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Human happiness |
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0301 |
The connection between the sense of life and happiness |
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03010001
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What is the sense of life?The mutual link between the sense of life and happiness becomes apparent in the fact that the presence of a certain sense of the life is a condition of happiness and on the other side, the aspiration of happiness gives life a certain sense. Being without sense of existence is a big disaster for a man, on the contrary, man experiences happiness, when his life is deeply rationally grounded.
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1. Sense of life and happiness.
The presence of a certain sense of the life is a condition of happiness and the aspiration of happiness gives life a certain sense. (03010001) |
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030101 |
What is such happiness? |
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03010101
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Why such a variety of opinions about happiness?The word ’happiness’ is one, but the meaning of happiness is a multitude of things. Already Ch. Fourier wrote: “In Rome at the time of Varron 278 contradictory ideas existed about the true happiness, the number is much higher in Paris”. Why such a variety of opinions about happiness? There are two reasons:
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2. Variety of opinions.
(03010101) |
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03010102
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1. On the superfice the phenomenon of happiness of individual man occurs as something subjective and random, which arouses a big variety of controversial opinions about it. |
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03010103
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2. Happiness even in its essence is something rather complicated, versatile. People often have taken some one side of it, a tiny part of happiness and presented it for others. From this arose such, for instance, definitions: happiness in love, happiness in work, happiness in doing charity to people etc. |
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03010104
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Is there a controversy between individual and general happiness?On this grounds that there is a multitude of different opinions about happiness, some people draw the conclusion, that no such thing as unitary common for all conception of happiness can exist. What can be said of this? Just as all other phenomena of life, happiness of everybody represents in itself union of general and particular. Without contest everybody is happy in his own way, but this does not exclude common moments of human happiness in general.
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3. Happiness in general.
(03010104) |
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03010105
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What is a working expression of happiness?Generally speaking, happiness is in the fullness of life, in that all sides of it, physical, moral, spiritual, estethic are developed harmoniously together. A working expression of happiness are love and creativity.
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4. Love and creativity.
(03010105) |
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03010106
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Below is given a diagram of happiness: |
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03010107
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As we see, happiness is versatile. Its necessary conditions, prerequisites are:
Spiritual:- spiritual richness (knowledge, culture);
- spiritual health, integrity, particularly moral purity;
Material:- material wellbeing, wealthiness;
- physical health, integrity.
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03010108
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All these elements comprise love and creativeness. Without love and creativity happiness is only a possibility. They make it reality. |
5. Love and creativity make happiness reality.
(03010108) |
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0302 |
Happiness: a result of fortune and fight and work |
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03020001
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Behave as you would literally already be happy and you really feel happy.
Dale Carnegie |
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03020002
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Which two extreme concepts of happiness?There are two extreme positions in the concept of happiness. Some people consider that happiness is completely a gift of destiny, a result of good fortune, a random gift. Others state that happiness is completely depending of man, his will and desires.
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6. A random gift.
(03020002) |
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03020003
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In reality it is result of good luck, and result of fight and work. “Fortuna is like a shy lover, even if loves to present its favor, makes us fight for it.” – said Bouvi. Or: “Happiness and unhappiness of man depend as much on moral as on destiny” – J. La Bruyère. |
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03020004
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Usually is emphasized the moment of happiness depending on man himself, and especially on the fact that man is the smith of his own happiness. On this occasion there are a mass of significant expressions, from the most modest to the most powerful: |
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03020005
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- ”Happiness is not so blind as it is assumed”, Catherine II (Memoirs)
- ”Once happiness, twice happiness - God bless, also sense is needed.” – A.V. Suvorov.
- ”You must learn to be happy.” – A.S. Makarenko.
- ”The only means to ber happy is to build happiness with own hands.” – J.J. Rousseau.
- ”Happiness is conquered and elaborated, not obtained ready from the hand of benefactor. And the most laborious part of it is just, that you learn the concept and search the way that must lead to it.” D.I. Pisarev.
- ”If you want to be happy, become it.” (anonymous writer)
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03020011
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And so it is. Although we understand with brain that everything does not depend on us, nevertheless we desire to something that we must experience for our part in the way to happiness, not regarding to anything. With our activity we can compensate bad luck and even challenge a bad lot. |
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0303 |
Happiness is a combination of being satisfied and not being it |
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03030001
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Happiness must not be considered as a full, absolute satisfaction of life. “Our happiness, wrote old G. Leibniz, is not at all only full satisfaction, without nothing more to be wished, that our brain could bring forth. Eternal aspiration to new enjoyments new skills is also happiness.” |
7. Full, absolute satisfaction of life.
(03030001) |
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03030002
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How does human happiness differ from 'animal happiness'?Some people, after having reached some success in life, consider that they are happy enough and there is no need to aspire more. Such people are like ants, which if they had brains, would think that they are happy, if their ant heap would be in complete order. Human being differs from animal in that he is not satisfied with what he has reached.
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03030003
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In what sense is the human happiness contradictory?Genuine human happiness is contradictory of its nature. It unites harmoniously in itself satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Having become the process, happiness can only exist thanks to constant change of satisfaction and dissatisfaction. If life were a continuous chain of satisfaction, with absolute inexistence of dissatisfaction, then also the satisfaction itself would not exist as satisfaction.
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8. Happiness is contradictory of its nature.
