What we’re about
"Truth springs from argument amongst friends"
We are a discussion group of friendly and intelligent people who enjoy wrestling with and studying philosophical topics.
Promoting exchange through examination and reasoned argument, expect to justify, critique, be critiqued and engage analytically with the ideas of others.
Interested to attend?
We hope you will join us all for future discussions.
RULES
In order to maximise the respect, enjoyment and engagement of all the members of the group, which request that you:
- read all relevant material for a discussion prior to a meeting;
- if you are not already familiar with the subject of philosophy, please try to familiarise yourself with a general background in philosophy by reading some general introductions;
- be considerate to others during our discussions.
Upcoming events (1)
See all- HappinessThe Grapes, Bath
[From Generative AI] "Happiness is a complex emotion that involves a range of positive feelings, such as contentment, joy, and a sense of well-being. It can be experienced in the moment, when good things happen, or more broadly as a positive evaluation of one's life.
Happiness is different from negative emotions like fear, anger, and sadness, and other positive emotions like interest, excitement, and affection. It's also different from pleasure, which is more visceral and in-the-moment, while happiness is more stable.
Happiness is closely linked to well-being and life satisfaction. People who are happy tend to have better physical and mental health, stronger social relationships, and are more resilient in the face of adversity. (chicken or egg?)
Some factors that can impact happiness include:
· Neurochemicals – dopamine, oxytocin, endorphins, and serotonin
· Social and cultural factors – e.g. people from more collectivist cultures may think about happiness in terms of contentment and harmony, while people from more individualistic cultures may connect it to feelings of joy and exuberance."I might add that: some consider the happiness of the “group” as necessary for their own happiness; whilst others may consider that their own happiness is essential for group happiness; and some may only consider themselves, regardless of others' feelings.
Jonathan Haidt has done the hard work for us: combing through most of the philosophical, religious and scientific literature for the keys to Happiness, and trying to develop a formula for success. In his 2007 book The Happiness Hypothesis – Haidt explains, what he calls, 10-Ideas. Each chapter provides information about human behaviour, as we now understand it, together with input from ancient wisdom and past-thinkers, and then ends with some “advice” on how to become happier. It’s an entertaining and informative book, and although the ten ideas are not “10-steps to happiness”, one could use them for self-help.
Of course the key question is - 'can we actually make ourselves happier’ is this as simple as following some rules-for-life? Or, is it just in our personality – we’re either a happy person or we’re not? But, then – where does “personality” come from? Is it all a load of Garbage? or Can we become happier if we know more about how Homo Sapien-Mark-3 operates?
Haidt’s 10-Ideas, and Notes taken from his book, are available HERE; there are 15-pages overall (loosely formatted in bullets, with lots of white paper!). The first page is a handy Summary. Please read the Notes and record your own thoughts. Cheer-up, it’s not too much reading
We won’t run chronologically through each of the 10-Ideas, but we will refer to them as required, and use them as a framework for our discussion.
Underpinning this discussion are the three questions: What is happiness? Is it something we should aim to attain? Can we?More specifically:
1. Which scuppers our desire for happiness more – our rational mind or our intuitive system?- To what extent do we have to overcome our own evolutional human nature e.g. a bias to react quicker and stronger to threats?
- Our divided mind
- Opposing motivational systems
- No “green alert” system
- Our tendency to confabulate
2. If reciprocity is an in-built attribute of hive creatures (including humans) should we be more conscious of its effect on others and start to “game play”, perhaps using favours and gossip as currency?
3. But games require us to be judgmental of others: if being over-judgmental leads to unhappiness, should we “step out of the game” by becoming more accepting of others but more critical of ourselves?
- Is high self-esteem a danger to self and society? Should we get kids to focus on building skills/achievements they can be proud of instead of building self-esteem?
4. What do you think about the “Happiness Formula?” H = G + C + V
5. If small gratifications that we savour lead to more happiness than a change to “absolute” levels, does this favour life’s “Satisfiers” and “doers”, rather than life’s “maximisers” and “accumulators”?
6. Do we fully understand the difference between romance, passion and love? Does any misunderstanding reduce our chances of happiness?
7. Can our response to a Trauma really change our future happiness?
Is this better achieved by an adaptation to our life, our goals, our material situation or, is it better to adapt our way of thinking about problems, and become “wise”?8. Have we separated decisions on morality from the development of a person’s character?
- If happy people are kinder and more helpful, does this mean that, if we act with more kindness and help more people we will become happier?
9. Are people who experience more awe in their lives happier?
· Should we develop a more reverential nature and show/feel more gratitude?10. Are you more likely to be happier if you find purpose in life, if you “effect”, if you are competent at what you do, and if you actually “build” something?
11. Is it all dependent on finding a Balance between our Physical, Psychological and Socio-Cultural levels of existence?
Did Haidt’s Ideas only convince you that Happiness is “luck of the genetic draw”, “luck of the nurture draw”, or something that we can do something about? e.g.
- Can we re-train the elephant?
- Can we change our affective style?
- How can playing tit-for-tat increase our happiness?
- Is it possible to over-come our judgmental attitudes?
- Is it possible to be honest in our own self-assessment?
- How can we become more of a Satisfier and less of a Maximiser?
- How can we build stronger relationships and wider support networks?
- Is it possible to live up to the Serenity Prayer?
- Should we seek Trauma in order to become “wise after the event?”
- Is it possible to get more enjoyment from our work than we do?
- How can we gain balance between our material, mental and social-cultural lives?
- How should “I” live in order to be happy and fulfilled?
