Far too few people take the time to wonder what the purpose and function of happiness is.
Seeking happiness as an end in itself is usually extremely destructive. Like pain, pleasure is a method for getting us to seek out or avoid certain behaviors, and many of these behaviors had consequences whose properties could be easily understood in terms of the motivators. (Things are more complicated now that we’re not living in the same world we evolved in.)
Instead of reasoning about goals, most people just produce complex systems of rationalizations to justify their desires. That’s usually pretty destructive, too.
Far too few people take the time to wonder what the purpose and function of happiness is.
Seeking happiness as an end in itself is usually extremely destructive. Like pain, pleasure is a method for getting us to seek out or avoid certain behaviors, and many of these behaviors had consequences whose properties could be easily understood in terms of the motivators. (Things are more complicated now that we’re not living in the same world we evolved in.)
Instead of reasoning about goals, most people just produce complex systems of rationalizations to justify their desires. That’s usually pretty destructive, too.