Happiness and Meaning Seminar Prep
Part 1:
Which readings/media best addresses the three essential questions?
The readings/media sources that best address the three essential questions are, The Amazing Adventures of Pheonix Jones, The Stranger, How to Buy Happiness, Happy, The Ambitious Guest, and The Moth
Essential Question 1: What is the purpose of your existence?
The Stranger: This source best addresses the first essential question because throughout the story because the whole time, Mersault was just “there”, he didn’t exhibit a meaningful life in societal standards and was not able to find meaning in anything. Often times, meaning in society is associated with God and making choices throughout life that will please him in the end. Mersault does not believe in this though, so that means that he knows that there is no meaning or purpose to life outside of life itself… that it is destined to end so why try to make meaning of your existence? Two pieces of evidence that support this source’s relation to the essential questions are, 1) Since we’re all going to die, it’s obvious that when and how don’t matter. (114), and 2) I may not have been sure about what really did interest me, but I was absolutely sure about what didn’t. (116, p. 3)
Essential Question 2: What is happiness and what makes one happy?
What is happiness? It is defined differently by everybody but in my opinion, a general theme of happiness is the state of non-contradictory joy. It is when rationality of goals, values, actions, and basic human needs can be found and completed. The film, Happy put this is a more simple light for me with the basic ideas of happiness being/needing the most important essentials of community, gratitude, dopamine, compassion, family and resilience. Happy helps explain the essential questions because it is completely based off of the origin of happiness as well as what we can do to become and stay happy. Two of the pieces of evidence from this film are, 1) “To be happy you need to play, have new experiences, friends and family, doing things that are meaningful, appreciating what we have. And, 2) “Flow is a big part of being happy, when you have flow, time never ends, you’re focused on that one action and you feel like your life is worth living. You are confident is what you’re doing and lose yourself in that action. Flow needs to happen on a regular basis in order to create happiness.”
Essential Question 3: What does it mean to live a meaningful life?
The Moth: This story shows a different ways of living. While the moth exhibits living with the ultimate passion for a short time but getting burned out, Archy the cockroach represents taking life slower and maybe not as passionately but still living well. I think that living a meaningful life varies for each person. The Moth does a good way of showing that because it shows each side of the scale but it also represents the desires for change in somebodies life at the end. Reading The Moth made me think about what living a meaningful life is to me, and I came to the conclusion that it is when one is anchored to a sense of purpose that goes beyond everyday trials and triumphs. Questions why we’re here and what our role is in the world. This involves living with intention in the present moment and positive thinking. Evidence for this essential question that relates to the story is, 1) “It is better to be happy for a moment and be burned up with beauty, than to live a long time and be bored all the while.” (3, p.1) and 2) ”I would rather have half the happiness and twice the longevity but at the same time I wish there was something I wanted as badly as he wanted to fry himself.” (3, p.3)
Part 2:
The Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz:
Which readings/media best addresses the three essential questions?
The readings/media sources that best address the three essential questions are, The Amazing Adventures of Pheonix Jones, The Stranger, How to Buy Happiness, Happy, The Ambitious Guest, and The Moth
Essential Question 1: What is the purpose of your existence?
The Stranger: This source best addresses the first essential question because throughout the story because the whole time, Mersault was just “there”, he didn’t exhibit a meaningful life in societal standards and was not able to find meaning in anything. Often times, meaning in society is associated with God and making choices throughout life that will please him in the end. Mersault does not believe in this though, so that means that he knows that there is no meaning or purpose to life outside of life itself… that it is destined to end so why try to make meaning of your existence? Two pieces of evidence that support this source’s relation to the essential questions are, 1) Since we’re all going to die, it’s obvious that when and how don’t matter. (114), and 2) I may not have been sure about what really did interest me, but I was absolutely sure about what didn’t. (116, p. 3)
Essential Question 2: What is happiness and what makes one happy?
What is happiness? It is defined differently by everybody but in my opinion, a general theme of happiness is the state of non-contradictory joy. It is when rationality of goals, values, actions, and basic human needs can be found and completed. The film, Happy put this is a more simple light for me with the basic ideas of happiness being/needing the most important essentials of community, gratitude, dopamine, compassion, family and resilience. Happy helps explain the essential questions because it is completely based off of the origin of happiness as well as what we can do to become and stay happy. Two of the pieces of evidence from this film are, 1) “To be happy you need to play, have new experiences, friends and family, doing things that are meaningful, appreciating what we have. And, 2) “Flow is a big part of being happy, when you have flow, time never ends, you’re focused on that one action and you feel like your life is worth living. You are confident is what you’re doing and lose yourself in that action. Flow needs to happen on a regular basis in order to create happiness.”
Essential Question 3: What does it mean to live a meaningful life?
The Moth: This story shows a different ways of living. While the moth exhibits living with the ultimate passion for a short time but getting burned out, Archy the cockroach represents taking life slower and maybe not as passionately but still living well. I think that living a meaningful life varies for each person. The Moth does a good way of showing that because it shows each side of the scale but it also represents the desires for change in somebodies life at the end. Reading The Moth made me think about what living a meaningful life is to me, and I came to the conclusion that it is when one is anchored to a sense of purpose that goes beyond everyday trials and triumphs. Questions why we’re here and what our role is in the world. This involves living with intention in the present moment and positive thinking. Evidence for this essential question that relates to the story is, 1) “It is better to be happy for a moment and be burned up with beauty, than to live a long time and be bored all the while.” (3, p.1) and 2) ”I would rather have half the happiness and twice the longevity but at the same time I wish there was something I wanted as badly as he wanted to fry himself.” (3, p.3)
Part 2:
The Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz:
- Official dogma-maximizing welfare of citizens
will begin by maximizing freedom
- Maximize choice to maximize freedom
- Healthcare-choices at the doctor, prescription
medicine
- Identity is a matter of choice- we don’t inherit
a identity we make one and we can always change it
- Work- technology allows us to work every minute
of every day around the world
- We are making constant decisions about what we
should or should not be doing
- Everywhere we look life is a matter of
choice-the world we used to live in did not allow much choice
- Choice has two negative effects-paralysis rather
than liberation, it is hard to choose with so many options and we end up less
satisfied with a choice rather than if we had less choices, it is easier to
imagine what else you could have had
- Opportunities subtract from the satisfaction of
our choice
- When you’re choosing one thing your choosing not
to do other things
- Write a paragraph reacting to the talk. Here are
some questions to help guide your response: Do you agree with
- The secret to happiness is low expectations
- Clinical depression has been contributed to by
having to high of expectations
I agree with his idea when it comes to the idea that choosing creates paralysis because there is always that idea of “what if”. Every different option presents a various situation and you will never know what the result may be unless you choose that option, no matter how good your choice may be. I also agree with his statement about having too high of expectations. I think that having to high of expectations sets us up for emotional failure because it is almost virtually impossible to achieve it. As a perfectionist with ridiculously high standards for myself, I am constantly struggling with “never being good enough”. At times it has gotten so bad that, like the general populace, I have suffered from depression. I think that overall his points were very valid and that almost everybody can relate to them in one way or another.
Question: How have you suffered paralysis when faced with a big option? Has having too high of expectations caused a decrease in happiness in your life?