(03030003) |
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03030004
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What kind of dissatisfaction can be considered a moment of happiness?We must, however, remark that not all dissatisfaction is moment of happiness and in harmony with satisfaction. Moment of happiness can only be creative dissatisfaction, dissatisfaction reached, not causing spiritual suffering and not being unhappiness; in that kind of dissatisfaction there is an impuls for further movement ahead. If dissatisfaction is a result of disappointed hopes, this causes suffering and is felt as unhappiness.
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9. Dissatisfaction is a result of disappointed hopes.
(03030004) |
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03030005
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Sometimes it is said: unhappiness is a good school of life. Yes, it may be in some cases. But happiness is a better school. And in general, Russian proverb is right: happiness contributes to understanding, unhappiness takes away the rest of it. |
10. Russian proverb.
(03030005) |
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0304 |
Is it possible to make people happy, or even more: to get them stay happy? |
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03040001
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In what way private and general happiness are conflicting?In the problem of human happiness there is a view connected with relations between people. One thing is when one wants to be happy, builds conditions for this etc. Another matter, when somebody without thinking own happiness tries to make happy others or even the whole human society. D. Diderot has written: “The happiest man is he who gives happiness to the greatest number of other people” (F091). K. Marx, repeating Diderot: “… experience shows that the happiest is he who brought happiness to the greatest number of people” – “developed” the idea: “If we have chosen a profession, in which we can best work for human society. We do not fall under its burden, because this is a sacrifice in the name of all; this way we do not experience a lamentable limited egoistic joy, but our happiness will belong to millions…” (F092). You see how Marx put his question: “work for the human society”, “sacrifice in the name of all”. He not only allows the situation of sacrificing private happiness for the happiness of millions – but does not even see other alternative, that without sacrifice. Obviously, such a variety does not exist. Whoever will bring happiness to as many people as possible, he must willing or not willing forget such a trifle as is personal happiness (Marx derogatively named the private happiness as “deplorable”, limited, egoistic joy”).
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11. Private vs. common.
(03040001) |
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03040002
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Do people want that they are made happy?To what extent is justified the aspiration to bring happiness to the greatest possible number of people? This causes another question: but do people want that they are made happy? Is not there a binding of their will and their understanding (particularly their conception of happiness) to that of other people, to the wholw human society? Is not there an effect of undesired benefactor, defender, savior? As a matter of fact, who asked these ‘self-sacrificing people’ to make others happy, bring others happiness? If they themselves deny (self-denying), particularly, ready to sacrifice own happiness, so how would they understand, what is needed for other people, what kind of happiness in general is needed for other people?! Man who self did not experience happiness, only theoretically can imagine happiness. But theoretical happiness may strongly differ from actual happiness, from that what is really needed for people.
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12. Happiness to the greatest possible number of people?
(03040002) |
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03040003
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Why is the aim of making other people happy a dangerous utopy?The aim of making other people happy is a dangerous utopy. Nobody can make somebody happy, and even less bring happiness to many people. Happiness is a very individual category. This means that only the man himself can make himself happy. He is the subject of happiness or unhappiness. Man can be made rich (for instance by leaving him heritage), he can be given nutrition, blood etc., but make him happy is not possible! When mothers think that they can make their child happy, they are deeply mistaken. Mistaken are men and women who think that they make happy those with whom they live. Mistaken are political and other activists thinking that they may bring happiness to many people. K. Popper justly wrote: “To love a man means desire to make him happy. (Such a definition of happiness, by the way, belongs to Thomas Aquinas.) Of all political ideals, however, those, which are animated by desire to make man happy, are the most dangerous. Those ideals constantly lead to attempts to bind others our system of ‘highest’ values in the purpose that they were conscious of what from our point of view is the most valuable for their happiness, for that what, so to say, saves their soul. They lead to utopism and romanticism. We all feel, that anybody would be happy and excellent and complete in our dreams. Without doubt, heaven would come onto earth, if we all could love each other. But as I already said (in chapter 9), attempt to create paradise on the earth invariantly leads to building of underworld. It calls for intolerance. It calls for religious wars and saving of souls by means of inquisition. In this, I am confident, it is based on complete misunderstanding of our moral duty. Our moral duty is to help those who are in need of our help, but moral duty is not limited to making others happy, because this does not depend on us, and what too often turns out to be nothing else than meddling into the private life of those, towards whom we sustain friendly propensity.” (F093)
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13. Dangerous utopy.
(03040003) |
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03040004
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Why is Lenin considered a 'gentleman' criminal?Wonderful utopism of V.I. Lenin. Lenin belongs to those who already long ago were characterized as ‘gentlemen’ criminals. Lenin did not of bad intentions deceit other people, turned to ostrachism and constructed terror against parts of society. He completely honestly wanted happiness to people, and not only wanted, but was haunted by the idea of making people happy. Exagerated endeavour to something usually leads to the opposite result. We remember how in 1920’s on the camp of Solovetsk a slogan of special meaning was erected: “With iron hand se are driving human society to happiness.” These words belong to L.D. Trotsky, the closest companion of Lenin. In them there is the cynic truth of ‘gentleman’ criminality. Completely justly remarks A.T. Latyshev: “Differing from some critics of Lenin, who consider now that the main goal of the activity of Lenin was to seize and hold the power, believed that the strive of his whole life was to make part of the population the planet happy (workers, poor farmers), by destroying for this goal another part (‘rich’, religious, liberals, intelligence etc.). But this kind of ‘classmurder’ is no better than nazist genocide.” (F094)
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Message to authors
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