Blues Man
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- Aug 28, 2016
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There's been a couple threads lately that mention the happiness of people in different countries and I have been at odds with a couple people from other countries who post here on the validity of the metrics used by the organization that published this list in order of happiness.
My main criticism of this so called happiness scale is that the criteria are all based on external factors like what level of trust one has in a government or in some social institution or how much money a person makes. The assumption being that if a person doesn't fully endorse or trust his government then he cannot be as happy as a person that does.
So not only is the list arbitrary but it only reflects the author's of the study definition of happiness and that happiness is defines by external influences.
So, as you may know, I am a student and practitioner of Stoicism and Buddhism and these philosophies define happiness as a state of mind, an internal condition apart from the material world.
According to Epictetus: “The essence of philosophy is that a man should live so that his happiness depends as little as possible from external causes”.
Marcus Aurelius wrote that," The happiness in your life depends on the quality of your thoughts."
So these two Stoics would reject this happiness scale that relies on external influences to define happiness.
The Buddha stated:
"All that we are is the result of what we have thought. It is founded on our thoughts. It is made up of our thoughts. If one speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows one, like a shadow that never leaves. "
Knowing and believing what these wise men have written on the meaning of happiness, I have no choice but to dismiss the validity of the "Happiness Report"
My main criticism of this so called happiness scale is that the criteria are all based on external factors like what level of trust one has in a government or in some social institution or how much money a person makes. The assumption being that if a person doesn't fully endorse or trust his government then he cannot be as happy as a person that does.
So not only is the list arbitrary but it only reflects the author's of the study definition of happiness and that happiness is defines by external influences.
So, as you may know, I am a student and practitioner of Stoicism and Buddhism and these philosophies define happiness as a state of mind, an internal condition apart from the material world.
According to Epictetus: “The essence of philosophy is that a man should live so that his happiness depends as little as possible from external causes”.
Marcus Aurelius wrote that," The happiness in your life depends on the quality of your thoughts."
So these two Stoics would reject this happiness scale that relies on external influences to define happiness.
The Buddha stated:
"All that we are is the result of what we have thought. It is founded on our thoughts. It is made up of our thoughts. If one speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows one, like a shadow that never leaves. "
Knowing and believing what these wise men have written on the meaning of happiness, I have no choice but to dismiss the validity of the "Happiness Report"