Happiness = Self Delusion?

Sleepy

Is happiness just a form of self-delusion?

In this world there are good and bad people; acts of kindness and acts of incredible inhumanity; great leaders and tyrants and all shades of incompetent rulers inbetween. It seems to me like most of the things we see and hear are the darker side of the spectrum of the 'grey area' between good and bad and that people don't seem to be angry enough or motivated enough to try and change things.

Is it that people are content because they ignore all the dark things around them? Do people subconciously block out things like the greed of mankind, war, rape, child-abuse, etc. to focus on the good things around them (or even believe things that they can't logically explain) to be "happy"?

This would seem to me to be self-delusion.

aidan_walsh

Yes, they do. Unhappy people are equally deluded, blocking out all the good, fortutious (explicable or inexplicable) things that they have in their lives in order to focus on the unfortunate and bad around them. Healthy people manage to balance their delusions

InFront

Sleepy wrote:

Is happiness just a form of self-delusion?

Delusion is the belief in a thing that is untrue, or incorrect. So you can see how this is a very subjective question. The answer lies in the individual's attitude to the objective state of his world - which in practical terms, is impossible to assess.
You cannot say an individual is truly deluded unless you are as certain of the nature of that in which he believes (as certain as you can reasonably expect to be).

So is an exceptionally happy guy deluded? That depends on your own attitude to the world. If you think that all is right with the world, no. If you think the world is grim and desolate, yes. I don't believe there is one correct answer.

humanji

Well, why can't someone simply be happy? What about monks in Nepal who desire nothing and live happy content lives? Or me? I love my job and am really happy with it. Most people would hate it, but sure so what? I love it and it's all that matter.

And as InFront says, it is subjective, to each and every individual person. Everyone has certain things/objectives that will make them happy. If you reach all your goals in life you'll be happy. Just because you don't do everything in your power to eradicate all the bad things in the world, doesn't mean you can't be happy.

Sleepy

Maybe it's to do with social conscience? Those with a lower sense of social conscience find it easier to block out/accept all the bad things happening and are therefore more sensitive to these things, finding it harder to be happy?

I_and_I

You can se all the horrible things going on in the world today and yes you could
decide that we are doomed and never be happy again, or you could just accept that suffering is always going to be a part of human life and do what you can to releive the suffering of those around you that you can. And be happy with the world that you make for yourself and others. The only delusion would be to beleive that you can change nothing.