The article critiques the widespread obsession with constant happiness, reflecting on insightful perspectives from Whitney Goodman and philosopher Lorraine Besser. Goodman argues that the relentless pursuit of happiness is misleading, suggesting it's akin to snake oil. Besser highlights that a good life acknowledges unhappiness as part of the human experience, allowing for genuine value in those moments. The author introduces the concept of 'virtue-happiness,' which emerges from ethical living and is compatible with both joy and sorrow, reinforcing that ethics is a universal pursuit, not just a personal standard.
Anyone that is fixated on making you feel happy all the time is selling you snake oil in my opinion. It doesn't make sense. It doesn't work... telling people that they just need to be happy, to manifest different thoughts, I think it would have worked by now.
A good life allows for unhappiness. Our unhappy moments or periods don't have to interfere with our living good lives, so we can embrace them and experience value from them.
But there is an equivocation between sense of happiness when we speak generally about our lives. I would like to defend happiness of a sort that certainly allows you to feel bad or go through hard times.
It's the kind of happiness you get from being ethical. And what is 'ethical' is not left up to a matter of personal opinion, either.
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