I find that being right often sucks a lot. When I have dinner with a couple and think "that's not going to work" I would so much rather be proven wrong. There is the tiny satisfaction of "ok, I do have perception and understanding of these things," but that is far outweighed by "people I care about are suffering and I was pretty sure that would happen and there was nothing I could do to prevent it". Same thing with politics--usually sucks to be right. The times when I'm right and it's a happy thing are notable and I do my best to revel in them.
I like "happy" because I'm able to judge that one fairly indisputably. Sages and fools have debated "good" and "right" and will continue to do so and I have my own opinions on the topic that sometimes match up with those of others and sometimes are relevant. But whether or not I am happy, whether or not a particular experience adds or subtracts from my happiness--I get to be the judge of that.
Sadly, sages and fools also debate 'happy' (Epicurus vs. Aristotle, Bentham vs. J. S. Mill, etc.) And some (like all of the above except Bentham) think you can be wrong about whether or not you are REALLY happy, as opposed to whether you just THINK you're happy. The good news is, if you think you're happy, things could definitely be worse.
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aroraborealis) wrote2010-07-27 09:59 am
no subject
I like "happy" because I'm able to judge that one fairly indisputably. Sages and fools have debated "good" and "right" and will continue to do so and I have my own opinions on the topic that sometimes match up with those of others and sometimes are relevant. But whether or not I am happy, whether or not a particular experience adds or subtracts from my happiness--I get to be the judge of that.
Buzzkill
(Anonymous) 2010-07-28 02:31 am (UTC)(link)Sadly, sages and fools also debate 'happy' (Epicurus vs. Aristotle, Bentham vs. J. S. Mill, etc.) And some (like all of the above except Bentham) think you can be wrong about whether or not you are REALLY happy, as opposed to whether you just THINK you're happy. The good news is, if you think you're happy, things could definitely be worse.