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THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

“Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” That phrase describing our “inalienable rights” is so much a part of America’s national consciousness that many would argue it defines the culture. Yet how many of us can say what “happiness” is? Harmony with others? Wealth and self-indulgence? Victory over our opponents? Social justice and equality?

Consider these results from a Time magazine poll of 801 American adults.

This table shows the top eight responses to the question of what your major sources of happiness are. To what extent do these things define happiness? Would you add or remove anything from this list, or rank these factors differently? Would these results vary in different cultures? Do they properly account for the role of wealth in making people happy?

Defining happiness is complex, and the science of happiness has become an academic discipline in its own right, one that involves economics, psychology, and public policy in the systematic measurement and analysis of happiness. In 2012 the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution that March 20 would be observed throughout the world as the International Day of Happiness in order to “[r]ecognize [. . .] the need for a more inclusive, equitable and balanced approach to economic growth that promotes sustainable development, poverty eradication, happiness and the well-being of all peoples.” It would seem that to the United Nations, money does equate to happiness to some degree.

In this Conversation, you’ll explore a range of voices—those of poets and fiction writers, a historian, and social scientists—on the meaning and pursuit of happiness. These texts consider how prosperity, family dynamics, cultural contexts, and a host of other variables influence our understanding of what it means to be happy. Throughout all of these readings, you’ll be reflecting on what constitutes happiness for you—now and as you imagine your life in years to come.

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