The Emotions and Happiness.
"Happiness" has been defined by an authority as "the pleasurable emotion
arising from the gratification of all desires; the enjoyment of pleasure
without pain." Another has said that "happiness is the state in which
all desires are satisfied." But these definitions have been attacked. It
is held by many that a state of the absolute _satisfaction_ of desire
would not be happiness, for happiness consists largely in pleasurable
anticipation and imaginings which disappear upon the realization of the
desire. It is held that absolute satisfaction would be a negative state.
Paley expressed a better idea when he said that "any condition may be
denominated 'happy' in which the amount or aggregate of pleasure exceeds
that of pain, and the degree of happiness depends upon the quantity of
this excess."
Some have held that an existing contrast between pain and pleasure (the
balance being in favor of the latter) is necessary to establish
happiness. Be this as it may, it is admitted by all that one's happiness
or unhappiness depends entirely upon one's emotional nature and the
degree of the satisfaction thereof. And it is generally admitted that to
be happy is the great aim and object of the life of the majority of
persons,--if, indeed, not of _every_ person,--the happiness, of course,
depending upon the quality and degree of the emotions forming the
person's emotional nature. Thus it is seen that we are dependent upon
the emotional side of our mental life in this as in nearly everything
else making life worth while.
Theologians have often sought to point out that happiness is not the
goal of life and living, but human nature has always insisted that
happiness is the greatest end, and philosophy has generally supported
it. But wisdom shows that happiness is not always dependent upon the
pleasure of the moment, for the sacrifice of immediate pleasure
frequently results in a much greater happiness in the future. In the
same way an immediate disagreeable task often gains for us a greater
satisfaction in the future. Likewise, it is frequently greater happiness
to sacrifice a personal pleasure for the happiness of others than it
would be to enjoy the pleasure of the moment at the expense of the pain
of the other. There is often a far greater pleasure resulting from an
altruistic action of self-sacrifice than in the performance of the
selfish, egoistic act. But, as the subtle reasoner may insist, the
result is the same--the ultimate happiness and satisfaction of the
self. This conclusion does not rob the altruistic act of its virtue,
however, for the person who finds his greatest pleasure in giving
pleasure to others is to be congratulated--as is the community which
shelters him.
There is no virtue in pain, suffering, sacrifice, or unhappiness _for
its own sake_. This illusion of asceticism is vanishing from the human
mind. Sacrifice on the part of the individual is valuable and valid only
when it results in higher present or future happiness for the individual
or some one else. There is no virtue in pain, physical or mental, except
as a step to a greater good for ourselves or others. Pain at the best is
merely nature's alarm and warning of "not this way." It is also held
that pain serves to bring out pleasure by contrast, and is therefore
valuable in this way. Be this as it may, no normal individual
deliberately seeks ultimate pain in preference to ultimate happiness;
the greatest ultimate happiness to one's self and to those he loves is
the normal and natural goal of the normal person. But the concept of
"those he loves," in many cases, includes the race as well as the
immediate family.
Wisdom shows the individual that the greatest happiness comes to him who
controls and restrains many of his feelings. Dissipation results in pain
and unhappiness ultimately. The doctrine of thoughtless indulgence is
unphilosophical and is contradicted by the experience of the race.
Moreover, wisdom shows that the highest happiness comes not from the
indulgence of the physical feelings alone, or to excess, but rather from
the cultivation, development, and manifestation of the higher
feelings--the social, æsthetic, and intellectual emotions. The higher
pleasures of life, literature, art, music, science, invention,
constructive imagination, etc., yield a satisfaction and happiness
keener and more enduring than can possibly the lower forms of feeling.
But the human being must not despise any part of his emotional being.
Everything has its uses, which are good; and its abuses, which are bad.
Every part of one's being, mental and physical, is well to use; but no
part is well used if it uses the individual instead of being itself
used.
A recent writer has held that the end and aim of life should not be the
pursuit of happiness, but rather the building of character. The obvious
answer is that the two are identical in spirit, for to the man who
appreciates the value of character, its attainment is the greatest
happiness; the wise teach that the greatest happiness comes to him who
is possessed of a well-rounded, developed character. Another writer has
said that "the aim of life should be self-improvement, with a due regard
to the interest of others." This is but saying that the greatest
happiness to the wise man lies in this course. Any one who is wise
enough, or great enough, to make these ends the aim and goal of life
will find the greatest happiness therefrom. Arnold Bennett advances as a
good working philosophy of life: "cheerfulness, kindliness, and
rectitude." Can any one doubt that this course would bring great
ultimate happiness?
Happiness consists in that which "contents the spirit," and the latter
depends entirely upon the character of the feelings and emotions
entertained by one, as weighed in the balance of reason, and as passed
upon by judgment and the sense of right action. The greatest degree of
happiness, or at least the greatest ratio of pleasure over pain, is
obtained by a careful and intelligent cultivation of the feeling side of
one's being in connection with the cultivation of the intellect and the
mastery of the will. To be able to bring the capacity for enjoyment to
its highest; to be able to intelligently choose that which will bring
the greatest ultimate happiness in accordance with right action; and,
finally, to be able to use the will in the direction of holding fast to
that which is good and rejecting that which is bad--this is the power of
creating happiness. The feelings, the intellect, and the will--here, as
ever--combine to manifest the result.
Finally, it must be remembered that all human happiness consists in
part of the ability to bear pain--to suffer. There must be the dash of
Stoicism in the wise Epicurean. One must learn to pluck from pain,
suffering, and unhappiness the secret drop of honey which lies at its
heart, and which consists in the knowledge of the meaning and use of
pain and the means whereby it may be transmuted into knowledge and
experience, from which later happiness may be distilled. To profit by
pain, to transmute suffering into joy, to transform present unhappiness
into a future greater happiness--this is the privilege of the
philosopher.
* * * * *
The mental states and activities known as "desire" are a direct
development of the feeling and emotional phase of the mind and form the
motive power of the will. Desire, in fact, may be said to be composed of
feeling on one side and will on the other. But the influence of the
intellect or reasoning faculties has a most important part to play in
the evolution of feeling into desire, and in the consequent action of
the will by the presentation and weighing of conflicting desires.
Therefore, the logical place for the consideration of the activities of
the intellect is at this point--between emotion and will. Accordingly,
we shall leave the subject of feeling and emotion for the present, to be
taken up again in connection with the subject of _desire_, after we
have considered the intellectual processes of the mind. But, as has been
indicated, we shall see the presence and influence of the feelings and
emotions even in the activities of the intellect.