CHASS Theme 2012-2013: Happiness
We, the people, have an unalienable right to pursue happiness. The signers of the Declaration of Independence felt so strongly about our right to the pursuit of happiness that they argued we can “alter or abolish” any government which does not protect our happiness.
The College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences invites you to join us for our yearlong conversations about happiness.
Aristotle tells us: all people believe happiness to be the highest obtainable good. But, he also tells us, no one can agree on a definition of happiness. During a recent Highlander Orientation, an undeclared freshman argued happiness equals spending her paycheck. The purchase of the purse or other object made her happy, until she saw someone else with the same purse. Her happiness depends on economic conditions, a sort of supply and demand. According to Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve chairman, “gauging happiness can be as important for measuring economic progress as determining whether inflation is low or unemployment high.” The promotion of well-being, of happiness is “the ultimate objective of Federal Reserve policy decisions. But, Bernanke cautions, “As your parents always said, money doesn’t buy happiness, as an economist might reply, at least not by itself.”
Economic well-being is crucial to Bernanke’s conception of happiness. How much money you have, or make, or can spend, may be one of activities that UCR psychology professor, Sonja Lyubomirsky, argues we can intentionally control. The happiness formula that Prof. Lyubomirsky uses says happiness equals 50% genetics, 40% intentional activities, and 10% circumstances.
Recommended Readings:
- Aristotle. The Nicomachean Ethics.
- Haidt, Jonathan. The Happiness Hypothesis.
- Lyubomirsky, Sonja. The How of Happiness.
Please attend our bi-quarterly Annual Theme Lectures and Film Series (schedule tba).
The public is welcome.
The Annual Theme events are mandatory for all CHASS Connect, CHFY001E 075 – War Movies, Gateway, HASS001 and HASS 010 students. The events fulfill requirements for quarterly assignments and learning contracts.
For questions, please contact Dr. Geoff Cohen, CHASS F1RST. – Geoff.Cohen@ucr.edu; (951)827-7831.
