Some people say you can't know happiness until you know sadness. You can't know wealth until you've known poverty. I think there is some truth to it from my observation of rich people. Got big house, big car, women, lots of money, and still not happy liao.

I started thinking about it when I saw people playing video games. If someone took your game away, you will be mad. The question is why, Your real-life survival doesn't depend on the game. Some say it is a time-waster becoz you burn 40-50 hours and got nothing but red eyes but it is so important in your life that you cannot let it go. Shouldn't you be thanking the guy who takes it away because he's relieving you of a problem? No game, no need to worry about high score, right?

A video game is an imaginary challenge. So is skydiving, street racing, learning music, etc. We don't actually need to do these things to survive but we do it anyway. We actually spend a staggering the amount of energy and money trying to solve imaginary problems, to score an imaginary goal. If we succeed, we feel good about ourselves. We get self esteem and confidence, something to brag about. If we don't, we try again.

Everybody says they hate problems but guess what we do when we have no problems. We start looking for a problem to solve. A hobby, a sport, a project, something that can make us declare, "Yes!! I did it!!"

That's why I think we need our problems to be happy. What do you think?

This might help with the question.

In your opinion, what is happiness? Is it a) the absence of problems? or b) our ability to conquer them?

If (a) then techincally you are happiest when you are dead. If (b), if we could remove all the challenges in our lives, then we also remove any possibility for us to be happy because without challenges there is nothing more to conquer. This is another way of saying we need pain and problems to be happy. (Yup it sounds kinda s&m twisted but I don't know how else to put it.)

Next time you start wishing oh, if only all my problems would disappear, I would be so happy, be careful of your wish. Because if what I think is right, you'll be more miserable than happy if all your problems disappear.

What do you think?

Thanks for your opinion guys.

teongpeng says happiness is the absence of sadness. Something Else says the absence of problems is not happiness.

Could happiness be defined by describing what it is than what its not? We do that in physics where cold is merely the absence of heat. There is no such thing as 'cold.' If happiness is the absence of sadness, then could it be that there is really no such thing as happiness?

It sounds trivial but I am trying to figure out what people really mean when they say they are looking for happiness. The other day a fren said she wanted to enjoy herself so she went shopping with her friends. Ended up with a $1,000 credit card bill. She will be working 6 months to pay that off, dealing with people she rather not deal with. So we find happiness by putting ourselves thru more torture? That's why my mind couldn't compute.

The problem I have with defining happiness as satisfying one's desire is that it is a double edged sword. I buy the car of my dreams, I am satisfied & happy. But for that I have to pay back the loan for 5 years. I develop a fear of losing my job which will mean separating from the thing I love. Fear is the opposite of happiness.

Same thing if you have a beautiful girlfriend, the girl of your dreams. You are happy but the problem is, 20 other guys may also think she is beautiful. Sometimes that create problem for her and for you. You fear losing her. Fear is the opposite of happiness.

Wherever there is sunshine there is always a shadow. Not trying to be negative minded but just describing something obvious from my point of view.

What u say is true, dreamer101.

If percpeptions make reality, I would say 99.99% of the world population is caught up in duality.

Actually there is a lot of unhealthiness in a 'healthy' body. We have toxin buildup and germ warfare going on every second. 'Health' only means our healthy bits are stronger than our unhealthy bits.

A healthy body doesn't just happen. It needs to be conditioned. That conditioning involves the pain of exercise and often unhealthiness like immunization. When we immunize, they inject a germ (weak dose) into us that we wish to immunize against. Its like throwing us to a gang fight, a small one so we toughen up and are prepared for the big one. We usually feel unwell a day or two after the innoculation.

If we take all that away beforehand, we will be unhealthy. That is the causal link between unhealthiness and health that I see.

I see where you're coming from and you have a good point. I do remember falling sick for a day after I got an innoculation, for smallpox I think. Would you say having fever as being in a healthy or unhealthy state? If not unhealthy, would we describe the people getting treatment at the clinic for cough, fever, etc. as not sick? (sick = unhealthy)

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Added on May 11, 2010, 9:33 amDon't forget happy pills and other mood altering drugs.

Although I don't know if taking happy pills gives you the same feeling as winning a lottery. I never experienced either one before.


This post has been edited by Beastboy: May 11 2010, 09:33 AM

Not siding anyone here but is it possible for people to have a mature discussion and not revert to name calling or being personal? Can we focus on the issue rather than attack the persons raising the issue? This is the PhD section, not kindergarten. If we cannot be civil, what's the point of enlightening discussions?

No I don't but if its like any forum I've been to, the place won't be complete without one.

Chemically there is a basis on which medication like prozac is made but beyond that, I don't think you ever will find an academic explanation on something so subjective.