Happiness traffickers

Since everyone wants to be happy and no one gets it, happiness has become a legal drug sold by opportunists and bought by those addicted to the genre.

This traffic in unfounded hopes had already been consolidated before social networks, although with them it is about to reach paroxysm.

If you dare to put “books about happiness” in any search engine, you will find yourself buried under layers of seductive titles about “authentic” happiness, flow

,

the habits of a happy brain, the science of happiness and a life that flourishes. , along with a salad of inventories of the 12 best books on happiness, the 10 best books to be happy and the best books on happiness for children.

Let's not even talk

about the

websites anymore.

Aware that the search for happiness is a central issue for human nature, philosophers have been analyzing the matter for millennia with their highly precise analytical magnifying glass.

They have identified two very different categories in this seemingly simple section.

The first is hedonism, the classic recommendation to prioritize pleasure, stability, and enjoyment over other considerations.

And the second, sometimes called eudaimonia, advises seeking meaning in life, having a purpose, a devotion, a virtuous spirit.

I know that you would buy both entire packages, but the problem is that you have to choose between one and the other.

Both philosophies of life pursue happiness through contradictory paths.

You can't be Bertrand Russell and Frank Sinatra at the same time, and you only live once.

Current thinking has not resolved the tension between hedonism and devotion, but it has added a new dimension to the debate: the pursuit of a psychologically rich life.

The emphasis is now on complex mental engagements, the breadth of deep emotions, and novel experiences, as psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman summarizes.

Neither surrender to pleasure nor stew in devotion, but rather seek an intense, interesting and intelligent life (the three

interests

, if you'll excuse the joke).

The demon is no longer instability or lack of purpose in life, but pure and simple boredom.

It is about seeking psychological wealth.

It is an interesting change of perspective.

According to experiments with volunteers, psychological wealth shows a strong correlation with curiosity, an open spirit to the world and the ability to experience intense emotions, whether positive or negative.

Risk aversion is fine if you walk off a cliff, but not as a life guide or table of commandments.

When researchers ask their volunteers if they prefer hedonism, dedication to a purpose, or psychological richness, the majority (50% to 70% depending on the country) choose hedonism, and quite a few people (14% to 39% ) choose devotion.

Only a minority prefer psychological wealth, and curiously there are far fewer in Singapore (7%) than in Germany (17%).

To begin with, this proves classical philosophy right, since the vast majority of people fit very well into the two traditional categories.

But the difference between Singapore and Germany also indicates that the received culture has a substantial weight in life decisions.

Perhaps psychological wealth can be stimulated in human populations, and perhaps that will increase people's well-being.

Maybe it will increase it more than the happiness traffickers we have suffered until now.

The Austrian-Israeli philosopher Martin Buber (1878-1965) wrote: “I do not accept any absolute formula for living.

No preconceived code can foresee anything that may happen in life (…).

Let us bet our entire existence on our willingness to explore and experiment.”

The advice is free.

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