Hu300 Unit 7 Views on Happiness

Views on Happiness Charlotte Briscoe HU 300 Kaplan University ? What Happiness means to others The first person I interviewed was a close friend of mine named Gabrielle Hine. She is twenty three years old and we went to high school together. We have been friends since we were both thirteen years old and actually she entered the school a few months before me. We tend to have very similar taste in everything from food down to music and clothes, it does tend to get quite freaky at times. The second person I interviewed was my neighbour Natalie Goodwin. She is a thirty three year old single mom with four kids.

I have passed her a few times in the hall as we live on the same floor but she live in one direction and I the other. We mostly talk about our children or the loud noises on the street. Before asking to interview her I really did not know much about her or her background. Interview with Gabrielle Question: How would you define Happiness? Response: Happiness for me is getting time to spend with my close friends and family. The time when I am at my happiest is when I am back home spending quality time with my twin sisters. Living so far away I don’t get to be a big sister to them much so any time we do have is cherish able.

Question: Has your definition of Happiness changed over time? Response: Yes my definition of Happiness has changed with my age. When I was a teenager my definition of happiness relied upon boys and make up. If a boy I fancied liked me back that made me one of the happiest teenagers around. Question: What experiences have influenced your definition? Response: I guess you could say time and age have influenced my definition. Not only these factors but the loss of a close family member has also made me realise that family and time spent with them really is important.

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Question: Do you expect your definition to change in the future? Response: Yes I can say that this definition will change when I have kids and when my children have their children. Question: What is your happiest memory to date? Response: That is a hard question but probably the day my twin sisters asked me advice about boys. This memory reminds me so much of when I was their age. It made me so happy to think they value my advice and opinions. (G. Hine, Personal Communication, October 7th 2012) Interview with Natalie Question: How would you define Happiness? Response: That is simple my children are my whole world.

Everything they do brings happiness to me. Question: Has your definition of Happiness changed over time? Response: Yes with the birth of each of my children the happiness I experience grows more and more. Sure bad things have happened to me in the past but my children are my true reason for living and breathing each day. Question: What experiences have influenced your definition? Response: I would have to say the sole influence at this time is my children and I’m sure one day I will have grandchildren too. Question: Do you expect your definition to change in the future?

Response: Yes I expect that it will change with time and with the birth of my grandchildren in the years to come. Question: What is your happiest memory to date? Response: My happiest memory to date was probably the birth of my oldest she is now 13 years old. She helped me in so many ways to become an adult and take responsibility for someone other than myself. I remember I was so scared to give birth but once she was brought to me and in my arms it’s like nothing I had ever experienced before. (N. Goodwin, Personal Communication, October 7th 2012) ? Understanding Happiness

Charlotte Briscoe HU300 Kaplan University Happiness often means different things to different individuals and often individuals have different definitions of what happiness means to them. Some people define happiness as the pleasures we experience in our life this is what’s known as ‘Hedonism’. ‘Aristippus a Greek philosopher declared happiness to be the sum total of pleasures experienced during one’s life time’ (Janaro & Altshuler, 2009). Whilst some people believe happiness is defined by pleasures of life others believe that it is the avoidance of pain otherwise known as ‘Epicureanism’.

The two people I interviewed defined happiness as spending time with their loved ones. This could fall under the category of ‘Hedonism’ since both of them state that spending time with their family is what makes them happy thus it could be labelled as a source of pleasure in their life. Both Gabrielle and Natalie state their happiness has everything to do with their family. In the case of Gabrielle it is her twin sisters and close friends whom are the definition of happiness for her, however this will more than likely change when she has children. On the other hand for Natalie it is her children whom define her happiness.

She equates her happiness to spending time with her kids and the everyday activities that are involved with parenting. Both of these ladies know that family is precious and even though we may not see them for a while certainly in the case of Gabrielle it makes the time she spends with them special. Appreciating and loving family makes so many things in this world worthwhile. To share a life with family should be counted as one of life’s great pleasures. While both ladies have similar ideals about what their definition of happiness is it could be said that both these views will more than likely change and adapt as time goes past. Aristotelianism is defined as happiness as the quality of a whole life time. ’ “Happiness is the purpose for which we live. Aristotle concluded that happiness is not a moment to moment experience of pleasurable things but rather a way of characterizing how one’s life is being conducted. Happiness is living and having lived a good life”. (Janaro & Altshuler, 2009) While it could be said this definition of happiness does not fit with the majority of individuals ideals of happiness it is actually quite interesting.

Most elderly people who are terminally ill or just dying of old age will often say “I am happy; I have lived a good life. ” Therefore it could be said that ‘Aristotelianism’ is an accurate definition of happiness certainly for that generation. We define and decide what makes us happy, we have a choice and freedom to decide if something makes us happy or not. Although definitions for happiness changes from person to person and culture to culture the ideals will be similar.

What I mean by this is that a person living in America has the right to decide what makes them happy the same as a person living in Nepal. Their definitions will be slightly different and one probably more complex than the other but there is freedom to choose what makes individuals happy. This freedom in its self may add to the individual’s definition of what makes them happy. ? References Janaro R. P. & Altshuler T. C. (2009). The Art of Being Human: The humanities as a technique for living (Kaplan University Custom 2nd Ed. ). New York: Pearson Education, Inc.

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