forms of happiness. These are inward, involve self improvement and require a great deal of time, patience, and introspection; spending money will be useless in achieving them. Everyone has problems and no one can find happiness in every aspect of their life. However, if people change their mindset and see these consumable sources of happiness for what they are - small stepping stones - then perhaps our pursuit of happiness will lose