ipl-logo

Martin Seligman's Positive Psychology Fun Vs. Philanthropy

1517 Words7 Pages
Martin Seligman’s Positive Psychology Fun versus Philanthropy reflective essay

Introduction:
In this reflective essay, a number of aspects of happiness and well-being, as well as questions relating to Martin Seligman’s task. Firstly, an explanations of the doctrine will be examined. Then, the relation between fun and the philanthropy will be discussed. To sum up, the question whether happiness is everything.
The doctrines of happiness:
There are different perspectives on happiness, two of which are the hedonic and the eudaimonic views. Both views have roots in philosophy, such as Aristotle and Aristippus. Despite their ancient origins, these views on human well-being are relevant even today. The hedonic view encompasses the idea those people are happiest when their life is filled with positive experiences and emotions, without negative ones. According to Fredrickson et al. (2013), hedonism can be also defined as “representing an individual’s pleasurable experiences”. Aristotle, in contrast, thought the idea that wellbeing depended on a life of pleasure with no pain was vulgar Aristotle’s view seems fair; after all, some of life’s greatest things come only with a bit of sweat, tears and elbow grease. Then there is the eudaimonic perspective. In the same paper by Fredrickson et al. (2013), states that eudaimonism “results from striving towards meaning and a noble purpose beyond simple gratification”.
In other words, happiness in life comes from self-growth, surmounting
Show More
Related
589 Words | 3 Pages

In Andrew Guest’s, “Pursuing the Science of Happiness” he argues the complexity of happiness and the pursuit in which you follow to gain it. The ultimate objective of life for some individuals all through the world is to accomplish the condition of happiness while doing the activities they cherish the most. Each individual satisfies his or her own particular measurement of happiness in different courses, from practicing their most loved game, being with their families and companions, to making a trip to exciting puts over the planet. Guest uses rhetoric and research to carry on his argument that speaks on the idea of reference anxiety, where people change their dreams based on financial standpoint, and they define financial prosperity with their happiness, which is superficial.

Read More
160 Words | 1 Pages

In his article "In Pursuit of Happiness: Better Living from Plato to Prozac," Mark Kingwell describes how there has been many debates on the meaning of happiness for many years yet still a singular, justifiable definition eludes society. The pursuit to define and understand happiness has invited several debates, questions, arguments, and suggestions alike. In 1996, a hand full of genetic and behavioral studies suggest evidence that one’s achievable degree of happiness is genetically decided, with evidences showing that no achievement will change your happiness, you are either happy or you’re not. Some studies demonstrated a correlation between dopamine levels in the brain and expressions of personal satisfaction, while others indicated that

Read More
605 Words | 3 Pages

Arguably, the happier an individual is, the better the quality of their life, and the better off they are. But despite this, there are people who will even argue that lower levels of happiness are the best because you maintain the ability to progress in life and your motivation is still present. Although many people will only see two sides to this argument, there is a totally different view that provides the optimal quality of life and the most beneficial outcome in the big picture; and that is moderate happiness. Cliff Oxford’s essay “High Performance Happy” evaluates the effect that an individual’s happiness has on their beneficiality to society and how you should always strive to be the happiest you can be. Oxford’s main point is that

Read More
664 Words | 3 Pages

Happiness is a state of mind, and one doesn’t need physical material to be happy, which a majority of people view to be the primary source of happiness. Simply put, a person has the power to control whether they are happy or not. The author utilizes pathos, ethos, and logos to highlight the main ideas, demonstrating his mastery of the material. His usury of pathos, ethos, and logos illustrate to the readers that happiness is primarily a state of mind which isn’t automatically influenced by material things. Ethos is the ethical appeal an author makes to emphasize his authority as a knowledgeable and experienced veteran who corroborates any particular subject matter.

Read More
1008 Words | 5 Pages

Not many achieve happiness in their lifetime. Either they do not live long enough to witness it or they are not prepared for what their happiness is. Happiness is very subjective. Each person’s version of happiness is different. This version of happiness is universal.

Read More
1127 Words | 5 Pages

Hedonism and the desire-satisfaction theory of welfare are typically seen as archrivals in the contest over identifying what makes one’s life better. It is surprising, then, that the most plausible form of hedonism is desire satisfactionism. The hedonism theory focuses on pleasure/happiness while the desire-satisfaction theory elucidates the relevance of fulfilling our desires. Pleasure, in some points of view is the subjective satisfaction of desire. I will explain the similarities and the differences between the desire-satisfaction theory of value and hedonism.

