The World Happiness Report 2025 highlights the complexities of happiness, ranking the U.S. at 24th. The report emphasizes the significance of caring and sharing, paralleling Shakespeare's notion of mercy as 'twice-blessed'. It argues that happiness extends beyond fleeting emotions, rooted in human physiology and cultural experiences. Reflecting on Shakespeare's literature provides insights into historical and present-day happiness and unhappiness. The etymology of happiness connects it to 'fortune', indicating its evolving understanding through time and societal influences.
In this year's issue, we focus on the impact of caring and sharing on people's happiness. Like 'mercy' in Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice, caring is 'twice-blessed'âit blesses those who give and those who receive.
Happiness is grounded in both the body and the mind, influenced by human physiology and culture in ways that change depending on time and place.
Happiness has a history... what Shakespeare has to say about what makes people happy, in his own time and in our own.
Happiness derives from the Old Norse word hap, which meant 'fortune' or 'luck'. This earlier sense is found throughout Shakespeare's works.
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