Philosophy
Happiness is a strange concept: everyone wants to be happy, but no one really knows what happiness is. In philosophy, we sometimes talk about incorrigible phenomenological states: mental states about which you could not possibly be wrong. If you have an experience of dating Megan Fox, for instance, you'd probably be hallucinating or dreaming-unless she's two-timing me :), but if you feel you're in pain, you're in pain, and you can't be deluded about that. This raises the question: is happiness an incorrigible phenomenological state? Are you happy if you think you're happy? Or can you think you're happy and not be happy? And what on earth can this have to do with colonoscopies?
In this fascinating presentation, Daniel Kahneman, Nobel laureate and founder of behavioral economics, discusses the difficulty with understanding (and achieving) happiness. As it turns out, when it comes to happiness, you are divided between a remembering self and an experiencing self, and whenever their interests conflict, guess who's not going to be happy? :)
So there you have it, folks: next time you're getting a colonoscopy, ask your doctor to leave the tube in for just a little bit longer and maybe wiggle it slightly :)
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- The Irrationality Of Being A Fan
Today is opening day for the Orioles. I'm a lifelong O's fan and my kids have been junior Orioles for the last five years -- I figure, well, you have to learn to cuss sometime. In long discussions about the nature of bring a fan with...
- If You're Happy And You Know It
The shorter of the short people was singing "If You're Happy and You Know It" yesterday at the breakfast table and it led me to wonder whether the line is redundant. Is happiness opaque, can you be happy and not know it?...
- Bullshit Or Not: Js Mill Edition
There's an old sketch film called Amazon Women on the Moon and one of the bits is a parody of the old Leonard Nimoy show, In Search Of... called, Bullshit or Not? with the tagline "Bullshit or not? You decide." So I've stolen it for an occasional...
- An Explanation Of Kant's Moral Argument
Kant?s moral argument focuses on the notion that God must exist to provide structure to the moral universe. Technically he did not believe that is was possible to prove the existence of God through rational or empirical means. It is important to outline...
- Money=happiness?
This is one of the oldest philosophical questions ever asked. "Can money buy happiness? Gallup poll asks, and the world answers" July 1st, 2010 physorg.com A worldwide survey of more than 136,000 people in 132 countries included questions about happiness...
Philosophy
Daniel Kahneman - Happiness and the Tyranny of the Remembering Self
Happiness is a strange concept: everyone wants to be happy, but no one really knows what happiness is. In philosophy, we sometimes talk about incorrigible phenomenological states: mental states about which you could not possibly be wrong. If you have an experience of dating Megan Fox, for instance, you'd probably be hallucinating or dreaming-unless she's two-timing me :), but if you feel you're in pain, you're in pain, and you can't be deluded about that. This raises the question: is happiness an incorrigible phenomenological state? Are you happy if you think you're happy? Or can you think you're happy and not be happy? And what on earth can this have to do with colonoscopies?In this fascinating presentation, Daniel Kahneman, Nobel laureate and founder of behavioral economics, discusses the difficulty with understanding (and achieving) happiness. As it turns out, when it comes to happiness, you are divided between a remembering self and an experiencing self, and whenever their interests conflict, guess who's not going to be happy? :)
So there you have it, folks: next time you're getting a colonoscopy, ask your doctor to leave the tube in for just a little bit longer and maybe wiggle it slightly :)
.
- The Irrationality Of Being A Fan
Today is opening day for the Orioles. I'm a lifelong O's fan and my kids have been junior Orioles for the last five years -- I figure, well, you have to learn to cuss sometime. In long discussions about the nature of bring a fan with...
- If You're Happy And You Know It
The shorter of the short people was singing "If You're Happy and You Know It" yesterday at the breakfast table and it led me to wonder whether the line is redundant. Is happiness opaque, can you be happy and not know it?...
- Bullshit Or Not: Js Mill Edition
There's an old sketch film called Amazon Women on the Moon and one of the bits is a parody of the old Leonard Nimoy show, In Search Of... called, Bullshit or Not? with the tagline "Bullshit or not? You decide." So I've stolen it for an occasional...
- An Explanation Of Kant's Moral Argument
Kant?s moral argument focuses on the notion that God must exist to provide structure to the moral universe. Technically he did not believe that is was possible to prove the existence of God through rational or empirical means. It is important to outline...
- Money=happiness?
This is one of the oldest philosophical questions ever asked. "Can money buy happiness? Gallup poll asks, and the world answers" July 1st, 2010 physorg.com A worldwide survey of more than 136,000 people in 132 countries included questions about happiness...