Common Painkillers Can Be Used to Treat Mental Health Issues Fact
Studies show both mental and physical pain can be treated with common painkillers like Aspirin, but there are complex factors to consider.
Happiness
Happiness is a state of joy, we can consider happiness as a physical, mental, emotional, or even spiritual state of elation caused by higher and lower order factors.
The freedom to pursue happiness is perhaps the most basic human right, while happiness itself (as a broad concept) can be said to be the meaning of life.
We can understand happiness physiologically, psychologically, or philosophically and look for the many complex drivers and cause and affect relationships. On one level happiness is a testable chemical reaction, but on another level some of the truest words on happiness are spoken by poets. The core is simple, the mechanics complex.
Is happiness gained through aesthetic pleasures (sensual), either immediate or tactically planned, or are more ethical pleasures they key? Which one is more just, virtuous, and ethical? Either/ør is perhaps the best answer, although some (like me) claim A and B, but only in moderation with the two tempering each other.
- “If you want happiness for an hour — take a nap.
- If you want happiness for a day — go fishing.
- If you want happiness for a year — inherit a fortune.
- If you want happiness for a lifetime — help someone else.”
– A Chinese Proverb
Factoids tagged with "Happiness"
Bringing Something Into the Light Takes Away Its Power Fact
Bringing secrets and the taboo “out of the dark and into the light”, by practicing transparency and openness rather than repression, takes away their power.
The Greeks Founded the Basis of Utilitarianism and Consequentialism Fact
Although we can consider Jeremy Bentham the founder of modern Utilitarianism, and his successor John Stuart Mill the one who popularized it, early Greek philosophers like Aristotle, Aristippus and Epicurus presented the original Utilitarian / Consequentialist / Greatest Happiness theories.
Machiavelli Said, “the Ends Justify the Means” Myth
Niccolò Machiavelli never said, “the ends justify the means”, although he did elude to a complex version of the concept in his Prince.
Adam Smith is the Father of Modern Economics Fact
Adam Smith can be considered the father of modern economics due to his influential works which explore the mechanics of morality, markets, and capitalism in an industrialized society.
Smiling and Laughing Have Health Benefits Fact
Smiling and laughing have health benefits, they improve your mood and the moods of those around you. An uplifted mood has been long-linked to good health.
Money Can Buy Happiness Fact
Money can buy happiness in some ways, and cause unhappiness in others, studies have shown that different types of wealth and income affect happiness and unhappiness in a variety of ways.
Light Can Affect Mood Fact
Exposure to light in moderation, especially natural sunlight, can have an uplifting effect on mood, while excessive darkness can have the opposite effect.
Thoughts Can Create Reality Myth
Our thoughts can shape our inner reality and outward perceptions of things (neuroplasticity), but to affect or create a reality outside ourselves, we must interact with the world and communicate our thoughts.
Thoughts Can “Rewire” Your Brain Fact
Thoughts and other stimuli can essentially “rewire” our brain, strengthening useful synaptic pathways and weakening less used ones, this is called neuroplasticity (AKA learning and memory).
Happy Birthday Was Copyright Protected Fact
“Happy birthday” was copyright protected from 1935 until Sept 2015. During that time you couldn’t sing happy birthday publicly without paying royalties.
Blog Posts tagged with "Happiness"
Commodity Fetishism, Consumerism, the Society of the Spectacle, Alienation, and More
We define terms related to “the society of the spectacle” like commodity fetishism, consumerism, “proletarianization,” and alienation.
Aspects of Daily Fulfillment
We present a simple self-help strategy to increase one’s feeling of fulfillment in their daily lives.
What is Fairness? / What is Justice?
Plato’s Republic, utilitarianism, the philosophies of morality, ethics, politics, virtue, and law are all centered around one question “what is justice?” (AKA “what is fairness?”).
Fairness, Justice, Morality, Ethics, and Utilitarianism
On this page we discuss the concepts of fairness, justice, morality, and ethics as they relate to Utilitarianism.
Re-Defining Social Capitalism
Social Capitalism can be defined as a socially minded form of capitalism, where the goal is doing social good, rather than just the accumulation of capital.
The Historical Effects of Wealth Inequality
We examine the historical effects of social, political, and economic inequality on society to see how it has led to social unrest and events like revolutions and populist uprisings.
Vices and Virtues Explained
We present a list of vices and virtues and look at vices and virtues as understood by philosophers like Aristotle and Aquinas.
Essentialism vs. Existentialism
Essentialism is the idea that everything has an essence (something that “makes it, it”). Existentialism says there is no essence (no intrinsic meaning that can be confirmed by the senses or reason).
Adam Smith as a Moral Philosopher
We explain Adam Smith as a Moral Philosopher, and explore how his Theory of Moral Sentiments connects to his economic theory from The Wealth of Nations.
What is “the Invisible Hand”?
“The invisible hand” is a term used by Adam Smith to describe the theory that self-interest leads to social and economic benefits in a free-market.
Wealth and Income Inequality
We explain economic inequality from a historical perspective, and then consider the effects of wealth inequality and income inequality in America today.
The Point of Life is Happiness
We present a discussion on “the meaning of life as happiness,”the Greatest Happiness Theory,” “the Good Life,”the Pursuit of Happiness,” and Virtue Theory.
Arete Explained
Areté roughly means “moral virtue”. It refers to an innate “excellence” or “essence” in all things, and the striving toward that potential or purpose.
Book Reviews tagged with "Happiness"
Tolstoy’s There Are No Guilty People
We Present the first chapter of Leo Tolstoy’s short story, There Are No Guilty People, alongside a short introduction and a link to the full work.