What is happiness?

 I often don't understand my own desires and can't make decisions. What should I do? @Mochio

As I wrote in "First Philosophical Thinking", "knowing yourself" is, first of all, "knowing your own desires". What exactly do I want to do and how I am happy to live.

However, finding this desire is surprisingly difficult in modern times. In today's free society, people say, "You can do anything, you are free to do anything," so you don't know what you want to do.


There are times when I feel that it is a problem.

Many of today's children turn on the heater before they feel cold, turn on the cooler before they feel hot, and turn on the TV before they think it's boring. That means that the power to notice one's desires, and even the quest for how to satisfy them, has been castrated by adults, so to speak.


In such an era, how can we regain the ability to notice desires and the inquisitive mind to satisfy them?

In "First Philosophical Thinking", I told you how to touch a lot of works that shake your sense of values ​​and sensitivity, such as novels, movies, manga, plays, and music. And if possible, some people will exchange their impressions and criticisms.

Through such experience, I will definitely understand that "Oh, I am moved to this kind of place". You may also notice your own sensitivities.

It may be a roundabout way, but I think this is the surest way to look at your desires and get to know yourself deeply. For more information, please read "First Philosophical Thinking".


One more thing, I would rather say to school education, but I have long insisted that the core of the curriculum in the future should be more and more "inquiry-type learning."

The curriculum of the current school is basically "to learn what has been decided, as decided, all at once". But again, in a way, it's a curriculum that castrates some of the children's desires and inquisitiveness, just like the coolers and televisions we saw earlier.


There are many young people who say, "I can't find what I want to do," but I believe that the responsibility lies fundamentally with the current education system. We adults have killed the children's "feelings of wanting to do" and said, "I'm okay, do this now."


Therefore, in the future school education, children will ask their own questions about various themes and arrive at their own answers in their own way. I think it is necessary to focus on the “type” curriculum.

By doing so, we will be able to become more aware of our desires and even train our will to fulfill them.

The above is about the school system, but of course individuals can do enough of this kind of "inquiry" activity. If you like, why don't you try "inquiry-type learning" to explore something you are interested in?


Five. Is happiness relative or absolute after all? Is there an absolute thing in the first place? @ Taku

There is no such thing as absolute (I don't know). This is what philosophy "proved" over 200 years ago. I wrote the details in "First Philosophical Thinking", so I would be grateful if you could read it.


Is happiness relative? The answer is "yes". This is already overwhelmingly relative.

We think that people who have gained wealth and honor will be happy. But, of course, that's not always the case. Bertrand Russell, a 20th-century philosopher and mathematician, said in his book Theory of Happiness:


If you want glory, you may envy Napoleon. But Napoleon was jealous of Caesar, Caesar was jealous of Alexander, and Alexander was probably jealous of the non-existent Hercules. Therefore, you cannot escape jealousy solely by success. There are always more successful people in history and legends than you.


Happiness is forever relative.

But on top of that, there are certain things that can be said.

As I wrote in "First Philosophical Thinking", the great philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau of the 18th century left the following saying.


"The essence of misery lies in the gap between desire and ability."


 When.

I think this is a great insight. And if you know this, you also know how to get out of misery and be happy.

The details were written in "First Philosophical Thinking". If you are interested, I would be grateful if you could read it.

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