Pursuit of happiness. Diverse Views of the Meaning of Happiness (PDF)

Essay from the year 2015 in the subject Philosophy - Miscellaneous, grade: 1,3, Academy for health and sport, language: English, abstract: Happiness. It is not measurable, profitable, nor tradable. Yet, above all else in the world, it is what people seek. They want to have happiness, and want to know they have a lot of it. But happiness, like air or water, is a hard thing to grasp in one's hand. It is intangible. Happiness plays an important and necessary role in the lives of people around the world. Perhaps the most curious and interesting phrase ever put into a public document is the "Pursuit of Happiness". In America, happiness has been engrained in our brains since Thomas Jefferson penned these famous words in the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". Since then, people from all over the world have been engaged in that act: pursuing happiness. But what exactly is true happiness? Is it just a feeling? Why do so many people seek happiness, what are the sources? Are we born with it already? What makes us happy and what doesn't? Does it make sense to effort happiness at all? If yes, how can it be obtained? These are the topics I will cover within the scope of this study paper below.