Happiness or true happiness is an inner quality. Some people are happy all through; for them it is a state of mind. If your mind is at peace, you are happy. Even if you have everything in world, you may not be necessarily happy. You might have the possession, power, money, name and fame, but still you might not be happy. Happiness is used in the context of mental, emotional, contentment, joy, satisfaction and wellbeing. We don’t bother of the definition or the description of happiness, we simply feel it.
The Greek Philosopher Aristotle (394-322 B.C.) observed that no person intentionally chooses to be unhappy. Then why human beings go in search of happiness? Why aren’t they always in the state of happiness? More than anybody else, Aristotle defined happiness as a central purpose of human life and a goal in itself. Aristotle is one of the greatest thinkers in the history of western science and philosophy. He made contributions to logic, metaphysics, mathematics, physics, biology, botany, ethics, politics, agriculture, medicine, dance and theatre. He was a student of Plato.
The Greek word that usually gets translated as “happiness” is eudaimonia, and like most translations from ancient languages, this can be confusing. The main trouble is that happiness is often conceived of as a subjective state of mind. For Aristotle, however, happiness is a final end or goal that includes the totality of one’s life. He had described happiness in four levels. The names are in Latin.
I have connected the four levels of happiness described by Aristotle with Sigmund Freud’s model of the human psyche, the id, ego and super ego. Human psyche is structured into these three parts; they all develop at different stages in our lives. These are organisms, not parts of the brain, or in any way physical.
The Id is the set of uncoordinated instinctual trend; the super-ego plays the critical and moralizing role; and the ego is the organized, realistic part that mediates between the desires of the id and the super-ego.
Happiness level 1: Laetus (immediate happiness gained from material objects) Laetus Happiness is short lived; it is simply about sensual gratification based on things. It is external in nature. For example you feel like eating ice-cream, you had it and the happiness is gone. This happiness has limitations. It is all about instant gratification. You buy a new car, you are happy for few days roaming in the car, showing it off to the world. You go for travel, eat a nice meal, go to an exotic restaurant, and wear anew dress, a new watch. It satisfies your instinctual drive. You want something and had it. It satisfies your id. The id is the disorganized part of the personality structure that contains a human’s basic, instinctual drives. The id is the only component of personality that is present from birth. It is the source of a person’s bodily needs, wants, desires, and impulses
Happiness level 2: Felix (ego gratification, achievements) This happiness comes from comparison: being better, looking superior to others, to be more admired than others etc. You experience this type of happiness when you score the highest marks, when you get an award, a medal, when you get promoted in job, when you marry the most sought after person. Everyone likes admiration and winning. It depends how much winning strength a person has. For some people it is everything, for others it’s just a very minor and very short lived pleasure.
Happiness from continuous comparison with other people is wobbly because very few people can win in all domains of life all the time. In case of failure, focusing too much on this level can lead to frustrations and a sense of irrelevance. Excessive focus on comparison and self-promotion is risky setting against the people around you and can lead to self-absorption, jealousy, pessimism, and the oppression of others.
This happiness level is linked to ego. Ego is the organized part of the personality structure that includes defensive, perceptual, intellectual-cognitive, and executive functions. Conscious awareness resides in the ego, although not all of the operations of the ego are conscious.
Happiness level 3: Beatitudo (contributive): This happiness comes from doing well for others and making the world a better place. This level of happiness is based on the human desire to connect with others with kindness, to help others in their difficult times. This happiness comes out of compassion, friendship, unity, togetherness and love. As this level we move away from ourselves to focus on the well-being of others. In quintessence our own happiness depends also on the happiness of others.
This happiness relates to super-ego which always aims for perfection. It plays the moralizing role in our lives. The super-ego balances good and bad in our life. It does not allow us to do bad work, but allows doing well. Super ego guides individual’s ego-ideals and spiritual goals. It drives our conscience; it criticizes and prohibits our drives such as fantasies, feelings, and actions. The Super-ego punishes misbehavior with feelings of guilt.
Happiness level 4: Sublime Beatitudo (enduring, eternal): This is the ultimate happiness, it is perfect happiness. This happiness is the most difficult to describe. It involves a search for completeness and fulfillment. It has to do with finding the right balance between the other levels of happiness i.e level one, two and three. Psychologists have labeled this desire for ultimate happiness a call for connection to the larger universe. This happiness is philosophical in nature. It has a lot to do with individual perspective. It is transcendent. When we realize that we cannot be in control of everything, when we realize that some things must be allowed to let go of, and that some things will be taken care by the universal energy. We start looking for the beauty, truth, goodness, and love in nature, around us in small things.
Some fulfill this desire through spirituality or religion, others through philosophy, art, or scientific endeavors to find answers to some of the big questions of life, human existence and the universe. The fact is there is no ultimate or universal answer. This happiness is also connected it with super-ego.
To get the ultimate happiness you have to find your own calling!