Read More
1046 Words | 5 Pages

The ‘happiness’ of Brave New World is akin to physical pleasure as evidenced by the existence of ‘the feelies’ and the rampant use of soma. In contention to this definition of happiness, Epicurus explicitly states, “So when we say that pleasure is the goal we do not mean the pleasures of the profligate or the pleasures of consumption… , but rather the lack of pain in the body and disturbance in the soul”(362). By saying this, Epicurus dismisses the idea that man should thoughtlessly surrender to primal desire and instead argues that we should focus on pleasing the soul through “sober calculation which serves out the reasons for every choice and avoidance and drive out the opinions which are the source of the greatest turmoil for men’s souls” (362). He argues this because, in his and our cultures, giving in to one’s primal desires will

Read More
1124 Words | 5 Pages

The Pursuit of Happiness It is a fundamental aspect of society and of mankind that individuals seek their own happiness. Almost every aspect of life centres on the importance of self-fulfillment, and throughout history, the often selfish nature of man loans itself to the idea that life is about pursuing one’s own happiness. In a perfect world, the search for satisfaction in life would go unheeded, and every man would come to realize a perfect sense of self. Unfortunately, there are often many challenges and compromising aspects of society that inhibit individuals from achieving happiness.

Read More
827 Words | 4 Pages

According to Aristotle, an individual can achieve happiness only by realizing all the works and activities in accordance with reason throughout his lifetime. He claimed that happiness consists in cultivating and exercising virtue and it is the ultimate purpose of human existence, as stated in his work Nicomachean Ethics “He is happy who lives in accordance with complete virtue and is sufficiently equipped with external goods, not for some chance period but throughout a complete life”. However, such Aristotelian concept of happiness inevitably contradicts the understanding of history as development which maintains that fulfilling the work of human exceeds the limits of an individual and thus can only be achieved in the course of history. Three

Read More
1087 Words | 5 Pages

In Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, the concept of happiness is introduced as the ultimate good one can achieve in life as well as the ultimate goal of human existence. As Aristotle goes on to further define happiness, one can see that his concept is much different from the 21st-century view. Aristotelian happiness can be achieved through choosing to live the contemplative life, which would naturally encompass moralistic virtue. This differs significantly from the modern view of happiness, which is heavily reliant on material goods. To a person in the 21st-century, happiness is simply an emotional byproduct one experiences as a result of acquiring material goods.

Read More
680 Words | 3 Pages

People miss the fact that happiness comes from within. In an attempt to find joy – we must also be cautious about over excessive desire to acquire material objects and wealth. There is a delicate balance that must be reached between the pursuit of happiness, satisfaction, and contentment. While there are many conditions that fulfill ones emotional wellbeing, happiness and how we acquired it, depends upon the

Read More
1118 Words | 5 Pages

Aristotle proposes that eudaimonia is the most intrinsically valuable. Eudaimonia is defined as happiness, or well-being. Happiness is probably the best English word to translate eudaimonia, the term also has relations with fulfillment, success, and flourishing. A person who is eudaimon is not just merely enjoying life but is relishing life by living magnificently. One’s reputation and success, different than one’s emotional welfare, can be affected after death, which makes Aristotle’s discussion of eudaimonia after death significantly more relevant.

Read More
908 Words | 4 Pages

At the end of everyone’s lives, the goal appears to be about attaining happiness. Describing how to obtain happiness has been an issue that was debated in the past but is still talked about now . In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle expands on his view of happiness and he focuses particularly on how reason helps recognize and pursue what will lead to happiness and the good life. I feel that Aristotle’s philosophies on happiness are important works within the field of philosophy and he considered one of the………of it . In this paper, I will explore Aristotle’s beliefs regarding happiness then compare and contrast them to those of Martin Seligman.

Read More
1839 Words | 8 Pages

In this essay, I will be discussing Aristotle’s conception of the “good life” which he outlined in the Nicomachean Ethics. As we will see, the “good life” for man according to Aristotle is one where we perform the particular activity which is distinctly ours and guides us towards eudaimonia – sometimes translated as ‘happiness’ or ‘well-being’. He shows us how the other conflicting depictions of the ‘good life’ are misguided, and how we should aim for a life of reason. First, however, I will discuss briefly what Aristotle meant by the term ‘good’ and then move on to how he arrived at the conclusion on human happiness. Aristotle believes that the ‘good life’ for a particular organism depends on what that organism is and the conditions it requires

Read More
1154 Words | 5 Pages

For Aristotle, happiness is the end and purpose of human existence. To pursue happiness is to go for telos. Happiness is neither pleasure nor virtue, but an exercise of virtue. Happiness cannot be achieved until the end of one’s life. Hence, it is a goal not a temporary state.

Read More

More about Martin Seligman's Positive Psychology Fun Vs. Philanthropy

Related Topics

Open Document