Happiness Interviews and Happiness Analyzed Essay Example for Free

Happiness Interviews and Happiness Analyzed EssayThe first person I interviewed was my mom, Shirley. The reason I chose her is because she is 83 years old and raised seven kids during the early part of the raw War. She has been married twice, she been broke then been comfortable still not wealthy, and she has seen her share of wellness problems. For my second interview, I chose a new co-worker named Doug. He is a 21 year old, homosexual, single father. While he does work to pay bills, he grew up in a family with money and usually gets what he asks for. He has never experienced a traumatic event such as a death in the family, serious health conditions, or hard financial judgment of convictions. He is the exact opposite of my mother, making him a perfect comparison. Interview with Shirley interview What does Happiness mean to you? Response Well, to me bliss is just being content with life. Bills paid with a little money in my pocketbook, time to relax, and spending time with p eople I love. Question Has this always been your definition of Happiness? Why or why not? Response No, of course not. When I married at 17, I thought mirth was being married and raising a family.However, being as it was just after WWII, birth control was out of my control, and as time went on, my husband failed to work, and the burden of taking care of 7 children on government funds and part-time bartending was al some too much. Happiness had fleeted from my life. My marriage end after my eighth child died a sidereal day after birth and I had a hysterectomy. My husband felt that I was no longer a woman and filed for divorce and custody of our kids. After the divorce, my oldest son left for the Navy and my younger kids had been ordered to life with their father, I was miserable.Finally, I began working full-time, and found pleasure within myself. Things got even better when I met your dad. Having a loving husband and a job I loved, I thought I had it all. I had no idea that 7 yea rs after we married, we would get the chance to adopt you, completing the circle. Life was complete and I had never been happier. Question What was your definition of happiness then? Response Happiness was staying home and raising you eon your dad worked and made enough for us to pay the bills and not be broke, and our family time on the weekend with no worries just each other.Question After suffering from a life-threatening heart condition leading to open-heart surgery and almost losing your husband to a heart attack, did happiness take on a new meaning? Response Of course. Now happiness is living one more day to see my wonderful husband, my daughter, and my precious granddaughter. Without that, life would be unbearable. Happiness is also knowing that those you love are keen and satisfied with their lives. Question Do you cogitate your opinion of happiness will change in the future? Response not likely, I mean I am 83 years old.Not much close to me is gonna change at this point in my life. (S. Burkhert, personal communication, March 23, 2012) Interview with Doug Question What does Happiness mean to you? Response Happiness is doing what I want when I want, not answering to anyone, and having enough money to do whatever. Its nearly being comfortable with whom I am as a gay man with a daughter and as a young adult with so many things I want to do. Question Does it affect your happiness if your actions cause someone else sadness or pain? What about your daughters happiness.Response No, I dont really care about other people.I care about me first and if it impinge ons my daughter happy too, then its a bonus. I get what I want because if Im unhappy, nobodys happy. Question Have you always been that greedy about your happiness? Response Yeah, pretty much. Question Dont you presuppose everyone has the right to be happy? Response Sure, as long as it doesnt affect me. (D. Pittman, personal communication, March 26, 2012) Happiness Analyzed Dawn Burkhert HU300 hu manities and Humanities Kaplan University In The Art of Being Human, Aristippus defined happiness as the sum of total pleasures experienced during ones lifetime.However, after interviewing two all told different people, reading Chapter 7 in The Art of Being Human, and analyzing my own thoughts about happiness, I do not believe Aristippus definition to be accurate. To some, its about raising a family and enjoying lifes little moments, to others its about personal happiness at any cost, and to a few it is about doing good deeds for other people. Happiness can be fleeting or ever-lasting, can be spiritually influenced or materialistic. For every person, happiness takes on a different meaning.During the first interview with my 83 year old mom, Shirley, family was a key ingredient to her happiness. She was raised to believe in marriage and declamatory families, as well as never putting herself first. Her happiness lies within knowing that she is making her family happy and spending tim e with her loved ones. She never asks for much, but always gives more than anyone could ever ask. Acts of such selflessness are not as plentiful as in her days, post the Great Depression and during the Cold War. On the other side of the coin, Doug, my second interview is very much the believer is selfish happiness.He pure tones that his happiness lies with him getting what he wants, when he wants, and without ask to others. As a 21 year old single man, Doug feels that he must always be happy before he can make his daughter happy. He said he would break a promise to his daughter in a heartbeat to do or get something he wanted. He stated that his happiness should come before all others. He has little consideration for others and could care less about other peoples opinions. This seems to be a destructive attitude to have, especially since we will not always get what we want, when we want, or how we want.As for me, I think that happiness should be both about ourselves and those surro unding us. Without happiness, we are nothing more than God-made robots. We were made to feel empathy, sympathy, joy, sadness and other sordid emotions. Happiness is supposed to be the most cherished of emotions according to the emotional state theory of happiness (http//plato. stanford. edu/entries/happiness/). Of all theories of happiness I have researched through the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, I declare the most with the life satisfaction theory.This theory states that happiness is a positive outlook on a persons whole life not just a few selected events. The life satisfaction theory is the most applicable of theories I think because it tells us not to pick and choose which events in our life brought us happiness or which we would like to forget. It lends itself to the idea that regret of past events or bitter feelings of things we cannot change is not acceptablebe happy with who and what you are regardless of your situation and others opinions.That describes me so well and I think everyone should feel this way. Happiness is a wonderful feeling, no matter what it is that makes us feel this emotion. I doubt there will ever be a universal opinion of what happiness really is, what it constitutes, and what brings it to us. Some people are happiest while serving others, some while being served, and others are content just being alone. Regardless of how we obtain happiness, we all deserve happiness.