[Vision2020] "Happy Hour" is not what Aristotle had in mind

[rvrcowboy]

Nick,

Sorry, I got bored with this long before I reached the end of your
long-winded-diatribe of intelluctual word wasting.

As a redneck I would just sum it all up like this... "Never too much fun!"
Makes sense, it's to the point and it doesn't waste time.  See, wasn't that
easy?

Enjoy your retirement,

Dick S.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: <nickgier at adelphia.net>
To: <vision2020 at moscow.com>
Sent: Tuesday, May 30, 2006 10:36 AM
Subject: [Vision2020] "Happy Hour" is not what Aristotle had in mind


> Greetings:
>
> Here is a longer version of my radio commentary for next week.  Following
my Minder's inerrant advise I will henceforth not reveal any reasons for my
absence from the list.  I can't resist, however, to add that the Indian
student I sponsor is a Christian and the one before that was an Indian
Christian as well.
>
> A Note to my Lewiston Minder: As per your instructions, I've written
something apolitical just for you.
>
> Have a very happy week,
>
> Nick Gier
>
> "HAPPY HOUR" WAS NOT WHAT ARISTOTLE HAD IN MIND
>
> Those only are happy who have their minds fixed . . .
> on the improvement of mankind, even on some art or pursuit.
> Aiming thus at something else, they find happiness by the way.
>
> --John Stuart Mill
>
>
> By Nick Gier
>
> There has been much in the press these days about happiness. Since the
1950s, those who interview us have found little change in the number of
those who are happy.  This means that 50 years of more leisure time,
consuming more material goods, and the institution of "happy hour" have not
raised our feelings of well being.
>
> The lack of progress in our pursuit of happiness may be due to confusing
happiness with pleasure. Webster's defines pleasure as the "state of sensual
gratification" that comes from a good massage, a drink of fresh water, and a
sandwich to quell our hunger pangs.
>
> The Greek philosopher Aristotle would have agreed with Webster's
definition of happiness as "well being and contentment."  Aristotle chose an
absolutely beautiful Greek word for this state: eudaimonia, which literally
means "having a good spirit or soul."  As opposed to pleasure, having a good
soul has an ethical dimension to it. Aristotle believes that a person must
have a full complement of the virtues to be happy.  Some of these virtues
are wisdom, moderation, generosity, and truthfulness, integrity, and
courage.
>
> Pleasure is transitory because our thirst can be slaked and our stomachs
can be filled.  Indeed, we can be so sated with a pleasurable activity that
it becomes joyless and meaningless. But for Aristotle true happiness is a
constant companion, and it would really be absurd to say that we can have
too much happiness.  Great misfortune can undermine happiness, but those who
recover can experience joy in practicing the virtues that give us that deep
feeling of well being and contentment.
>
> It is not only important to distinguish happiness from pleasure, but we
must recognize that joy is a unique experience as well. We say that our
hearts are filled with joy, indicating that the location of this feeling is
not from any of the sense organs.  We would never say that our hearts are
overflowing with pleasure, and we never jump with pleasure, but of course we
jump with joy.  Sometimes we are so overwhelmed that we cry with joy.
"Crying with pleasure" sounds very odd, doesn't it?
>
> Let us now look at pleasure, joy, and happiness and test them according to
various criteria. With regard to duration it is quite clear that if we take
happiness to be Aristotle's contentment, then both joy and pleasure are
momentary and happiness, except for in cases of great misfortune, lasts for
a life time.
>
> With regard to the related issue of their location, pleasure is situated
in the sense organs, while joy and happiness are states of the "heart-mind,"
a beautiful and useful phrase that I borrow from Confucianism.  Too many
Western philosophers have tried to incite a war between the mind, our
bodies, and our emotions.
>
> If we think of the causes of the pleasure, joy, and happiness, we have
already noted that the cause of pleasure is stimulating the sense organs.
The cause of happiness, following Aristotle, is developing the virtues plus
sufficient health and material goods to meet life's needs.  The joy that we
take in our loved ones and our own successes are not necessarily preceded by
pleasant sensations.  The joy I experience in my writing sometimes comes out
of great mental anguish and frustration.
>
> We must also recognize that much joy is triggered by memory and not
sensation. Memories of my daughter as a young girl give me incredible bursts
of joy, just as memories of times that I might have lost her give me great
distress. Webster's (7th ed.) is right in distinguishing joy from both
pleasure and delight, because joy "may imply a more deep-rooted rapturous
emotion than either."
>
> Pleasure is distinct from joy and happiness in yet another way. We never
regret joy or happiness, but we may very well regret the initial pleasures
of overeating, drinking too much, taking drugs, and recreational sex. On the
other hand, most of us would never regret the times we have fallen in love
or the joys that we have experienced with our family and friends and our own
personal successes.  With regard to regretting happiness, it seems utterly
absurd for one, who after years of moral development, regrets the well being
and contentment that result from such an achievement.
>
> As John Stuart Mill indicates in the epigraph above, there is a way in
which happiness differs significantly from joy and pleasure. If I want
pleasure, all that I have to do is stimulate the sense organs; if I want a
moment of joy, and I will hug my partner or hold the nearest baby.  But
there is something Zen-like about happiness: if I aim for it, I cannot have
it. There is no specific stimulus for happiness; one cannot turn it off and
on; rather, one must develop the life of virtue that brings it about
ineluctably.
>
> Aristotle would have jumped with joy on reading psychologist Martin
Seligman's new book "Authentic Happiness."  Seligman confirms the ancient
Greek connection between happiness and the virtues.  Seligman's list of
six—wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and spirituality—match
Aristotle's virtues quite nicely.
>
> The ancient Greeks loved their wine and Aristotle enjoyed a "happy hour"
with his friends and students every day.  (His most famous student,
Alexander the Great, and his Macedonian warriors were far too fond of
drink.) But from those bliss-filled Elysian Fields Aristotle reminds us that
it is easy to gratify our senses, but it is difficult to develop the virtues
necessary for true happiness.
>
> Nick Gier taught religion and philosophy at the University of Idaho for 31
years. This column was adapted from the end of chapter 9 of his book The
Virtue of Non-Violence, which is now available in paperback from State
University of New York Press.
>
>
>
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