Understanding and Achieving True Happiness
Justifying Our Moral Standards
All human beings have moral standards but seldom reflect on their validity. Generally, we identify with moral standards we consider to be right.
A) The Role of Moral Reasoning
We often rely on moral intuition to judge behavior. However, sometimes “we do not see it clearly,” and we are unsure how to judge a particular action. In these situations, intuition based on feeling is insufficient, and we must use rational reflection.
Rational reflection is the ability to move from pure moral feeling to moral reasoning.
B) The Need for Ethical Criteria
The question arises whether valid moral laws are comparable to a model or pattern of external validity superior to them. Throughout history, thinkers have proposed two different positions:
- Religious Perspective: The standard establishing the validity of moral norms is not human-made, but an external reality: God. Grounding ethics stems from religious beliefs, and different religions should be responsible for this task.
- Humanistic Perspective: The standard determining the validity of moral norms is the human being. This perspective relies exclusively on rational argument.
Ethics and the Purpose of Life
According to the humanistic perspective, a system of moral norms can be considered valid if it aligns with our nature as human beings. Philosophers have proposed various theories about human nature.
A primary answer is that human nature tends, above all, towards happiness.
A) Happiness as Pleasure
Some philosophers (Hedonists) argue that happiness for an individual is maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain. Epicureanism, a form of Hedonism, advised acting rationally, prioritizing lasting and profound pleasures, especially those of a spiritual nature, over immediate gratification.
B) Happiness from the Standpoint of Utility
Criticisms and reflections led some moral philosophers to rethink Hedonism, considering not only individual but also societal well-being. The resulting ethical theory was Utilitarianism.
Like Hedonism, Utilitarianism holds that happiness involves pursuing pleasure and avoiding pain, and that everything providing pleasure is good and useful. However, it considers not only individual happiness but also collective well-being.
C) Happiness as Self-Realization
Human nature tends towards happiness, but true happiness requires more than mere pleasure or utility; we need to fulfill ourselves, developing our full potential.
To be happy, human beings must achieve self-realization, deploying the higher capacities characteristic of our nature. This is achieved through activities that are satisfactory, give meaning to our lives, and are considered valuable by others.
The Components of Happiness
Human happiness can be understood in different ways because it is inevitably composed of several elements.
- Primary Components: These are the most basic elements, related to our physical well-being.
- Elevated and Personal Components: These refer to spiritual satisfactions.
The most basic elements are the most needed. However, once basic needs are covered, the higher components become more important, providing stronger motivation.
From this point of view, the formula for happiness might be to find a balance, defined individually, between what is necessary and what is important.