A Brief History Of Happiness
Posted on February 07, 2024 by Faith Feuer, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.
This articles examines the origin of the study of this complex emotion, beginning with Greek philosophy, all the way through the modern era.
Well, I don’t know about my readers, but before I started all of my research into happiness, I always assumed that happiness was a relatively modern construct. I thought that people centuries ago would have been much more preoccupied with questions of survival than they would have been with figuring out their feelings. As it turns out, I couldn’t have been more wrong. From as early as the fourth century BCE, Greek philosophers such as Aristotle were pondering the complex emotion of happiness…where it comes from, who should get to experience it and how to get more of it. Greek culture of the fourth and fifth centuries BCE was largely governed, according to its citizens, by supernatural forces. The gods controlled everything, including man’s fate and, as such, whether or not an individual was happy was based entirely upon the whim of the gods and either good or bad luck. The role that chance played in assigning happiness is evidenced by the linguistic similarities in words for “luck or chance” and “happiness”. The word “Eudaimonic”, which I mentioned in another swellcast about eudaimonic vs. hedonic happiness, is a good example. The word itself literally means good “spirit”. Within the chaotic universe ruled by the caprices of gods, only a lucky charm or spirit could possibly bring luck. By the same token, the French word for happiness is “bonheur” which literally means “good chance or luck”. Aristotle and his philosopher colleagues rejected this notion of human helplessness in favor of one of human agency. For them, what set humans apart from all other species is the ability to reason. If we live a life based on reason, we are fulfilling our telos, or highest purpose. Living a life of reason is therefore synonymous with living a virtuous life and if we live a virtuous life, the only possible outcome is happiness. Roman intellectuals such as Cicero took things a step further and argued that happiness depends entirely on our will and not at all on external forces. It followed that even the most wretched and miserable should be happy if his or her resolve was strong enough. As he famously stated, “Happiness will not tremble, however much it is tortured”. Indeed, if happiness was the result of virtue and a matter of will, then it seems only logical that it is not at all a given and may involve pain, suffering and sacrifice. Early Christian philosophy somewhat agreed. Although Christ enjoins His followers throughout the New Testament to “rejoice and be glad”, the general idea is that although you may suffer greatly on Earth (think: The Beatitudes), your reward, or happiness, in heaven will be greater. Both the classical and Christian traditions believed that happiness likely necessitated a healthy dose of pain, but whereas classical philosophers prescribed happiness to the span of one’s life, Christian followers portrayed happiness as attainable only after death.
It is true that the severity of the Protestant Reformation with its emphasis on original sin, fire and brimstone did have somewhat of a diminishing effect on the desirability of happiness for the faithful. Indeed, as mere sinful mortals, the message came to be that we had best display some sadness or at least humility as a means of atonement. Fast forward to the glory days of the Enlightenment and the social and intellectual climate alters drastically. Simply put, life was getting better. Indoor heating was a thing, as was, of all things, dentistry. People were no longer shamed to smile! Societal focus shifted dramatically from the ever after to the here and now. It became not only acceptable, but desirable to seek happiness. God was a benevolent God who desired the happiness of His creatures.
Throughout the ensuing centuries, the idea of seeking out happiness as something not only acceptable but necessary, permeated all aspects of the culture from the increasingly white collar work force (where happiness is even to this day associated with consumerism), to the family (where wives were encouraged to create an atmosphere of unconditional and perpetual happiness for their hardworking husbands), to childhood, where happiness of children quickly became an all-consuming concern. In our country in particular, the meme of the smiling American was already beginning to take shape. Historical giants such as Thomas Jefferson, eager to prove the legitimacy of this new country, frequently made claims to the superior happiness of American citizens, think: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Thus the culture of happiness was born and with it, a curious paradox: if being or at least appearing, happy and cheerful is so paramount, then NOT feeling so comes to be seen as a problem. If we don’t measure up, we feel as though we have failed. In this way, the expectation of happiness paradoxically creates the risk of unhappiness.
