The Hedonic And Eudaimonic Views Of Happiness Psychology Term Paper

Term Paper
Name
Institution
Due Date
Term Paper
1. Compare and contrast the hedonic and eudaimonic views of happiness. Provide example(s) where appropriate.
Happiness is one of the most subjective terms in the world. Its subjectivity makes it quite difficult to analyze or study and develop a universal way of assessing it. One universal fact about happiness is that people are after happiness even though some people do not know what makes them happy and what does not. The reason why happiness is subjective is that people are after different things in life and what makes someone happy may not necessarily make another person happy. Additionally, for most people, what makes them happy currently, may not necessarily make them happy tomorrow or as they age. So, for better understanding and analysis of happiness, often the term well-being is used in place of happiness. Davis (2010) defines well-being as “the experience of health, happiness, and prosperity.” She goes on to say that well-being “includes having good mental health, high life satisfaction, and a sense of meaning or purpose.” To better understand happiness and well-being, two words with a Greek background were conjured. These words include hedonic and eudaimonic happiness.
Hedonic happiness is the type of happiness where a person seeks to attain the highest level of pleasure. While in pursuit of hedonic happiness, people often try their best to avoid instances of pain or disappointment. For people who are looking for this sort of happiness or well-being, their goal is to experience life without its lemons. Hedonic happiness or well-being was coined by a Greek philosopher known as Aristippus. So, to attain this form of happiness, pain and pleasure need to have an indirectly proportionate relationship with the latter increasing and the former decreasing. To some people, happiness is the attainment of a lot of material wealth. To others, it can be traveling or touring the world without thinking about where the means to travel the world. The happiness being referred to here is one without disappointments or letdowns in life. So, it mainly involves living a good or happy life. A person who is after hedonic happiness will not be found doing things that are tedious or that derail them in any way. Their goal is to have as much pleasure as possible while reducing the instances of pain, discomfort or trauma. A good example would be someone who believes going out on drinking sprees with friends brings them happiness. For such a person, work or doing anything that is not in line with drinking and being around their friends is against what they believe to be happiness.
However, with regard to hedonic happiness, there have been those who are against this form of happiness. One of the reasons why this form of happiness is not considered realistic is that even though it may gift people momentary happiness, hedonic happiness does not contribute to one’s overall well-being. The above is said to be true because while in search of happiness, it is possible for people to be in pursuit of things that may endanger their lives. For example, an individual who goes on drinking sprees may endanger their lives by having risky sexual encounters or driving und...