I got a little hung up on the meaning of "is it better to be..." If, in this sentence, "better" means "more pleasant for me," then the answer is always that it is better to be happy. I think, however, that you are asking the classic philosophical question about how to lead a good life (as distinct from the pleasurable life) and that's how I answered.
I'm also a little thrown by the idea of what it means to be "good." What I took this to mean, and generally what I think it means, is "not bad" or rather "not unethical." I tend to think of ethical conduct as a neutral state, or, put differently, a floor. If you fall below that base line your behavior is unethical, i.e. bad. If you remain above that line your behavior is ethical, i.e. good. However, there is also behavior that is not required to be ethical, but is laudable. For example, I am not committing a moral wrong by not giving money to charity, but if I do I have done something that has moral significance and is praiseworthy. That could have been what you meant by "good". Ultimately, if "not bad" and "good" are two different things, my answer changes. While I think it is more important to be not bad than to be happy, I also think it is more important to be happy than to do things that are laudable, but not required.
Also, I'm inclined to think for most people to be happy they generally need to refrain from doing unethical things, as people tend to feel really shitty when they do things that are wrong.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2010-07-27 07:09 pm (UTC)I'm also a little thrown by the idea of what it means to be "good." What I took this to mean, and generally what I think it means, is "not bad" or rather "not unethical." I tend to think of ethical conduct as a neutral state, or, put differently, a floor. If you fall below that base line your behavior is unethical, i.e. bad. If you remain above that line your behavior is ethical, i.e. good. However, there is also behavior that is not required to be ethical, but is laudable. For example, I am not committing a moral wrong by not giving money to charity, but if I do I have done something that has moral significance and is praiseworthy. That could have been what you meant by "good". Ultimately, if "not bad" and "good" are two different things, my answer changes. While I think it is more important to be not bad than to be happy, I also think it is more important to be happy than to do things that are laudable, but not required.
Also, I'm inclined to think for most people to be happy they generally need to refrain from doing unethical things, as people tend to feel really shitty when they do things that are wrong.