Happiness in Philosophy

“Sad is like happy for people who are deep”, said a Doctor Who character once. I used to sympathize with that, I think because dark feelings in literature and other media seem cathartic somehow. But at some point, yeah, you get fed up with all the wallowing in darkness and realize that “shallow” earnest joy is the place to be, and “depth” doesn’t have to mean sinking ever deeper into bottomless pits of despair.

The character Iroh from the show Avatar: The Last Airbender really exhibits a kind if joyous depth. He seems very “philosophical”, but I can’t think of any actual philosophers he resembles.

Reply to Pfhorrest

Hey man, glad to see you wallowing about again. I've been thinking of Henri Bergson. He seems to place the importance of the will to live above any other secondary or tertiary "wills".

What do you think?

I'm actually thinking about throwing out my Schopenhauer books. I am so effin tired of sapping myself out of life.

Not familiar with Bergson, but I think I’ve had a similar thought: that the meaning of life is enjoying just being alive while you can, and then doing whatever you can to keep on doing that ad long as possible. In contrast to fearing death, or feeling like there’s no point to living. The point to living is to enjoy living, and if you’re really enjoying it while it’s happening you won’t really be afraid of death, even though you should still act as necessary to avoid it.

Quoting Pfhorrest

Not familiar with Bergson, but I think I’ve had a similar thought: that the meaning of life is enjoying just being alive while you can, and then doing whatever you can to keep on doing that some ad long as possible. In contrast to fearing death, or feeling like there’s no point to living. The point to living is to enjoy living, and if you’re really enjoying it while it’s happening you won’t really be afraid if death, even though you should still act as necessary to avoid it.

Dude, talk to me. I have been even empathizing with death recently. You have no idea what kind of stigma this has left on me. [DELETE] I am baffled at what God has imposed on death. I hope to God that he has no heart or conscious.

My heart is bleeding on the very thought.

Reply to Shawn

The good news is, that there is a beginning. The genesis of this awareness inside of you. A re-birth of sorts.

Quoting 3017amen

The good news is, that there is a beginning. The genesis of this awareness inside of you. A re-birth of sorts.

I am suffering man. SO much suffering. I do not understand.

I really have not been indulging in suicidal thought; but, I actually had to go to the hospital recently. I do not understand my own tendencies of emulation; but, once I started thinking of you know who, I became so self-mortifying and sad. It's crazy people.

@unenlightened, I'm really sorry to reach out like a dunce; but, what am I doing wrong, man?

Quoting Shawn

I am suffering man. SO much suffering. I do not understand.

Ok, you seem to have a level of self-awareness whereby it is causing you to introspect about your own happiness and lack thereof.

What is causing this (these are growing pains)? As I said, the good news is that you are apparently going through change/growing pains that is somewhat more acute than you have previously experienced. Are you searching for more; more of some thing, or less of some thing?

For instance, you are seemingly now becoming aware that Existentialism is depressing. Why?

Quoting 3017amen

What is causing this (these are growing pains)? As I said, the good news is that you are apparently going through change/growing pains that is somewhat more acute than you have previously experienced. Are you searching for more; more of some thing, or less of some thing?

For instance, you are seemingly now becoming aware that Existentialism is depressing. Why?

I am not feeling enough, dude. I feel like I'm dying out of this lack of feeling pain. That's what I'm all about nowadays.

Existentialism itself is not depressing, it is that arising sentiment that life itself is causing pain that makes one want to shut off from the world.

I'm really neurotic about medicine nowadays, it's like all doctors are out there to relieve pain, when that's what we need, as human beings.

Reply to Shawn

Not to sound glib, but what is pleasure without pain? (What does that look like… .)

I realize it is easy to dichotomize everything, but...

Quoting 3017amen

Not to sound glib, but what is pleasure without pain? (What does that look like… .)

I realize it is easy to dichotomize everything, but...

Everyone, if not most people, are relieving pain nowadays. Ibuprofen, morphine, SSRI's, man. It's scary that we're all shutting down our pain centers.

And, then there's anger. Everyone is being lobotomized from all this overabundance of happiness.

I'm sorry if this thread is devolving; but, happiness is found through excruciating pain and then a norm of some sort. Now bann me, lol.

Reply to Shawn Define what you mean by 'happiness'.

Quoting 180 Proof

Define what you mean by 'happiness'.

Can that eveeeeer be accomplished, compadre?

Reply to Shawn So you cannot define what you mean by 'happiness'?

Quoting 180 Proof

So you cannot define what you mean by 'happiness'?

I believe it is normative in nature, even in an elevated sense.

Epictetus in eudaimonia.

Quoting praxis

Epictetus in eudaimonia.

Thanks broseph. It's not really fun or anything, just so you know... Epicurus takes the cake here for some reason.

Reply to Shawn ??? :mask:

Reply to 180 Proof

Sorry guy, I had a mini meltdown, then some satanic dreams. I'm somewhat in a error loop recently.

Reply to Shawn
Your question about happiness is interesting. I read Spinoza as speaking as a happy person. He certainly resisted the dour premises of many of his contemporaries. He lived his life on his terms even though it exiled him from many associations. He found his own associations.

[i]Democritus
Siddhartha Gautama
Diogenes of Sinope
Epicurus
Pyrrho of Elis
Seneca
Epictetus
Montaigne
Spinoza
Hume
Peter Wessel Zapffe
Bertrand Russell
Martin Buber
Daniel Dennett
Martha Nussbaum
Slavoj Žižek[/i]